Environmental impact

Seawater desalination is an increasingly common means to meet the demand for freshwater. Resulting wastewater discharges can, however, impact biota of the surrounding environment. Concern exists that interactive effects specific to the outputs of each desalination plant may result in unique impacts d

Most Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies did not quantify the aquatic eco-toxic potential (aquatic ETP) of the brine disposal mainly due to the limitation of current life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) approaches. The purpose of this study is to develop an improved approach for assessing the aquatic

The occurrence of emerging or newly identified contaminants in our water resources is of continued concern for the health and safety of consuming public. The existing conventional water treatment plants were not designed for these unidentified contaminants. The endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)

Environmental impact assessment will soon become a compulsory phase in future potable water production projects, especially when alternative treatment processes such as desalination are considered. An impact assessment tool is therefore developed for the environmental evaluation of potable water pro

Desalination of seawater has become an important and growing industry due to the present water shortage in some Mediterranean countries. This activity may result in some environmental impacts, mainly generated by the discharge into the sea of the brine produced, which can affect marine benthic commu

Desalination of seawater accounts for a worldwide water production of 24.5 million m3 /day. A “hot spot” of intense desalination activity has always been the Arabian Gulf, but other regional centers of activity emerge and become more prominent, such as the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, or the c

Efficient software was used for the comparison of five alternative scenarios for the treatment of cheese whey wastewater resulting from a Cheddar cheese factory. Scenario 1 deals with a cheese whey wastewater treatment plant that produces butter, whey protein concentrate and food-grade ethanol. In s

Nanofiltration is an effective technique in improving the organic matter removal from coagulated surface water, but the process should also be economically feasible and environmentally sustainable when applied. Cost and environmental impact of nanofiltration installed after conventional surface wate

More than 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip depends on desalinated water for drinking purposes. About 90% of the groundwater is unacceptable for drinking as a result of contamination by nitrate and chloride. One of the major options for resolving the water problems is the utilization of desali

Desalination plants are increasingly regarded as a tool to preserve natural water resources and therefore as a means to protect the environment. Furthermore desalination plants are performing a public service which (for social reasons) take precedence over any other kind of industrial activity. Neve