When Coleridge published
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1798, he cannot possibly have imagined the importance of desalination over 200 years later.
Desalination is already big business and is set to grow further. There are now over 16,000 desalination plants worldwide in 150 countries, producing around 77 million cubic meters per day. Filtration is the heart of this business and naturally enough the topic regularly features in the pages of Filtration+Separation.
Climate change, surging population growth, urban development and increased industrialization will all continue to increase the demand for fresh water and drive the need to exploit new sources of water. Water scarcity is a major global challenge and desalination is seen as critical as a reliable and affordable source of fresh water for a sustainable future.
Indeed for water-scarce countries, such as Dubai for example, desalination may serve as the only viable means to provide the water supply necessary for sustainable development and support population growth.
However, there is still much to improve. Seawater reverse osmosis systems are often at the heart of a desalination plant. Biofouling of these membranes is a major problem and they need protecting from harmful algae. Improvements in filtration techniques are still under development. In addition, new beneficial uses for reject brine still need to be found.
Above all else though, energy costs need to be reduced. Seawater desalination is still more energy intensive compared to conventional technologies for the treatment of fresh water. Indeed the industry has set itself a challenging target of a 20% reduction in energy consumption for all major desalination processes by 2015.
The filtration industry is at the forefront of these efforts and novel and innovative solutions are continually emerging.
If you have an interest in desalination, Filtration+Separation has recently compiled a list of the top 10 most-viewed desalination feature articles on filtsep.com over the past couple of years.
http://www.filtsep.com/view/29690/desalination-trends-and-technological-advances/