June 2011, Volume 2, No.

3 International Journal of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region
Ali Berktay
Dept of Environmental Engineering, Selcuk University, 42075, Campus, Konya, TURKEY. (Former Visiting Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, UAE.) e-mail: aberktay@selcuk.edu.tr

Abstract
Water is desalinated in order to be converted to unsalted (fresh) water which is suitable for human consumption or irrigation. The process produces salt as a by-product. It is also used on many seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of fresh water is limited. Large-scale desalination typically uses extremely large amounts of energy as well as specialized, expensive infrastructure, making it very costly compared to the use of fresh water from rivers or groundwater. The large energy reserves of many Middle Eastern countries, along with their relative water scarcity, have led to extensive construction of desalination in this region. The marine Cochlodinium polykrikoides is one of several taxon responsible for the ecologically and economically important phenomenon known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly referred to as red tides. A phenomenon known as a red tide is actually the result of an algal bloom, an event in which marine or fresh water algae accumulate rapidly in the water. The effect of excessive algae on fish can be lethal. It produces oxygen radicals which can damage fish gills, possibly leading to suffocation. These Cochlodinium species are known as responsible for severe and widespread HABs in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The red tide causes of killing thousands of tons of fish and limiting traditional fishery operations, damaging coral reefs, impacting coastal tourism, and forcing the closure of desalination plants in the region. Some red tides are associated with the production of natural toxins, depletion of dissolved oxygen or other harmful impacts, and are generally described as harmful algal blooms. The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. This study mainly deals with the desalination processes operated in the Middle East area, the problems such as red tide encountered throughout the processes as well as their environmental concerns. As Arabian Gulf Countries rely on desalination plants as the primary source of freshwater for populations, agriculture, and industry, the disruption of plant operations by recurring of red tide poses a serious threat to the potable water supply and represents an unprecedented HABs impact. Desalination projects require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study to determine the impact the project can have on the environment. The EIA considers all environmental parameters and criteria. It evaluates the potential impacts to air, land, and marine environments and also proposes mitigation measures to reduce environmental impacts.

Keyword: desalination, marine pollution, redtides, cochlodiniun.

1. Introduction
Environmental issues related to desalination process major factor in the design and implementation of desalination technologies. An acceptable desalination plant is expected to meet environmental regulations; be cost-effective in terms of construction, operation and management, as well as the costs associated with monitoring and permit fees. Many countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia rely almost entirely on desalination for their potable water needs. Indeed, it is proven technology and helped alleviate freshwater scarcity in the Middle East for more than 20 years. Despite the high energy demands, capital costs and environmental concerns, desalination appears to be a savior for low rainfall occurring countries such as UAE and Saudi Arabia. Although the negative impacts has been reported at existing plants, equally positive aspects exist in that desalination aids and maintains industry, agricultural production, and helps preserve existing natural water resources. The pumping of seawater causes not only coning but also lowers close by seawater levels thus helping restrict saline intrusion into coastal aquifers. However, environmental concerns such as emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, noise, and pollution caused by discharge of concentrates are important considerations and should be investigated before desalination option is undertaken [1]. 1.1 Possible Environmental Effects The construction process can be time-consuming, inconvenient, loud, and disruptive to the environment. It is ideal to have as little construction as necessary. If the fuel resources, electricity connection, and water connections are near the proposed plant site, then there will be less construction. Existing nearby infrastructure

Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region decreases the construction impact even more. After construction begins, planners should begin to develop an environmental monitoring plan to track issues identified in the earlier stages that will help monitor the projects success toward meeting the established guidelines. Management plans are also necessary during the plants operation to ensure consistent environmental acceptability [2]. Construction of water intake structures and pipelines to carry feed water and concentrate discharge may cause disturbances to environmentally sensitive areas. Concentrates are high in salinity and may contain low concentrations of chemicals as well as elevated temperatures. These properties of concentrate can pose problems for the marine habitats and receiving water environments. Environmental impact studies are necessary to protect environmentally sensitive areas. The potential contamination of groundwater aquifers in the proximity of desalination plants can be an environmental concern. There is a risk of polluting the groundwater from the drilling process when installing feed water pumps. Leakage from pipes that carry feed water into the desalination plant and highly concentrated brine out of the plant may percolate underground and cause damage to groundwater aquifers. To prevent this, plants should include sensors and monitoring devices and workers should notify plant operators if leaks develop in the pipes [3]. Desalination projects require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study to determine the impact the project can have on the environment. The EIA considers all environmental parameters and criteria. It evaluates the potential impacts to air, land, and marine environments and also proposes mitigation measures to reduce environmental impacts. The EIA report discusses the chosen desalination process, the emissions the process will generate, the implications the facility will have on the environment, the considerations to be made about the energy supply, the benefits the facility will have on the community, and the proposed mitigation measures to reduce problems associated with the facility [4]. Desalination is the process of removing dissolved salts from seawater, brackish water, river water, or other water effluent. The process requires vast amount of energy and was considered less viable in 1970s when the energy consumption requirements were over 20kWh/m3 (20kWh to desalinate one cubic meter of water). The energy demands are much less today. Most plants require around 3-20 kWh/m3; when the minimum theoretical energy is required to convert seawater to potable water is 0.7 kWh/m3 [5]. The most widely applied technologies fall into two categories; Distillation based thermal (eg. Mutli-Stage Flash (MSF) / Multi-Effect Distillation (MED), Mechanical Vapour Compression (MVC) and Membrane based methods (eg. Reverse Osmosis (RO), Electrodialysis and Nanofiltration. A common RO process for water desalination is illustrated in Figure 1. Another aspect of the pollution is the disposal of brine to seawaters such as the ocean. If such discharge products are released into surface seawater, the properties of the concentrated discharge products including chemicals that are not treated may cause problems for the marine habitats and receiving water environments. This is mainly due to the higher density of concentrate discharge compared to seawater that generally sinks to the bottom layers. Desalination projects require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study and the EIA should identify all critical environmental parameters and evaluate potential impacts to air, land, and marine environments. There are five aspects to the impact of desalination plants on the environment. Adverse effect on land use: Seashores serve as the sites for industrial plants and for pumping stations rather than for recreation and tourism. Impact on the aquifer: Leakage from the pipes may result in penetration of salt water and therefore presents a danger to the aquifer. Impact on the marine environment: As a result of returning the concentrated brine to the sea. Impact of noise: Desalination plants require high pressure pumps and turbines, which produces noise. Intensive use of energy: An indirect impact on the environment due to increase production of electricity. The duty of environmental impact services (EIS) is to propose mitigation measures to reduce environmental impacts to safe levels but also discuss benefits the facility may offer to the community. A well designed mitigation measures will reduce possible problems associated with the facility in the future [6]. 1.2 Concentrate Management Desalination plants generate two products (clean water) and concentrate (reject or residual stream). Proponents recognize that cost-effective and environmentally sensitive concentrate management can be significant obstacles in the widespread use of desalination technologies. Proper concentrate disposal and construction methods incorporated in the plants design can mitigate the concentrates impact on the receiving water environments and groundwater aquifers. 1.3 Concentrate Characteristics Concentrate is the byproduct from desalination. Concentrates are generally liquid substances that may contain up to 20% of the treated water. Brine is a concentrate stream that contains a TDS concentration greater than 36 psu. Critical concentrate parameters are TDS, temperature, and specific weight (density). The concentrate may also contain low amounts of certain chemicals used during pretreatment and post-treatment (cleaning) processes. Characteristics of the generated concentrate depend on the type of desalination technology used. The amount of concentrate produced from a desalination plant is a factor of the desalination process

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Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region recovery rate (product water/feed water). Generally, membrane plants have a higher recovery rate than distillation plants, resulting in a higher salt amount in the concentrate [7].

