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International Conference on

DEsalination, Environment and


Marine Outfall Systems
13-16 April 2014

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Photographs Courtesy: Paulo Domenichini, Italy and H.H, Al-Barwani, Oman

International Conference on
DEsalination, Environment and
Marine Outfall Systems

13-16 April 2014

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Table of Contents
Foreword

Keynote Speakers

Brine Disposal from Inland Desalination Plants in Oman: Problems and Opportunities
Mushtaque Ahmed

Modelling of Outfalls: Status Report and Outlook


Tobias Bleninger

Nanotechnology for the Treatment of Saline Water and Produced Water


Joydeep Dutta

Challenges in Applications of Renewable Energy Technologies for Desalination


Mattheus Goosen

Advances in Wastewater Treatment Technology Using Reverse Osmosis Membranes


Mohamed Hamoda

Desalination Process Advancement by Hybrid and New Material Beyond the SeaHERO R&D Project
In S. Kim

Swirl Valve for Brine Outfalls of SWRO Desalination Plants


Adrian Law

10

Reducing Carbon Footprint of Desalination


Neil Palmer

11

Methods of Brine Disposal from Seawater Desalination


Philip Roberts

12

Desalination from an Integrated Water Resources Management Perspective


Farhad Yazdandoost

13

Oral Presentations

14

Feasibility of using Desalination for Irrigation in the Souss Massa Region in the South of Morocco
Hirich Abdelaziz, Choukr-Allah Redouane, Rami Abdellatif and El-Otmani Mohamed

15

Use of Ceramic Membrane Technology for Sustainable Management of Oil Production Water
Mansour Al-Haddabi, Hari Vuthaluru, Mushtaque Ahmed and Hussein Znad

16

Achieving the Zero-Liquid-Discharge Target Using the Integrated Membrane System for Seawater Desalination
Sulaiman Al Obaidani, Mohammed Al-Abri and Nabeel Al-Rawahi

17

Environmental Impacts of Seawater Desalination on Marine Life in the Coastal Area of Oman
Abdelkader T. Ahmed, Mohamed H. Elsanabary and Brahim Askri

18

Small-Scale Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants Induced Brine Disposal Practices in the United Arab Emirates
Nurul Akhand, Mohamed AlMulla, Yousif Hedar and Basel AlAraj

19

Harmful Algal blooms in Oman Waters and Their Effect on Desalination Plants
Hamed Mohammed Al Gheilani

20

Minimizing the Impact of Red Tide Environmental Events on Safety Critical Equipment of a Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant
A.F. Al-Hinai , B.M. Alkali and M. El Sharif.

21

Prospects of Desalination for Irrigation Water in the Sultanate of Oman


Salem Ali Al-Jabri and Mushtaque Ahmed

22

Presence of THMs in Desalinated Water in Muscat


Aliaa Al-Kalbani, Zainab Ambu-Saidi, Sara Al-Kiyumi and Salwa Al-Rawahi

23

Thermal Performance of a Single Slope Solar Water Still with Enhanced Solar Heating System for Omani Climate
Abdullah M. Al-Shabibi and M. Tahat

24

Strategies for Addressing Sustainability Risks of Seawater Desalination Plants in the Arabian Gulf
Aliyu Salisu Barau

25

Hydrodynamic Modelling: Application of the Delft3D-FLOW in Santos Bay, Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Silene Cristina Baptistelli

26

Prediction of the Environmental Impact of Large Scale SeaWater Outfalls


M.C.M. Bruijs and H.J.G. Polman

27

Near Field Dilution of a Dense Jet Impinging on a Solid Boundary


G.C. Christodoulou, I.K. Nikiforakis, T.D. Diamantis and A.I. Stamou

28

The viability of Renewable energy and Energy storage as the Power Source for Municipal Scale Reverse Osmosis
Desalination
Clifford Dansoh

29

Mathematical Model study of the Effluent Disposal from a Desalination Plant in the Marine Environment at Tuticorin
D. R. Danish, B. V. Mudgal, G. Dhinesh and M. V. Ramanamurthy

30

Functional Appraisal of Marine Outfall for Domestic Waste Disposal Through Tracer Technique
Shivani Dhage, Ritesh Vijay and Prakash Kelkar

31

Overview of Different Approaches Simulating the Long Term Response to Climate Change and Coastal Effluents in
the Arabian Gulf
A. Elhakeem and W. Elshorbagy

32

Data Assimilation of Remote Sensing Images in a Portable Operational Forecasting Blooms System: Study case
Algae Blooms in the North Sea
G.Y. El Serafy

33

Brackish water in Some Coastal Wilayat in Oman: Analysis and Treatment Using Dehydrated Carbons
El-Said I. El-Shafey, Amal S. J. Al-Hadi and Salma M. Z. Al-Kindy

