Analysis of Brackish Water Desalination for Municipal Uses: Case Studies on Challenges and Opportunities

Xu, Xuesong; Ness, J. Erik; Miara, Ariel; Sitterley, Kurban A.; Talmadge, Michael; O’Neill, Barbara; Coughlin, Katie; Akar, Sertac; Edirisooriya, E. Thiloka; Kurup, Parthiv; Rao, Nalini; Macknick, Jordan; Stokes-Draut, Jennifer R.; Xu, Pei

doi:10.1021/acsestengg.1c00326

Title: Analysis of Brackish Water Desalination for Municipal Uses: Case Studies on Challenges and Opportunities

Journal Article · 23 February 2022 · ACS ES&T Engineering

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00326 · OSTI ID:1847273

^[1]; Ness, J. Erik ^[2];

^[2]; Sitterley, Kurban A. ^[2]; Talmadge, Michael ^[2]; O’Neill, Barbara ^[2]; Coughlin, Katie ^[3];

^[2]; Edirisooriya, E. Thiloka ^[1]; Kurup, Parthiv ^[2]; Rao, Nalini ^[4];

^[2]; Stokes-Draut, Jennifer R. ^[3];

^[1]

New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)

Brackish water is a widely available, nontraditional water resource that can augment limited freshwater supplies. Although brackish water desalination has been continuously implemented in the United States and worldwide, it is necessary to reduce further its energy consumption, costs, and environmental impacts. This study conducted technoeconomic analyses to evaluate the current desalination and brine management technologies, focusing on the key factors and opportunities for sustainable brackish water desalination for municipal uses. Three case studies were selected as baseline representative of different geographic and operational conditions, including water quality, plant size, pretreatment, desalination, and concentrate management. Here, the technoeconomic analyses and model simulations identified challenges, opportunities, and research priorities to achieve specific pathways for enhanced brackish water desalination regarding levelized costs of water, electricity intensity, water recovery, zero liquid discharge, and brine valorization.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1847273

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-7A40-81413; MainId:82186; UUID:79440e7c-5009-4cc4-acb6-93df7521491f; MainAdminID:63970

Journal Information:: ACS ES&T Engineering, Journal Name: ACS ES&T Engineering Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 2; ISSN 2690-0645

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Analysis of Brackish Water Desalination for Municipal Uses: Case Studies on Challenges and Opportunities

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