2. Location Of The Desalination Processes

Desalination, which processes fresh water from saltwater sources, has truly come of age in the last decade. According to the International Desalination Association (IDA), desalination is used in more than 100 countries, with more than half the freshwater output used in the Middle East and Northern Africa [9]. Saudi Arabia tops the list, using close to 25 percent of worldwide desalination output produced in its more than 2,000 plants. By comparison, the United States, ranked second worldwide in desalination use, produces about 16 percent of the total output. The water problem is not only an environmental issue; it is also an economic and security problem. The authorities need to in order to secure water needs in short, medium and long term for different sectors by using different policy options, technology techniques, or even political pressure and deals that can secure water supplies from allying countries. Energy and desalination are also major concerns in the Middle East and Persian Gulf countries because of the heat and humidity of the summer months, power plants are built to meet a high demand. There is no way to shut those energy plants down in the winter months, when demand is low, so energy is being wasted. One of the points is to use this energy rather than throwing it away. So it is the subject of to use it to desalinate more water and store it. This can be and is done. Thermal desalination plants, which use heat, evaporation and condensation to collect freshwater, are often built in conjunction with power plants so the waste heat from the power plant runs the desalination plant. The Arabian Gulf is a semi-enclosed, shallow (average 30 m in depth), subtropical sea surrounded by a large, arid land mass. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman by the Strait of Hormuz, which restricts water exchange between these two water bodies. Due to this unusual physical environment, the Arabian Gulf experiences marked temperature extremes a typical of seas at similar latitude, with hot, dry, tropical conditions during the summer and temperate conditions during the winter. In addition to extreme variations in temperature, the Arabian Gulf also experiences substantial fluctuations in salinity levels, which can exceed 70 psu in some areas. High salinity levels are driven by strong evaporation, which exceeds combined rainfall and freshwater inputs by over a factor of ten. Circulation in the Gulf is in an anti clockwise motion, driven primarily by density gradients, creating a reverse estuarine flow similar to the circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. Water enters the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, moves northwards along the Iranian coast, while a secondary coastal current flows southerly along the northern Iranian coast, against the inflow water in the Strait of Hormuz, driven by density differences from river runoff in the northern Gulf. A southward coastal flow moves along the southwestern coastline of the Arabian Gulf, where stagnation and evaporation in the southern areas increases salinities to 40 psu. This denser water sinks and flows towards the entrance of the Gulf,

Figure 1: The process of desalination through reverse osmosis [6].

Concentrate produced from seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants can have up to two times more salt concentration than the receiving water, while the concentrate produced from a distillation process may have only a 10 percent higher salt concentration than the receiving water. In distillation processes, the system mixes the concentrate with once-through cooling water to dilute the salt concentration. The concentrate from distillation processes is typically warmer, 8-10C above the ambient water temperature. Concentrate temperature from the reverse osmosis process remains at the ambient water temperature. Specific weight (or density) is another critical concentrate parameter. Compared to freshwater, concentrate has a higher density due to the increased salt concentration. When concentrate with a higher density is disposed into waters of lower salinity (lower density), the concentrate tends to sink. In comparison, typical discharge from wastewater treatment plants will float, because its density is normally less than the receiving water. The tendency of the concentrate to sink when interacting with the receiving water introduces problems for the marine environment. In some cases, plants reduce the concentrate density by diluting it before being discharging it into receiving water. The concentrate disposal section discusses this in more detail. 1.4 Concentrate Disposal Methods At present, most common concentrate disposal method is surface disposal methods which include surface water disposal and submerged disposal. Some other concentrate disposal options include deep well injection, land application, evaporation ponds, brine concentrators, and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies [8].

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Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region where it lies beneath the incoming water. Circulation in the Gulf of Oman is dominated by a clockwise gyre in the west and a counter-clockwise gyre in the east, creating a region of upwelling along the Iranian coast at the interface between the two. A map of Arabian Gulf which host a number of desalination processes is shown in Figure 2. 2.1 Present Situations The water problem is not only an environmental issue; it is also an economic and security problem. The water authorities need to act in order to secure water needs in short, medium and long term for different sectors by using different policy options, technology techniques, or even political pressure and deals that can secure water supplies from allying countries. Since desalination plants are capital intensive, have a relatively short life expectancy along with high maintenance costs and damage the coastal ecosystem, governments in the region are exploring more cost effective and long serving solutions to meet growing water demand. Such scenarios reflect the growing problem of water shortage in the Persian Gulf region, presenting a significant challenge to the people and the governments. Scanty of rainfall together with high rates of evaporation and consumption have led to deficits in water budgets. Population growth, rapid urbanization and wasteful consumption patterns have added to the pressure. Statistics reveal that the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) countries have an urbanization level of