34

Impact of the Coastal Intake Environment on the Operating Conditions of Thermal Desalination Plants: A Case Study
in United Arab Emirates
W. E. Elshorbagy and A. H. Basioni

35

Intake Variation Effect on Water Quality for SWRO


Nour Fawal, Baghdad Ouddane and Jalal Halwani

36

Geometrical Characteristics of Inclined Negatively Buoyant Jets: A Numerical Approach


H. Kheirkhah Gildeh, A. Mohammadian, I. Nistor and H. Qiblawey

37

Treatment of Mixed Bed Ion Exchange Resins Regeneration Wastewater by Reverse Osmosis (RO) Method and
Determination of Operation Conditions
Karim Ghasemipanah and Abuzar, Rasti

38

Desalination Integration with Renewable Energy for Climate Change Abatement in MENA Region
Eman Hasan

39

Impact of Marine Outfall Systems on Environment: Indian Scenario


N. Jayaraju* and G. Sreenivasulu

40

Ultrafiltration of Seawater Impacted by Algal Organic Matter


Muhammad Tariq Khan, Jean Philippe Croue, Veronica G. Molina and Nasir Moosa

41

Monitoring of Phytoplankton Species and Associated Bacterial Populations in the Coastal Water of United Arab
Emirates
M. A. Khan, K. G. A. Qalandri, A. Sankaran, L. H. Adnani and U. AlAlami

42

Integrated using of Desalination Brine Effluent and Flue Gas for Growing of Cyanobacteria Spirulina
Abdolmajid Lababpour

43

Combining Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Missions with Hydroacoustic Current meters and Hydrodynamic Flow
Visualizations for the Evaluation of a Submerged offshore SWRO Concentrate Discharge
R. van der Merwe, T. Bleninger, D. Acevedo-Feliz, S. Lattemann and G. Amy

44

Hydrodynamic Modelling of Large-scale Cooling Water Outfalls with a Dynamically Coupled near field and far field
Modelling System
Robin Morelissen, Roland Vlijm and Intae Hwang

45

Formation of Emerging Disinfection Byproducts by Chlorination/Chloramination of Seawater Impacted by Algal


Organic Matter
M. Nihemaiti, J. Le Roux and J.P. Croue

46

Impacts of desalination effluents on macrobenthic assemblages in Bahrain,


Arabian Gulf
Humood Naser

47

BrIHne-Jet-Spreading: A New Model to Simulate the Near Field Region of Brine Jet Discharges
P. Palomar, J.L. Lara, L. Tarrade, and I.J. Losada

48

Numerical modeling of a Coaxial Buoyant Surface Discharge


AbolGhasem Pilechi, Abdolmajid Mohammadian, Colin D. Rennie and Hazim Qiblawey

49

Seawater Intakes for Desalination Plants: Design and Construction


Eloy Pita

50

Cost effective Fouling control in (cooling) Water intake Systems with Environmental and Operational Benefits
H.J.G. Polman and M.C.M. Bruijs

51

Environmental Quality Standards for Brine Discharge from Desalination Plants


Anton Purnama

52

CFD Techniques for Mixing and Dispersion of Desalination and other Marine Discharges
David Robinson, Matthew Piggott, Gerard Gorman and Matthew Wood

53

Photocatalytic Degradation of Divalent Metals under Sunlight Irradiation using Nanoparticle TiO2 Modified Concrete
Materials (Recycled Glass Cullet)
M.N. Rashed

54

Investigations into the Effects of Field Spacer Filament Spacings on Fouling Properties of Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Membrane Surfaces using Computational Fluid Dynamic Techniques
Asim Saeed, Rupa Vuthaluru and Hari B. Vuthaluru

55

Installation of Shore Approaches and Sealines with Trenchless Methods: Technologies and Case Studies
Peter Schmaeh

56

Power Plants in Northern Germany: Project Examples for Optimizing Intakes and Outfalls
Oliver Stoschek

57

Hydrodynamic and Thermal Dispersion Modeling of the Effluent in a Coastal Channel


Ahmad Sana

58

Mirfa IWPP: Plume Dispersion and Recirculation Modelling in a Complex Hydrodynamic Environment Using Scenario Based Adaptive Modelling
Fahd Shehhi, Fadi Makarem, Eiad Al Hawat, Robin Morelissen and Wilbert Verbruggen

59

The Effect of Fouling on Performance and Design Aspects of Multiple Effects Desalination Systems
F. Tahir, M. Atif and M.A. Antar

60

Modelling of Dense Brine Discharges in Oman: Recirculation and Environmental Aspects: A Case Study
Wilbert Verbruggen, Robin Morelissen, Carlos Martn Freixa and Naif Al-Abri

