by Current Status of Global Fresh Water Resources
The world is facing severe freshwater scarcity issues as demand continues to outpace supply. Only 3% of the earth’s water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is frozen in glaciers or otherwise unavailable for direct human use. The majority of readily available freshwater is already being utilized, leaving little surplus. By some estimates, over 1.2 billion people globally lack access to safe drinking water. Several regions have seen water tables decline at unsustainable rates due to over extraction. With population growth and increasing standards of living driving further water demand, conventional freshwater sources alone will not be able to meet needs in the coming decades.
Rise of Global Water Desalination as a Supplemental Source
Given the limited potential for expanding conventional freshwater supplies, seawater desalination has emerged as an important supplemental source of new Global Water Desalination By removing salt and other minerals from seawater, desalination plants can convert it into potable water suitable for municipal, industrial and irrigation uses. Total global desalination capacity has grown significantly in recent decades and now exceeds 100 million cubic meters per day. Major growth has been driven by water-scarce countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water at over 4 million cubic meters per day. Other major desalting nations include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Algeria and Israel.
Types of Global Water Desalination Technologies
There are two primary types of desalination technologies in use globally – thermal distillation and membrane processes. Thermal distillation works by boiling seawater and then condensing the steam into distilled fresh water. This is an energy-intensive process achieved through either multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) plants or multi-effect distillation (MED) systems. Membrane-based desalination employs reverse osmosis (RO) technology that pushes seawater through a semi-permeable membrane under high pressure, filtering out salts on a molecular level. RO plants make up over 60% of global desalination capacity due to their lower operational costs compared to thermal distillation. Hybrid designs are also being explored that combine thermal and membrane stages. Technologies continue advancing to further lower energy demands and desalination costs.
Environmental Impacts from Desalination
While seawater desalination helps augment freshwater supplies in arid regions, it also carries some environmental impacts that must be addressed. The concentrated brine discharge from desalination facilities can damage marine ecosystems if not properly diluted and dispersed. Thermal desalination plants in particular require energy inputs from fossil fuels that lead to greenhouse gas emissions. There are also economic and social impacts, as desalination projects require considerable upfront capital investments and longer-term operation and maintenance costs. These are passed on to consumers in the form of higher water tariffs. Proper siting of facilities, use of environmental safeguards and energy efficiency improvements can help mitigate undesirable impacts while maximizing sustainability and social benefits of desalination.
Future Potential and Global Water Desalination Expansion
With climate change increasing water stress in many parts of the world, seawater desalination presents an important strategic option to diversify municipal water portfolios and shore up long-term security of supply. Other regions well positioned to scale up desalination capacity include the United States, Australia, India, China and Spain. Global energy markets and lower solar/renewable costs also make desalination more viable across broader geographies. Multilateral development institutions are working to promote seawater desalination projects in developing nations through financing, training and technical support initiatives. With projected market growth of 5-7% annually over the medium term, desalination capacity worldwide is on track to more than double from current levels by 2030 according to industry analysts. This scale up would necessitate over $100 billion in infrastructure investments but deliver critical social and economic benefits through reliable access to fresh water.
The Potential of Renewable Energy Driven Desalination
Transitioning the energy source for desalination away from traditional fossil fuels towards renewable options could help reduce emissions and lower long-term costs. Solar and wind energy are being increasingly utilized to power desalination facilities through both grid-supply as well as dedicated on-site renewable generation. Several pilot projects and commercial installations worldwide showcase this potential. For example, a 6,000 cubic meter/day RO plant in Al Dar’iya, Saudi Arabia, is fully powered by a solar photovoltaic array. Other pioneering projects include an 8,000 cubic meter/day hybrid solar-power desalination plant in Algeria and a planned hybrid wind-solar desalination complex in Western Australia. Technological innovations and market-based mechanisms supporting renewable energy desalination integration could pave the way for large scale adoption and a more sustainable model of freshwater production from seawater.
Seawater desalination is becoming integral to addressing freshwater demands in arid regions and augmenting municipal water portfolios worldwide. While infrastructure investments remain substantial, this approach can boost long-term water security in a climate constrained world. With energy efficiency gains and renewable integration accelerating, desalination also presents opportunities to develop coastal economies sustainably. Improved environmental safeguards and solutions will further maximize freshwater benefits while mitigating downsides from desalination projects globally.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.
