Renewable Energy Opportunities in Water Desalination

Desalination is a water-treatment process that separates salts from saline water to produce potable water or water that is low in total dissolved solids (TDS). Globally, the total installed capacity of desalination plants was 61 million m3 per day in 2008 [1]. Seawater desalination accounts for 67% of production, followed by brackish water at 19%, river water at 8%, and wastewater at 6%. Figure 1 show the worldwide feed-water percentage used in desalination. The most prolific users of desalinated water are in the Arab region, namely, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain [2].