Desalination, 2nd Edition

Chapter 16Future Expectations

Patrick V. Brady¹ and Michael M. Hightower²

¹Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 87185

²University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 87131

Abstract

Increased water demands by municipalities, industry, agriculture, and power generation will drive higher intensity recycling of water and an increased reliance on treated impaired waters, as well as seawater desalination. Impaired waters include municipal wastewater, agricultural return flows, and produced water from oil and gas. “Treat to need” will gain greater prominence as a guide for the deployment of desalination and water treatment technologies. But for some impaired waters with particularly high salt content, treatment will aim simply for volume reduction prior to deepwell injection. The focus of oil producers on the effect of water treatment on oil recovery will increase.

Keywords: Impaired waters, desalination, zero liquid discharge, biomimetic-membranes

16.1 Introduction

In the coming years demand for water for drinking, agriculture, and industry can be expected to grow. Because primary water supplies are increasingly allocated, or over-allocated, there will be greater reliance on advanced water treatment that targets non-traditional, impaired waters – municipal wastewaters, oilfield produced waters, inland brines, and seawater. Membrane filtration will play a central role as will its associated technologies of pre-treatment, scale and biofouling inhibition, ...