Inland Desalination: Challenges and Research Needs

Abstract

Drought and population growth have both contributed to water scarcity in many inland areas of the United States, especially the Southwest. This has focused attention on inland desalination of subsurface brackish waters and wastewaters. Inland desalination will differ from seawater desalination because the byproduct brine (concentrate) produced during reverse osmosis treatment cannot be disposed of in the ocean. Moreover, inland brackish waters and wastewaters differ in composition from seawater, the former being dominated by calcium, carbonate and sulfate rather than sodium and chloride. Concentrate management for inland desalination will have to address basic salinity and sustainability issues, while smaller plant size and water pumping costs may lead to increased expenses for inland desalination plants. D