61

Web-based Rapid-assessment Tools for Designing Intake and Outfall Systems


Roland Vlijm*, Robin Morelissen and Wilbert Verbruggen

62

List of Conference Committees

63

Foreword
At present, the combined production capacity of all seawater desalination plants worldwide is 36 million cubic meters per day. It
is expected that this capacity will double in the next decade. 61% of the water is produced by thermal processes, mainly in the gulf
region, while 34% is produced by reverse osmosis (RO), which is the first choice in many countries that start to use desalination.
Worldwide, RO desalination capacity for both sea and brackish water represents 60% of the total desalination capacity. Besides
materials, higher salinity and temperature, all desalination plants use chemicals. Due to their large volume of brine discharges
through many types of outfall systems into the sea, from simple surface discharge through an open-channel to modern submerged
multiport outfall systems, desalination plants were included in the list of major sources of land-based marine pollution in the gulf by
the United Nations Environment Programme. Other main environmental concerns are the intakes, which may cause impingement
and entrainment of marine organisms, and energy use, causing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The need for resource-saving, low-impact green desalination technologies is evident as the use of desalination accelerates
in many parts of the world. The concept of best available techniques would be required at the identification of state of the art
technologies, processes, methods of operation, policies and programmes which indicate the practical suitability for preventing or
reducing pollution of the atmosphere, sea and land as well as the quantities of waste to reducing the impact on the environment as
a whole. The design and siting of submarine intakes and outfalls are complex tasks that rely on many disciplines.
Therefore, knowledge about the current desalination, marine outfall systems and issues related to environment is important for
the conservation of natural resources, improved technologies and practices to yield better management. An important aim of this
conference is to bring together scientists, professionals and regulators to communicate and exchange knowledge on environmental issues and management options associated with the desalination industry. Also, to develop and provide a platform to discuss
future research for environmental management in the desalination industry and marine intake and outfall systems and their designs.
We hope the participants of this international conference will learn from the presentations and for young Omani and Arab region
environmental scientists this will be a valuable learning experience.
Dr. Mahad Baawain, Director, CESAR
Chair, ICDEMOS, Organizing Committee

Keynote Speakers

Brine Disposal from Inland Desalination Plants in Oman: Problems and Opportunities
Mushtaque Ahmed
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: ahmedm@squ.edu.om
Desalination plants are widely used in inland areas of many countries including Oman to supply water for domestic purposes. In
the interior parts of Oman, there are large numbers of desalination plants, which are owned by the Ministry of Electricity & Water,
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Ministry of Health, Police and Ministry of Defense. One common aspect to all types of desalination plants is the production of brine. The amount of brine as a percentage of the feed water varies depending on the choice
of method, initial salinity of feed water, and factors affecting the choice of disposal method. It has been reported that RO plants,
in general, produced 25% of the total feed water flow as reject brine. The reject brine, also known as concentrate, reject water, or
wastewater, from these plants cannot be economically discharged to the ocean, as is done with most coastal desalination plants.
In such instances, evaporation ponds may be useful. In other cases, alternatives such as waste minimization, discharge to surface
water, discharge to wastewater treatment plants, deep well injection, land application, and wastewater evaporators may be appropriate.
Evaporation ponds have been used over the centuries to remove water from saline solution. Evaporation ponds are relatively
easy to construct, while requiring low maintenance and little operator attention compared to mechanical systems. And in many
instances evaporation ponds are frequently the least costly means of disposal, especially in areas with high evaporation rates
and low land costs. Disadvantages includes the need for large tracts of land when the evaporation rate is low or the disposal rate
is high, the need for impervious liners of clay or synthetic membranes such as PVC or Hypalon, and the potential of contaminating
underlying potable water aquifers through seepage from poorly-constructed evaporation ponds. Proper sizing of an evaporation
pond depends on accurate calculation of the annual evaporation rate. Higher evaporation rates will require smaller-sized ponds.
Pond size includes two components: surface area and depth. Pond depths ranging from 25 to 45 cm are optimal for maximizing the
rate of evaporation. It has been recommended that no salt should be removed from the pond for the first year or two of operation
so that a hardpan is permitted to develop at the base of the pond. This hardpan can only develop if the pond completely dries out
during the hottest periods of the year. Salt should be removed during the dry months. If salts are left in the pond for an extended
period of time, the storage volume is reduced and spillover can take place.
Increasing the evaporation rate would result in reduced pond size leading to savings in construction costs. Evaporation rates can
be increased by raising the water temperature, exposing more water surface area by spraying into the atmosphere, increasing the
vapor pressure difference between the surface and atmosphere, reducing surface tension or the bond between water molecules,
increasing the exposed surface area, increasing the wind velocity and ground air layer turbulence, increasing the surface roughness, and stirring the pond. Increasing the water temperature using a suitable dye can enhance the evaporation rate. Addition of
Naphthol Green dye increases the evaporation rate by 13%.
The newer plants in Oman have well designed lined evaporation ponds whereas the older ones have unlined disposal pits. From
field inspections, it appears that the lined evaporation ponds and disposal pits are not very effective. A lined evaporation pond prevents leakage resulting in increased concentration of salts and other chemicals in comparison to the wastewater that is dumped in
the pond. Water samples collected from some evaporation ponds in Oman showed little or no increase in concentrations of salts.
It was also observed during field visits that some of the recently constructed evaporation ponds had leaks that were clearly visible.
No salt build up was noticed and the amount of standing water in the ponds and the disposal pits was small. These are possible
indications of leakage from the ponds and the pits. Further in-depth investigations through water balance studies and monitoring
of groundwater under the evaporation ponds and disposal pits should be able to detect any significant leakage from such ponds
and pits.
Very little information is available on the cost of disposal from the plants. Analysis with limited cost data makes it clear that unit
cost of construction is reduced as the pond size is increased. Although there are other factors involved e.g. remoteness of the plant
location, distance from nearby towns, availability of local construction materials and labor etc. A survey of some plants in Oman
shows that capacities varied from 50 m3/d to a maximum of 1000 m3/day. The salinity level of reject brine varied from 9.8 to 61.2
dS/m (1 dS/m equals 640 parts per million concentration level). Heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Zn and Cr) were found at trace levels in the
3

