Introduction
The process of desalination is associated with steps taken to reduce and completely eliminate the presence of mineral components in saline water. Put simply, desalination is the removal of salts from a target substance, such as soil or water. Today, the majority of desalination projects depend on creating an economically and environmentally sustainable method of providing fresh water to the population. It is considered efficient because it does not rely on rainfall and can, therefore, be implemented when needed independent from other processes and conditions.
Traditional Desalination
For the United Arab Emirates, desalination plays an essential role because of the need to provide drinkable water despite it not being available in the surrounding territory. However, for decades, there have been doubts regarding the true environmental influence of desalination. For example, the concentrated saltwater that is left from desalination is usually returned to the sea, giving rise to concerns about the health of marine life (Matthews, 2019). Therefore, traditional ways of desalinating water are not usually considerate of the well-being of the environment, focusing only on the outcome – ensuring the steady supply of fresh, drinkable water.
To illustrate the negative influence of traditional desalination on the environment, the study conducted at Khalifa University, UAE, should be mentioned. While some forms of marine life, including bacteria, can be much more resistant to the increasing salience of water, the overall ecosystems tend to become worse. Also, the high volumes of salt residue can be warm, which puts some types of corals in danger. It should also be mentioned that the process results in the production of harmful elements that are dumped in to the water while “the simple act of processing raw seawater leads to the death of countless small fish, crustaceans and other life-forms” (Matthews, 2019, para. 6). Overall, traditional methods of desalinating water are harmful to the environment and need to be reduced or substituted for more sustainable or ‘green’ ways.
Green Desalination in the UAE
Green desalination has the same aim as traditional methods – providing drinkable freshwater to populations. However, green desalination is focused on eliminating salts and other minerals from water while also considering the environmental impact of the process. As mentioned in the Gulf News UAE article by Baldwin (2015), small-scale desalination plants are slowly opening in the country and operate on the basis of solar energy. The author writes “as part of an 18-month renewable energy desalination regimen, three reverse osmosis plans and a single forward osmosis plant will aim to reduce potable water production costs by 40 percent” (Baldwin, 2015, para. 2). The osmosis plants are situated on a location of a previous desalination plant with access to deep seawater. They have the capacity of producing between 10% to 20% of freshwater compared to old facilities without having the same negative impact on the environment.
Sustainable, or green, desalination aims to source fresh water by addressing the problems of water conservation that existed previously. Solar energy-powered plants are expected to offer up to $94 million in annual cost savings from 2020 onward, which is an extremely positive outcome for desalination technology. Because the Gulf region takes up around 40% of the global amount of desalinated waters, the demand for sustainable options is on the rise (Baldwin, 2015). Nevertheless, electricity use is the largest concern of green desalination is a priority as less energy leads to lower costs and greater plant capacity. Seasonal dependence is also important to note because, in winter, the demand for electricity declines but remains the same for water supply. During the high summer period, the demand for power spikes (“Desalination capacity set to rise in Abu Dhabi,” 2018). The use of renewable solar energy at all times will result in a declined reliance on traditional sources of power, making water desalination not as costly.
The example of Masdar, a UAE company, illustrates how the process of desalination can be sustainable and thus align with the green philosophy of resource use. Through advancing clean-tech innovation, the corporation has contributed to the clean energy sector. In contrast to traditional desalination that uses non-renewable energy, green desalination contributes to the reduction of waste from the sites of landfills and the concentration of salty water that is a by-product of the process. Also, green desalination is not as harmful as thermal desalination, which deteriorates the quality of marine life (“Clean energy,” 2019). The contribution of such companies as Masdar is essential to the green desalination industry in the UAE as they could provide the necessary level of expertise to ensure sustainability.
Conclusion
Both green and traditional desalination have the same aim but different methods of implementation. While traditional desalination is not concerned with its environmental impact and uses non-renewable energy sources, the green option is associated with the utilization of backward osmosis and solar power. Nevertheless, there are still concerns associated with both methods of water desalination, which is why it is important to consider the collaboration between corporations and governmental agencies in reaching desired standards of sustainability.
References
- Clean energy. (2019). Web.
- Desalination capacity set to rise in Abu Dhabi. (2018). Web.
- Baldwin, D. (2015). Masdar aims for solar-powered desalination. Gulf News. Web.
- Matthews, R. (2019). Impact of Middle East’s water desalination in the spotlight. The National UAE. Web.