The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante
To reduce the environmental impact of desalination plants, a good dilution of the brine is needed. Brine dilution may be carried out using diffusers, by mixing the concentrate with other effluents, or with seawater bypassing. Seawater bypassing increases the energy consumption of the plant but, thus...
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doaj-4814b3310a3f4c1790739125cacd29cd2021-09-09T13:59:45ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-08-01132386238610.3390/w13172386The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of AlicanteRubén Navarro0Adoración Carratalá1José Luis Sánchez Lizaso2Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla, Cartagena 30201, ColombiaDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alicante, P.O. Box 99, 03080 Alicante, SpainDepartamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, P.O. Box 99, 03080 Alicante, SpainTo reduce the environmental impact of desalination plants, a good dilution of the brine is needed. Brine dilution may be carried out using diffusers, by mixing the concentrate with other effluents, or with seawater bypassing. Seawater bypassing increases the energy consumption of the plant but, thus far, this energy consumption has not been estimated. The environmental impact statement (EIS) of desalination plants in Alicante establishes a system of seawater bypassing for diluting brine and protecting the <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> seagrass meadows. The aim of this paper is to quantify the energy consumption of brine dilution, which was necessary for meeting the environmental requirements from 2012 to 2018. During the research period, the plants’ operation was variable, as it depended on the supply needs. The results indicate that the energy consumption of the dilution systems fluctuated between 2,135,315 kWh in 2012 and 685,988 kWh in 2013, with an average consumption of 1,205,952 kWh for the selected period. The energy cost in 2012 was EUR 179,556, while that for 2013 was EUR 60,787, with an average annual cost of EUR 91,690. This interannual variability is due to the difference in the production values of the plants and in the dilution ratio, which oscillated between 2.5 and 7.5 seawater:brine. In addition, the dilution showed an additional cost of the energy consumed by the desalination plants of around 1.7% on average. However, it also allowed the fulfillment of the established requirements in the EIS and the protection of the <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> seagrass from the discharge of the desalination plants.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2386brine dilutionenergy costenvironmental protectiondesalination discharges |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Rubén Navarro Adoración Carratalá José Luis Sánchez Lizaso |
spellingShingle |
Rubén Navarro Adoración Carratalá José Luis Sánchez Lizaso The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante Water brine dilution energy cost environmental protection desalination discharges |
author_facet |
Rubén Navarro Adoración Carratalá José Luis Sánchez Lizaso |
author_sort |
Rubén Navarro |
title |
The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante |
title_short |
The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante |
title_full |
The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante |
title_fullStr |
The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Cost of Brine Dilution in the Desalination Plants of Alicante |
title_sort |
cost of brine dilution in the desalination plants of alicante |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2021-08-01 |
description |
To reduce the environmental impact of desalination plants, a good dilution of the brine is needed. Brine dilution may be carried out using diffusers, by mixing the concentrate with other effluents, or with seawater bypassing. Seawater bypassing increases the energy consumption of the plant but, thus far, this energy consumption has not been estimated. The environmental impact statement (EIS) of desalination plants in Alicante establishes a system of seawater bypassing for diluting brine and protecting the <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> seagrass meadows. The aim of this paper is to quantify the energy consumption of brine dilution, which was necessary for meeting the environmental requirements from 2012 to 2018. During the research period, the plants’ operation was variable, as it depended on the supply needs. The results indicate that the energy consumption of the dilution systems fluctuated between 2,135,315 kWh in 2012 and 685,988 kWh in 2013, with an average consumption of 1,205,952 kWh for the selected period. The energy cost in 2012 was EUR 179,556, while that for 2013 was EUR 60,787, with an average annual cost of EUR 91,690. This interannual variability is due to the difference in the production values of the plants and in the dilution ratio, which oscillated between 2.5 and 7.5 seawater:brine. In addition, the dilution showed an additional cost of the energy consumed by the desalination plants of around 1.7% on average. However, it also allowed the fulfillment of the established requirements in the EIS and the protection of the <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> seagrass from the discharge of the desalination plants. |
topic |
brine dilution energy cost environmental protection desalination discharges |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/17/2386 |
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