brines. Various types of chemicals including chlorine, sulphuric acid, sodium meta bisulphite, lime powder, citric acid, etc. are used
in the RO plants in Oman. Other significant findings include:


In Oman evaporation ponds, disposal to unlined bores and disposal to dry wadi beds are commonly used for disposal of
reject brine from inland plants.
During field visits, it was observed that very little monitoring and reporting of disposal wastes and systems are done.
In most of the plants visited, cleaning and other treatment wastes are mixed with reject brine and disposed of with reject
brine.

Under certain conditions, brine from desalination plants can have useful applications. Salts have been produced from saline waters
for centuries. Nowadays, solar evaporation of seawater accounts for more than 30% of the worlds production of sodium chloride
(NaCl). Bromine is entirely produced from seawater and brines. Sodium sulphate, potassium salt, lithium carbonate, magnesium
compounds, and magnesium metals are also produced from seawater and brines. Some studies have focused on assessing the
feasibility of preparing fertilizers from scale-forming chemicals, after treating seawater with anhydrous ammonia and phosphoric
acid. A laboratory study demonstrated the feasibility of recovering leonite (K2SO4.Mg SO4.4H2O) and magnesium-chloride rich solutions from the salt-field bitterns of seawater. A desktop pre-feasibility study, using data from PDO operated plants in Bahja, Rima,
Nimr and Marmul, confirms the technical feasibility of treating reject brines in simple processing routes, using technology developed in Australia. This technology is an integrated process for sequential extraction of dissolved elements from inorganic saline
waters in the form of valuable chemical products in crystalline, slurry and liquid forms. The process involves multiple evaporation
and/or cooling, supplemented by mineral and chemical processing. An analysis indicates that various types of salts including gypsum, sodium chloride, magnesium hydroxide, calcium chloride, calcium carbonate, and sodium sulphate can be produced from the
reject brine of PDO desalination plants. A number of areas still need to be addressed before routine production of minerals from
the brine reject of desalination plants occurs. Some of these include: the cost of recovering minerals, the marketing costs of the
produced minerals, the presence of heavy metals and other hazardous products in desalination plant reject brine (complicating the
recovery process), and the negative perception of customers and users with regards to the products recovered from wastewater.
Another possible use of relatively low salinity brine is for irrigation. Irrigation with saline water to grow salt-tolerant (halophytic)
plants is not a new concept. Numerous plant species can be used for this purpose especially in arid regions where fresh water
resources are under tremendous stress. Many halophytes have already been identified as forage crops, edible fruit trees, and oil
producers for human consumption. Apart from conserving water resources, the use of saline water for growing plants is very critical to solving water shortage problems.
Global evidence and experiences demonstrate that waters of much higher salinities than those customarily classified as unsuitable for irrigation can in fact be used effectively for the production of selected crops under the right conditions. Brine shrimp may
be particularly well suited to evaporation basin cultivation, as they are hardy, easy to grow, thrive in hyposaline conditions, and
are relatively easily marketed. Brine shrimp is used extensively as aquarium fish food. It grows in a wide range of water salinities
extending from 10,000 mg/l to saturation levels. Research shows that no brine shrimp predators or food competitors survive in waters with salinity levels in excess of 100,000 mg/l, resulting in a monoculture under natural conditions. More concentrated brines
(>200,000 mg/l) can be used for the production of Beta-Carotene from Dunaliella salina. Another possible use of brine is in the solar
pond technology, which has been progressing significantly over the years, with 60 installations installed around the world. The
use of reject brine in solar ponds for electricity generation (or low-grade industrial heat, for enhancing salt crystallization) holds a
promising future, particularly if it is integrated into a desalination plant - evaporation basin salt harvesting - solar pond system.
There is a need to conduct research on the possible beneficial uses of brine. Research should focus on existing conditions in the
gulf and the Middle East regions and both environmental and cost considerations should be kept in mind. Beneficial use of reject
brine should be considered as an integral part of the disposal system. It has also been observed that specific regulations regarding disposal brine from inland desalination plants are lacking in many of the countries in the gulf and the Middle East regions.
The governments in these regions should formulate necessary rules and regulations on this issue. Desalination industry should
lobby concerned governmental bodies on this issue. It is also recommended that disposal systems should be monitored regularly.
There is also need for training of plant operators. Inland desalination plant operators should receive training for safe disposal of
cleaning and treatment wastes along with reject brine. The numbers of desalination plants for producing drinking water around the
world including Oman have witnessed unparalleled growth since the late 70s. This growth is likely to continue as water shortages
continue to develop. Unfortunately, in the past environmental implications associated with the discharge of brine from desalination
plants have not received adequate consideration. The search for economically viable and indeed profitable means of concentrating saline water has lead to significant research in saline aquaculture, use of salinity-gradient solar-ponds for power production,
and recovery of a range of salts with the ultimate goal of zero discharge.
4

