Desalination Issues in the United States

1
Desalination Issuesin the United States
California Colloquium on Water April 13, 2004
M. Kevin Price Manager, Water Treatment
Engineering and Research Group Bureau of
Reclamation Denver, Colorado
2
Outline

• Introduction to Desal
• Research Roadmap
• Current Activities
• Next Steps
• Available Information

3
Primary Issues for Water Resources
1990 Population 76 million 2000 Population 91
million
1902 Population 11 million
Source U.S. Census Bureau
4
The Approaching Water Supply Problem in the 17
Western States
Based on USGS Estimated Use of Water in the US
1995
5
(No Transcript)
6
Primary Issues for Water Resources

• Growth of population and water demand
• Drought and decadal climate patterns
• Shifting and more complex demand
• Water supply (quantity quality)
• Environmental impacts
• Global climate change impacts

7
Hierarchy of the Nations Water Solution Toolbox
Solutions to the Nation's Water Supply Issues
Solutions to the Nation's Water Supply Issues
Demand Mitigation
Supply Enhancement
Demand Mitigation
Supply Enhancement
Pricing
Conservation activities
Management approaches
Technology approaches
Pricing
Conservation activities
Management approaches
Technology approaches
Water transfers
Upgrade impaired waters
Water transfers
Upgrade impaired waters
Dam and diversion
Improve reuse rates
Dam and diversion
Improve reuse rates
8
National Research Council on Technology and
Water Supply

• As scarcity continues to intensify, the search
  for new supplies can be enhanced by
• 1) the development of new supply-enhancing
  technology and
• 2) reducing the costs of some existing
  technologies.

NRC Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources
Research in the 21st Century. June 2001
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Desalination as a Solution
Saline Aquifers
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Benefits of Desalination

• Increased supply from non-traditional sources
• Drought proofing
• Local control
• Regional redundancy, security
• High quality supply
• Reduced costs, improved technology
• Avoid competition for limited water sources
  (agricultural, urban, environmental)

11
Water Resources May be Augmented by New Technology

• The single most frequent failure
• in the history of forecasting has been
• grossly underestimating
• the impact of technologies

Peter Schwartz from The Art of the Long View
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Potential Uses for Desalination Technologies

• Major Metropolitan Areas
• Industries Requiring Pure Water
• Rural and Native American Drinking Water
• Treatment of Produced Water from Coal Bed Methane
  Production
• With significantly lower costs - Agriculture

13
Desalination Costs
Sea Water Desal 650 - 1000/ac-ft Brackish
Desal 325 - 650/ac-ft

• Water rental/purchase in NM 350/ac-ft
• MWD rate ca. 500/ac-ft
• Conservation 350 - 500/ac-ft
• Water Recycling 400 - 800/ac-ft
• Bottled Water (based on 1/liter)
  1,200,000/ac-ft

Very dependent on chemical make up of brackish
water
14
Worldwide Capacity of MSF and RO
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
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MSF in Saudi Arabia
from The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDA
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MSF Unit in Saudi Arabia
from The ABCs of Desalting, available from IDA
17
Seawater RO in Spain
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Seawater RO in Tampa Bay, Florida
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Seawater RO in Tampa Bay, Florida
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Decline in Seawater Desalination CostsRepresents
Evolution in Technology and Facility Size
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
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SWRO Improvements
10.00
9.00
Cost
8.00
Productivity
Reciprocal Salt Passage
7.00
Membrane Life
Energy Recovery
6.00
Unit Improvement (1980 base)
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
1990
1980
1985
1995
2000
2010
2005
Year
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
22
Improvement in Energy Consumption(SWRO)
from Dave Furukawa, 2003
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Water Production from Seawater per Unit Energy
VARI-ROTM, USBR report no. 33
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NUMBER OF DESALTING PLANTS BY STATE
0 1-5 6-19 20-99 gt 100
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Plants Proposed Around the U.S.
Brackish Seawater
U.S. Desalination Coalition, 2003
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Opportunities to Further Reduce Costs

