Overview of coastal discharges for brine, heat and wastewater

Abstract

Environmental impacts of discharges into the marine environment have become a major issue in the United States and the European Union over the past decade. With the growing demand for freshwater, the capacity of seawater desalination systems using the reverse osmosis process is also rapidly growing. Therefore, the discharge of the concentrate (brine) from these facilities requires careful management to avoid the impacts of denser than seawater discharges that can adversely affect marine benthic communities. This section of the book covers new advances in the siting, design of discharge dispersion systems, evaluation of nearshore discharge systems locations, monitoring, and evaluation of environmental impacts of SWRO concentrate discharge systems.