Modelling of Outfalls: Status Report and Outlook


Tobias Bleninger
Federal University of Paran (UFPR), Brazil
Email: tobias.bleninger@gmail.com
In order to design or assess marine outfall systems and to reduce the associated impacts of pollutant discharges it is necessary to
accurately determine the dispersion and transport processes. For cooling water and desalination plant discharges further studies
are required regarding recirculation processes. Analysis can be done for individual discharges or for a whole coastal zone considering the interplay of several discharges. Modelling solutions require the consideration of discharge induced and environmental
flows. There is a wide variety of flow classes and involved scales, mainly depending on the density differences between the effluent and the receiving waters, the effluent flow rate and the ambient velocity. It is important to be able to model the characteristics
of the outfall plume in detail at various mixing stages. This is particularly the case in weak dynamic systems (i.e. low ambient flow
velocities), such as calm coastal waters, within estuaries or bays. Those cases are even more critical for discharges of large volumes, such as thermal discharges, where the discharge induced flows may considerably influence the coastal circulation, whereas
this effect is usually of minor important for waste water discharges with smaller volume flows.
The processes dominating the plume dynamics occur on significantly different spatial and temporal scales and are typically characterized by three zones defined along the plume trajectory: 1) Initial, active mixing zone, the Near field, 2) Intermediate zone (or
Mid field), and 3) Passive mixing zone, Far field. The near field is a region where the outflow characteristics (i.e. fluxes, geometry,
and orientation of outflow) dominate the plume behaviour. The far field region is where the ambient flow conditions dominate the
behaviour of the plume. The intermediate zone is the transition region from the near field to far field processes. Due to the large
differences in scales and processes involved, different types of models are typically utilized for the simulation of near field and
far field processes. Existing models that can theoretically cover this entire range of temporal and spatial scales in one integral
computation (unsteady, baroclinic, non-hydrostatic models) are very computational expensive and are not yet usable for most
practical engineering applications.
In an early stage of a project fast, but rough estimates are allowing to screen different options and solutions, whereas final designs
often require a coupled approach of different model systems. Major limitations are however often related to missing field data for
proper definitions of boundary conditions. The number of models and modeling systems is increasing significantly, and the proper
model choice becomes a difficult undertaking. Since models become more and more user friendly, their misusage also bears major
problems during outfalls compliance assessments. On the other hand several state of the art modeling systems are nowadays
open-source and coupled to comprehensive data-processing tools with easy or even automatic access on global bathymetrical
charts, tides, winds or circulation models. And most models nowadays are extensively validated. Thus, it is not only a question
on choosing the right model for the desired objective, but also on choosing the right modeling strategy and interpretation, as the
handling of the huge data amounts becomes an important task.
This article reviews and summarizes existing modeling strategies for outfall studies, ranging from complete 3D non-hydrostatic
applications to steady jet integral models or even the conventional dilution equations. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be discussed, and future strategies presented. The objective is to demonstrate capabilities of current softwares for the
engineering design practice, as well as an outlook to tendencies for modelling approaches.

Nanotechnology for the Treatment of Saline Water and Produced Water


Joydeep Dutta
Water Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: dutta@squ.edu.om
Environmental pollution and industrialization on a global scale have drawn attention to the vital need for developing new hygienically friendly purification technologies. Existing wastewater treatment technologies demand high capital investment and operation
& maintenance costs and require large area for the treatment plants. Cost-effective treatment of pollutants requires the transformation of hazardous substances into benign forms and the subsequent development of effective risk management strategies from
harmful effects of pollutants that are highly toxic, persistent, and difficult to treat. Application of nanotechnology that results in
improved water treatment options might include removal of the finest contaminants from water (< 300 nm) and smart materials
or reactive surface coatings with engineered specificity to a certain pollutant that destroy, transform or immobilize compounds.
Nanomaterials have been gaining increasing interest in the area of environmental remediation mainly due to its enhanced surface
and also other specific changes in their physical, chemical and biological properties that develop due to size effects. Heterogeneous photocatalytic systems via metal oxide semiconductors like TiO2 and ZnO, are capable to operate effectively and efficiently
for treatment of water which will be discussed.

