571 – Daily Problem

4/5/2017

Desalination and
Water Pumping

By,
Udit Gupta
Look up the average water consumption per capita in the US, including industry but not
including agriculture (e.g., the ENG 471 talk).
Elimelich’s article gives current values for the energy required to desalinate ocean
seawater from an average salt concentration of 35 g/L to a level acceptable for drinking.
Problem 1: What would be the daily energy cost, in kW-hr per person per day, to provide
all the non-agricultural water via desalination from the ocean?
Solution:

Problem 2: What is the smallest energy demand possible, as dictated by the laws of
thermodynamics?
Solution: The theoretical minimum energy of desalination for seawater at 35g/L and at a typical
recovery of 50% is 1.06 kWh/m3.