Figure 2: The Arabian Gulf which host a number of desalination processes

Table 1 Some Desalination Plants Planned In Construction Or In Operation [10]. Country Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA UAE AE Kuwait KW UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE UAE AE Bahrain BH Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA Saudi Arabia SA Location Shuaiba III Ras Al-Zour Al Jobail II Ex Jebel Ali M Al-Zour North Shuweihat Shuweihat 2 Fujairah II Qidfa Al Jobail Shuaiba III Jebel Ali L-2 Jebel Ali L-1 Jebel Ali N Taweelah B III Fujairah Umm Al Nar Mirfa Hidd 3 Al Jobail I Ext Al Jobail III Al Khobar IV Shuaiba IV Total Capacity (m3/day) 880,000 800,000 730,000 600,000 567,000 455,000 454,600 454,000 454,000 408,600 390,908 363,200 317,800 300,000 295,490 295,100 284,125 277,000 272,400 272,000 272,000 272,000 272,000 Source of Water SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA SEA Construction Start 2004 2004 2004 2008 2004 2001 2004 2004 2004 2004 2000 2004 2003 2010 2005 2001 2000 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004 2004 Operation Year 2007 2007 2007 2011 2007 2004 2006 2007 2006 2007 2003 2007 2005 2013 2008 2003 2002 2007 2006 2007 2006 2006 2007

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Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region about 85 percent. As a result, energy and desalination are major concerns in the Middle East and Persian Gulf countries, because of the heat and humidity of the summer months, power plants are built to meet a high demand. Those energy plants cannot be down in the winter months, when demand is low, so energy is being wasted. One of the points is why throwing away this energy, why not use it to desalinate more water and store it. This can be and is done. Thermal desalination plants, which use heat, evaporation and condensation to collect freshwater, are often built in conjunction with power plants so the waste heat from the power plant runs the desalination plant. The Persian Gulf meets an estimated 60 percent of its potable water needs through desalination. Another crucial issue to be covered is secure water storage. There is essentially very little ground water in all these Persian Gulf countries, so one of the things is that they have very little water reserve. In addition, since the Governments usually subsidize the cost of water, there is little incentive to conserve. Table 1 shows some of the desalination plants which planned, in construction, or in operation in the Middle East region. Another area of concern in desalination is the salt. Environmentalists have raised concerns over the waste product, known as brine, created by the process. Brine consists of mostly water and salts, along with some chemical byproducts that are filtered out in the desalination process. When desalination is used inland, solutions include dilution of the brine to minimize its ecological impact before putting it back into a river or sea, injecting it into underground aquifers, evaporating it to make rock salt and building pipelines to carry it to the sea. In the Persian Gulf, all that salt goes back into the sea. They do consider the environmental effects, and they do a lot to try to minimize any effects on ecosystems. Occurrence Of Red Tide The marine ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides Margalef is one of several taxon responsible for the ecologically and economically important phenomenon known as harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly referred to as red tides. Patches of red water (discoloration) were first observed in the port of Dibba Al-Hassan on the east coast of the UAE in late August 2008. Nearly two months later, red tide blooms and fish kills were observed there, from 21 to 23 October 2008. The bloom subsequently entered the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, spreading to coastal waters of the UAE, Qatar, and Iran. It also spread southwards along the east coast of the UAE to Fujairah and then south to Oman. The bloom was remarkably immense and severe, affecting more than 1200 km of coastline in the region and causing massive mortalities of wild and farmed fish as well as extensive coral reef damage. Near Fujairah, UAE, cell counts of 1.12.1x107 cells/L were recorded from surface waters during the bloom period 3. (October, 2008); salinity at the time of highest cell counts was 39 psu and water temperature was 27 8oC [11]. The news media reported concentrations as high as 27 million cells/L in some area [12]. The bloom forced the closures of at least five seawater desalination plants in the UAE due to clogging of intake filters, concerns that the bloom would irreversibly foul reverse osmosis membranes, or other operational problems caused by the dense blooms [13, 14]. There was also a concern that red tide toxins might end up in the finished, drinking water. Impacts were felt by coastal recreation and tourism, due in part to an unpleasant odor associated with the bloom that permeated coastal communities, and in part because of fears regarding the potential risk to swimmers. Regional news agencies reported that thousands of tons of fish and marine mammals were killed; in Dibba AlHassan, over 650 tons of dead fish washed ashore and in Khor Fakkan more that 700 tons were reported [13]. In the UAE, the bloom also restricted traditional fishing activities within eight miles of the eastern coast and three miles of the western coast. News reports described significant damage to coral reefs in the Dibba Marine Protected Zone, a marine protected area established by the UAE, and a scarcity of reef fish compared to population levels before the bloom [15]. In Iranian waters on the north side of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf, information regarding the blooms extent and impacts is scant; however, media reports describe the spread of the bloom along the Arabian Gulfs eastern coast, to the western coast in Khuzestan Province, with impacts to farmed fish and shrimp [16]. Flushing times in the Arabian Gulf are estimated to be approximately 35.5 years [17]; thus, once they enter the system, organisms able to survive the salinity changes and adapt to the Gulfs unusual climatic and environmental conditions may become established. Given the long residence time of water in the Arabian Gulf, the existence of a cyst stage in the Cochlodinium life cycle, and the pattern of this organisms blooms in other regions, it seems likely that there will be future blooms of C. polykrikoides in the Arabian Gulf. Recurrent blooms are also likely in the Gulf of Oman and western Arabian Sea, for many of the same reasons. As Arabian Gulf countries rely on desalination plants as the primary source of freshwater for populations, agriculture, and industry, the disruption of plant operations by recurring Cochlodinium blooms poses a serious threat to the drinking water supply in the region and represents an unprecedented HAB impact. The sudden emergence of C. polykrikoides in the Arabian Gulf and the catastrophic impacts of the 20082009 bloom clearly illustrate the need for coordinated monitoring programs for HAB species, as well as development and testing of protocols and/or technology to prevent desalination plant closures during severe HAB blooms.