Challenges in Applications of Renewable Energy Technologies for Desalination


Mattheus Goosen
Office of Research and Graduate Studies, Alfaisal University, Saudi Arabia
Email: mgoosen@alfaisal.edu
Latest developments and challenges in applications of renewable energy technologies for water desalination are critically reviewed
with an emphasis on environmental concerns and sustainable development. After giving a synopsis of wind, wave, geothermal and
solar renewable energy technologies for fresh water production, hybrid systems are assessed. Then scale-up and economic factors are considered. This is followed with a segment on regulatory factors, environmental concerns and globalization, and a final
section on selecting the most suitable renewable energy technology for conventional and emerging desalination processes.

Advances in Wastewater Treatment Technology Using Reverse Osmosis Membranes


Mohamed Hamoda
Department of Civil Engineering, Kuwait University, Kuwait
Email: mfhamoda@yahoo.com
This paper presents wastewater treatment schemes and focusses on recent advances in the use of membrane processes such as
reverse osmosis (RO) to produce effluents suitable for water reuse. Such processes have been marketed recently for wastewater
reclamation as a means of sustainable water management worldwide especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. Membrane
technology has become a technically and economically feasible option for advanced wastewater treatment.
Reverse osmosis process has been applied for many years in desalination of brackish and sea waters and was adopted recently in
wastewater treatment. Membrane technologies are receiving special recognition as alternatives to conventional wastewater treatment and as a means of polishing treated wastewater effluent for reuse applications. There has been a rapid growth in the use of
RO in the reclamation of wastewater. Relative to other technologies, the main drivers for this include the low energy consumption
of RO and the high rate of contaminant removal. Also, the reliability of RO plants has greatly improved, giving developers confidence in the supply of water from this technology. These factors have been a key to the acceptance of this technology. Advances in
membrane technology continue to allow system designers more options for cost savings. These advances include higher rejection
membranes, higher permeable membranes, and higher surface area elements. Membrane processes have been used in the secondary or advanced treatment stages of wastewater. In secondary biological treatment, the Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR)
is an activated sludge process that utilizes a physical barrier, a plate-type membrane, to separate the wastewater solids from
the liquid. Quaternary treatment using ultra filtration and reverse osmosis membranes provide effluent of drinking water quality
which is suitable for all uses. Such advanced treatment systems is cost effective especially in arid and semi-arid countries where
desalination of seawater is practiced since the unit volume of tertiary / quaternary treated wastewater effluents are produced at
approximately one third of the cost of the unit volume of desalinated potable water. However, balancing environmental impacts and
benefits of wastewater reuse is required.
In Kuwait, where natural fresh water resources are scarce, the Sulaibiya Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Plant (WWT&RP)
was established with a design capacity of 425,000 m3/d to be the worlds largest membrane-based water reclamation facility which
uses UF and RO for water reclamation. Performance evaluation of the UF/RO treatment stage has shown that this system produces
water that exceeds reuse quality requirements. It also showed high stability and reliability in coping with variations in wastewater
characteristics, water temperature and to about 15% increase in inflow over its design capacity. The system achieved up to 99%
removal of pollutants along the treatment stages by removing traces of residual pollutants. Also, RO lowered the total dissolved
solids of plant effluent considerably. Data obtained from this plant as well as plants operated in Qatar are presented.