• Low to No Further Cost Reduction Potential
• Creative Financing
• Co-location with existing power plants
• Some opportunity from regionalization
• Need to encourage utilities to join together
• Highest Potential
• Better technology through RD and Technology
  Transfer which can also help to enhance
  competition in industry

27
Desalination Research Roadmap

• Partnership between Reclamation and Sandia
  National Labs
• www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/desal.html
• Executive Committee
• Resource economist, public health expert, head of
  large utility, political scientist, university
  professors, desalination consultants
• National Research Council Review

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Architecture of the Roadmap Process
APPENDIX 1 Figure 1 Needs-based Water Roadmap
Process Outline  
Figure 1B Needs-based Water Roadmap
Process PROGRAM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT    
DEFINING AND PRIORITIZING PROBLEMS TO BE
ADDRESSED        

II. NEEDS (with defined goals and metrics)  
III. CONTEXT EXTERNALITIES A. Current B. Future
state    
IV. CHARACTERIZE NEEDS DOMAIN

III. CONTEXT A. Current

IV. CHARACTERIZE NEEDS -Interplay of
Figure 1A Needs-based Water Roadmap Process
I. VISION 2020  

• Trends, scenarios
•  

VII. DEFINE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS/COMPETENCIES AND
GAPS A. CURRENT (KNOWN) 1. Technologies (current
and evolving) 2. Conservation 3. Distribution 4.
Institutional change 5. Etc. 6. Combinations of
technologies / approaches B. EVOLVING /
UNKNOWN
VIII. EVALUATE

• Politics

II. NEEDS (with defined goals and metrics  
  I. VISION 2020  
Interplay of
Criteria  

• Constituency

• Policy

• Quality health/environ. Issues Security (safe)

V. DEFINE PROBLEMS / VALUE PROPOSITIONS TO BE
ADDRESSED
Constraints Context Stakeholders Trade
offs/decisions  

• Sustainability

VI. PRIORITIZE PROBLEMS / VALUE PROPOSITIONS  

• Availability quantity, when and where needed
  (adequate)

• Geographic/Demographic

• Desalination (different types)

• Program domain

•  

IX. SELECT RESEARCH TARGETS   Applied/development
  Adapt/dissemination   Exploratory    
IX. SELECT RESEARCH TARGETS    
Applied/development   Adapt/dissemination  
Exploratory    

• Affordability

VII. DEFINE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS / COMPETENCIES
AND GAPS A. CURRENT (KNOWN) B. EVOLVING / UNKNOWN
VIII. EVALUATE

• Thermal

V. DEFINE PROBLEMS/VALUE PROPOSITIONS

• Trade-offs cost-benefit in terms of impact on
  needs

• Other

• Portfolio mix

X. ROADMAPPING / PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (ongoing,
includes scenario planning and responding to
experience and change)   Iterate back as roadmap
and as implement program
X. ROADMAPPING / PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (ongoing,
includes scenario planning and responding to
experience and change)   Iterate back as roadmap
and as implement program
VI. PRIORITIZE PROBLEMS         Consequences,
now and in the future         Cross-impact
(multiplier, cascading effects)  
XI. DESIGN , IMPLEMENT PROGRAM         
Costs          Timing         Regular, ongoing
review monitoring of operating environment    

• Stage of development, life-cycle, experience
  curves, prospects at varying levels of
  investment, technical feasibility, weaknesses

XI. DESIGN, IMPLEMENT PROGRAM        
Costs         Timing         Regular, ongoing
review monitoring of operating environment    

• Remaining gaps

• Water type (source)

• Stakeholders (how needed, interest)

• other

VISION 2020
DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE FUTURE COST SCENARIOS
DEFINE HIGH LEVEL NEEDS - Geographic Case Studies
DEFINE CRITICAL OBJECTIVES - Define High-Level
Objectives - Identify Specific Performance
Metrics Targets
IDENTIFY TECHNOLOGY AREAS AND SPECIFIC RESEARCH
NEEDS - Basic Science and Technology Areas -
Specific RD Needs

• Capabilities / competencies

• Other constraints
• B. Future state

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Roadmap Development - Vision
By 2020, desalination and water purification
technologies will contribute significantly to
ensuring a safe, sustainable, affordable, and
adequate water supply for the Unites States.