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Environmental Approach and Influence of Red Tide to Desalination Process in the Middle East Region 4. Conclusion The stringent planning and monitoring is a critical aspect for the successful management of desalination plants. The site for the desalination plants should be selected carefully and should be away from residential areas particularly for forward planning for possible future expansions. Difficulties experienced by existing plants were often attributed to inadequate planning or less detailed environmental impact studies. A feasibility study together with environmental impact assessments should be conducted by appropriate authorities in relation to the proposed desalination plant and site. The concerning issues identified from existing plants are noise pollution, visual pollution, reduction in recreational fishing and swimming areas, emission of materials into the atmosphere, and most importantly pollution caused by product discharge and types of disposal methods used. The by product is usually termed the concentrate containing mainly of brine with concentration at times twice that of seawater. This discharge also includes traces of various chemicals used in cleaning including any anticorrosion products used in the plant. This discharge concentrate has to be treated to acceptable levels of each chemical before discharge but acceptable levels may vary depending on receiving waters and state regulations. The disposal is usually done on surface waters sometimes through surface piping while other times subsurface piping. Either way the high density of the discharge reaches the bottom layers of receiving waters and thus may affect marine life particularly at the bottom layers or boundaries. The longer term effects of such discharge concentrate has not been documented but it is possible that even small traces of toxic substances used in the cleaning of desalination process may be harmful to marine life and ecosystem generally. The plants require saline water input and discharge output piping. Leakage of the concentrate via cracks in rocks to aquifers is a concern and therefore appropriate monitoring of the piping and aquifer water quality is needed. Importantly, leakage monitoring devices ought to be attached to such piping during installation. The initial environment impact assessment should be critical enough to identify key parameters for monitoring during discharge processes and should recommend ongoing monitoring with devices attached to structures installed during construction of plants. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The presentation of this study in the conference was supported by Selcuk University, Scientific Research Fund (BAP). REFERENCES
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