Desalination Process Advancement by Hybrid and New Material Beyond the SeaHERO R&D Project
In S. Kim
Center for Seawater Desalination Plant (CSDP), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, Korea
Email: iskim@gist.ac.kr
With a fund of US $165 million for 6 years, the SeaHERO (Seawater Engineering Architecture High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis)
research and development (R&D) program was launched in 2007 not only to accomplish 3L (Low energy, Large scale and Low
fouling) technical objectives but to provide technical criteria for the development of global-top-grade SWRO (Seawater reverse osmosis) desalination plant. As a result of SeaHERO project, significant improvements were achieved on the basis of 3L objectives.
For the development of design and construction technology, a SWRO plant Test-Bed of 10 MIGD (45,000 m3/d) including the worldlargest unit-train capacity of 8 MIGD was constructed by Doosan heavy industry. The Test-Bed contains RO modules of 16 inches
in diameter, which are developed and provided by Woongjin Chemical. In addition, more efficient fouling index, multiple membrane
array system (MMAS), was developed and is under process of standardizing in membrane water treatment area. Through these
research results, the project has achieved remarkable reduction in energy consumption.
With successful completion of the SeaHERO project, nationally-supported Global Convergence Technology Center for Seawater
Desalination and Reuse is followed up for continuous world-level R&D leading. From the in-depth analysis of outcomes from SeaHERO project, it is found that SWRO systems have still shown their unique limitations such as brine discharge, which is of a major
concern in terms of marine environment protection, and high energy consumption rate. Thus, it is inevitable to create RO hybrid
systems by adapting desalination technologies such as forward osmosis (FO), membrane distillation (MD), and pressure retarded
osmosis (PRO) processes. In this sense, two large R&D projects for hybrid desalination systems are launched: FO-RO hybrid system and MD-PRO hybrid system. In this presentation, not only the activity of desalination R&D activity in Korea but two key subjects
are going to be discussed, hybrid process and futuristic membrane with new materials such as aquaporin, carbon-based materials
(graphene/CNT) and etc. A recent findings using quorum sensing and bio-surfactants are also reported.

Swirl Valve for Brine Outfalls of SWRO Desalination Plants


Adrian Law
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Email: cwklaw@ntu.edu.sg
The talk will present the development of a swirl valve for the brine outfall of Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination
plants in coastal waters. The objective of the swirl valve is to increase the near field mixing of the brine plume, and to lower its
terminal rise height. The mixing characteristics of the brine discharge with inclination degree between 30 and 60 degrees and
full submergence are first presented. Although the mixing with 60 degree discharge has been identified previously as optimal, its
terminal rise of the brine plume is relatively high which drives the research needs for the quantification of 30 and 45 degrees (that
are becoming more common today). The mixing characteristics of brine discharges with surface contact scenarios are then presented, whereby part of the brine plume may make contact with the water surface during low tides. The research needs arise due
to the installation of brine outfalls in shallow coastal waters, which the full submergence of brine plume may not be achievable
at all time. Dynamic interactions between the brine plume and water surface can therefore occur that constraints the mixing and
entrainment. The use of the swirl valve is then presented to effect faster mixing near the discharge port and to lower the terminal
height of the brine plume. Experimental results using stereoscopic laser image techniques will be shown that relates the increase
in plume mixing to the swirl intensity.

10

Reducing Carbon Footprint of Desalination


Neil Palmer
Chief Executive Officer, National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia
Perth, Australia
Email: neil.palmer@murdoch.edu.au
Commentators in the mass media often misrepresent desalination as expensive and energy guzzling. Compared to what? Rainwater is much more expensive when you take in to account the cost of buying and installing tanks, and running household hot
water services guzzle much more energy. Notwithstanding this, researchers across the world are investigating ways of reducing
desalination energy intensity. The National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) was established in 2009 and
was granted $20m in research funding over 5 years from the Australian Governments Water for the Future initiative. The Agreement
contained a number of Funding Objectives, one of which was: researching ways of efficiently and affordably reducing the carbon
footprint of desalination facilities and technologies.
The NCEDA has established 50 projects across a wide range of topics guided by the Australian Desalination Research Roadmap
published in 2010. A number of these projects have focused on separating salt from water using renewable or waste heat energy
sources. The Tjuntjuntjara project, led by Western Australias Murdoch University, comprises solar powered desalination of hypersaline groundwater to augment the current water supply to an indigenous community in the Great Victoria Desert from a limited
groundwater resource. A German built memSYS vacuum assisted membrane distillation pilot plant operating at 30% recovery and
delivering 500 l/d has been established at the community. It is powered with heat and electricity from a USA built CoGenra concentrating solar panel system.
A novel boosted Alfa Laval multi effect distillation plant has been built and tested for use at an alumina refinery south of Perth (BHP
Billitons Worsley Alumina). The refinery has limited access to fresh water, a tailings pond with too much water and a process which
generates waste heat. The boosted MED system developed by the University of Western Australia produces up to 40% more water
than a conventional MED system. The University of SA has successfully demonstrated use of solar powered capacitive deionization desalinating brackish water in remote areas of Australia. CDI operation is free of membranes and has been found to be robust
and simple to operate and maintain. Huge volumes of hot water are available deep under Perth. University of WA is investigating
the use of geothermal energy for brackish water desalination. This includes an economic, technical and market analysis taking
into account water volume, quality and plant infrastructure for application of known technology where geothermal energy can be
coupled with water production.
The Victorian Desalination Plant, Australias largest at 450 ml/d, has a huge impact on Victorias water production. It is of sufficient
scale that had the plant been available in 2003 when the impacts of the Millennium drought were starting to have effect, Melbourne
could have maintained reservoir storage levels and completely avoided any water restrictions. When operating, the entire energy
consumption is offset by purchase of renewable wind energy from commercial sources. Sundrop Farms is a new company in South
Australia that has developed a commercially successful greenhouse in semi-desert near Port Augusta which uses solar powered
seawater desalination for all water used in growing tomatoes and capsicums. The Company is constructing a new 20 hectare
greenhouse and is looking to expand into other areas of Australia and overseas. As an indication of the popularity of renewable
energy powered water desalination, an NCEDA project being undertaken by NCEDAs partner University of WA has teamed with
Queensland solar panel inventor Trevor Powell and has won The Australian newspaper backyard inventor award in November
2013 for a solar powered multi effect distillation plant. While not necessarily cheaper than conventional powered desalination systems, research effort into use of renewable resources is rapidly increasing our understanding of optimization of existing technologies and development of new ones, and water efficiency (such as use of hydroponics) reduces the impact of higher water charges
on total cost of food production. This is very encouraging in the worldwide quest for a sustainable and secure future.