• Safe
• Meet drinking water standards
• Meet agriculture and industry standards
• Enhance water security
• Sustainable
• Meet todays need without compromising our future
  supplies
• Affordable
• Provide future water at a cost comparable to
  todays
• Adequate
• Assure local and regional availability through
  periods of episodic shortages (droughts)

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Coastal Urban Communities

• Current Challenges
• 54 of the US population lives in coastal
  regions and this percentage is growing
  therefore, demand must be managed.
• Tampa Bay manage aquifer replenishment and
  pressure on environment
• Southern California reduce reliance on Colorado
  River Water
• Coastal Texas manage subsidence and balance
  water demands

• Desalination Needs
• Reduce the cost of desalting seawater
• Maintain biologic stability of reclaimed water
• Reduce reliance on surface water to protect
  estuaries and coastal regions
• Decrease reliance on remote sources of water

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Inland Urban Areas

• Current Challenges
• Sustainability is questionable
• Provide affordable water and address the need for
  reclamation and reuse
• Assure adequate supplies through increased
  recycling, upgrading impaired water, mitigating
  demand, and purchasing water rights

• Desalination Needs
• Reduce the cost and enable the disposal of
  concentrate
• Reduce the cost for desalination processes
• Develop beneficial uses for concentrate
• Manage salt on a regional basis

Drought Map
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Rural Inland Communities

• Current Challenges
• Provide adequate, affordable supplies of water
  for agriculture and municipal consumers while
  ensuring that aquatic environments are protected.

• Desalination Needs
• Reduce capital and operating costs
• Protect water quality
• Characterize the saline aquifers

Saline Aquifers
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Oil, Gas and Coal Basins

• Current Challenges
• Opportunity to convert produced water disposal
  cost to new water supply
• Coal-bed methane production techniques are
  unsuited to produced water injection

• Desalination Need
• Develop cost effective pretreatment technologies
  for small hydrocarbon residuals
• Facilitate cost effective disposal of concentrate
• Assure water quality standards are met

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The Mid Atlantic

• Current Challenges
• Protect water supply for public health and
  sanitation from environmental hazards
• Keep surface water flowing in streams, lakes,
  estuaries and bays
• Prevent groundwater overdraft

• Likely Derivative Benefits from Desalination
  Advances
• Assure safety of water in heavily-urbanized areas
  through on-demand removal technologies for
  emerging contaminants
• Develop true indicators of contaminants

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Critical Objectives Driven by the Need to Keep
Water Affordable

• Near-term Critical Objectives
• Reduce capital cost by 20
• Increase energy efficiency by 20
• Reduce operating costs by 20
• Reduce cost of ZLD by 20

• Long-term Critical Objectives
• Reduce capital cost by 80
• Increase energy efficiency by 80
• Reduce operating costs by 80
• Reduce cost of ZLD by 80

36
Critical Objectives Driven by the Need to Ensure
Adequate Supplies/Sustainability

• Near-term Critical Objectives
• Maintain stability of reclaimed waters over time
• Decrease cost of reclaimed waters by 25
• Beneficial use 5 of concentrate
• Reduce average reject to 15 for non-surface
  water applications

• Long-term Critical Objectives
• Decrease cost of reclaimed waters by 80
• Beneficial use 15 of concentrate
• Reduce average reject to 5 for non-surface water
  applications

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Six Technology Areas

• Membrane Technologies
• Thermal Technologies
• Recycling/Reuse Technologies
• Concentrate Management Technologies
• Alternative Technologies
• Cross Cutting Technologies

38
National Need Keep Water Affordable
NEAR-TERM

• Near-term Critical Objectives
• Reduce capital cost by 20
• Increase energy efficiency by 20
• Reduce operating costs by 20
• Reduce cost of ZLD by 20

• Thermal Technologies
• Forward osmosis
• Clathrate sequestration
• Hybrid membrane and thermal
• Membrane Technologies
• Basic research to improve permeability
• Minimize resistance
• Model/test non-spiral configurations
• Develop new methods of reducing/recovering energy
  
• Integrate membrane and membrane system designs
• Reuse/Reclamation Technologies
• Pretreatment
• Filtration
• Biological coating (disinfectant)
• Research to enable prediction of migration and
  recovery through aquifers
• Novel Technologies
• Capacitive desal

• Mid/long-term Critical Objectives
• Reduce capital cost by 80
• Increase energy efficiency by 80
• Reduce operating costs by 80
• Reduce cost of ZLD by 80

MID/LONG-TERM

• Concentrate Management Technologies
• Create a super concentrate technology
  complete solidification of residuals and 100
  recapture of water
• Cross-cutting Develop methods of
  immobilizing/sequestering the concentrate stream
• Cross-cutting Develop beneficial uses for the
  concentrate stream to improve the economics of
  disposal for ZLD processes.
• Reuse/Reclamation Technologies
• Enhanced membrane bioreactor technology
• Document the lifecycle economics of water reuse
  for various applications
• Novel Technologies
• Magnetics
• Nanotechnology (active/smart membranes)

Cost of Desalinated Water Decreases
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Research Demonstration

• Create options
• Share risk of RD investment
• Show how new technologies and practices may be
  more sustainable
• Provide information on cost-effectiveness,
  reliability
• Create and share knowledge
• Create confidence in technologies science

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Current Activities Inland Brackish Water
Photovoltaic/Reverse Osmosis
Tularosa Basin Facility
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Current Activities Inland Brackish Water
Enhanced Evaporation - Concentrate Disposal
Dewvaporation
42
Current Activities Recycling and Reuse
Zenon Membrane Bioreactor
Mitsubishi Membrane Bioreactor
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Current Activities Seawater Desalination
Nano/Nanofiltration
High Efficiency High Pressure Pump
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Current Activities Seawater Desalination
MF/UF Pretreatment for Reverse Osmosis
Modeling of Seawater Concentrate
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Current Activities Irrigation Return Flows
Large-scale reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis treatment in the San Joaquin
Valley
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Next Steps

• Current solicitation for laboratory, pilot, and
  demonstration projects
• In-house studies on net new water, water
  portfolio
• Identify obstacles physical, financial,
  institutional, regulatory
• Tools
• Continuation of Roadmapping activities
• National Research Council proposal
• Additional activities

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Next Steps

• Desalination Clearinghouse
• USGS study of brackish sources
• Reauthorization of the Water Desalination Act of
  1996
• World Bank, WHO, FAO, MEDRC

48
Alcatraz Island A Search for Sustainability

• No fresh water on island
• 1.4 Million visitors/year
• 5300 people on an average summer day
• 2-5k turned away
• Sold out 10 days in advance
• Special events (1-2/month)
• 80 staff working daily

49
Alcatraz Island A Search for Sustainability

• Fix cisterns and capture rainwater
• Reuse
• Desalination
• Renewable energy

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Information Available from the Bureau of
Reclamation
Membrane Concentrate Disposal Manual WTCost
Water treatment cost estimation program sponsored
by AMTA DesalNet- 50 years of full text desal
literature database sold through
AWWA Desalination Planners Handbook Program
Homepage - www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/desal.html New
sletter - www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/wfw.html Reports
- www.usbr.gov/pmts/water/reports.html
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The End
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Issues Identified by the California Task Force

• Siting
• Feedwater Intake
• Concentrate Management
• Energy
• Economic
• Planning
• Desalination and Public Health
• Co-Located Facilities
• Regulatory and Permitting

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Seawater Desalination Findings from the
California Coastal Commission

• Public review period ends Nov. 7, 2003
• Coastal Act doesnt support or oppose desal
• Each facility assessed case-by-case
• Policies different for public or private desal
  facilities
• Most significant effect will be on marine
  organisms, primarily brine discharge and
  entrainment
• www.coastal.ca.gov/energy/Th9b-8-2003.pdf