11

Methods of Brine Disposal from Seawater Desalination


Philip Roberts
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States
Email: proberts@ce.gatech.edu
The main environmental impact of brine discharges resulting from seawater desalination is salinity, which must be reduced to safe
levels to protect marine organisms. This can be accomplished in various ways. A common one is by co-disposal with power plant
cooling water or domestic wastewater, which provides some dilution prior to discharge. Another is by means of a diffuser wherein
the brine is ejected at high velocity from inclined jets that effect rapid initial mixing and dilution. This is the preferred method for disposal from many plants around the word, including several in Australia. In this talk we review recent research on mixing of dense
jet brine diffusers and the work of the expert panel convened to update the California Ocean Plan to account for brine discharges.
Discharge of brine through outfalls equipped with diffusers can result in rapid dilution and reduction of excess salinity to safe levels. Typically, this is accomplished by discharging from a nozzle inclined upwards as a turbulent dense jet. The dynamics of these
jets are quite complex, involving buoyancy-modified entrainment, transition to horizontal flow, and turbulent collapse. Although
many studies of single inclined jets into stationary jets have been performed, there is much less work on the effects of currents or
merging in the case of multiport diffusers.
We have done extensive experiments on the dynamics of dense jets typical of brine discharges under a variety of conditions. The
experiments involve the use of sophisticated three-dimensional laser-induced fluorescence (3DLIF) that allows high-resolution
measurements of turbulence and mixing. In this talk, we will review our experimental work on dense jets, in particular recent experiments on multiport diffusers that reveals complex interactions and boundary effects. The implications of these results for the
design of single and multiport diffusers and implications for mathematical modeling will be discussed.

12

Desalination from an Integrated Water Resources Management Perspective


Farhad Yazdandoost
K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Email: yazdandoost@kntu.ac.ir
With more than half of the worlds population living close to the oceans and a high percentage of the worlds mega cities located
near their shores, seawater desalination is an attractive option for coastal water supply systems. Water scarcity in arid and semi
arid regions has lately driven decision makers and planners to investigate the viability of long transfers of desalinated sea water
to water scarce locations. Arid and semi-arid zones are defined as areas where the rainfall patterns are inherently erratic and
where, generally, precipitation is below potential evapotranspiration. The hydrological regime in these areas is extreme and highly
variable and globally, these areas face the greatest challenges to deliver and manage freshwater resources. Problems are further
exacerbated by population growth, increasing domestic water use, expansion of agriculture, pollution and the threat of climate
change. These areas would often embrace the notion of water transfers from other catchments as an added water security element.
However sustainable development considerations would remain as a source of concern under such circumstances. Limited access
to water resources associated with climatic conditions of arid and semi-arid regions have often been the source of competitions
and conflicts amongst stakeholders. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is seen worldwide as appropriate means
of conflict resolution. IWRM is the response to the growing pressure on water resources systems as a result of growing population and socio-economic developments. Water resources management has undergone a drastic change world-wide, moving from
a mainly supply-oriented, engineering biased approach towards a demand-oriented, multi-sectoral approach, often labeled Integrated Water Resources Management. IWRM should not be seen as a model that has to be enforced upon a given system rather it
is much more a process. According to GWP (2000), IWRM is a process which promotes the co-ordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner
without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.
The concept of IWRM provides the platform for moving away from water master planning, which focuses on water availability
and development, towards comprehensive water policy planning which addresses the interaction between different sub-sectors,
seeks to establish priorities, considers institutional requirements, and deals with the building of capacity. It may therefore prove
prudent to consider desalination impacts from an IWRM perspective thereby addressing economic, social, environmental and legislative aspects in an integrated approach. Major considerations associated with desalination are those related to the environment
and the economy with respect to energy consumption. The increasing competitiveness of desalination may be related to considerable improvements in the technical advances thereby alleviating the problem to certain extents as far as the above considerations
are concerned. However challenges remain in the face of the greater water resources management system where the output from
desalination is one of a number of inputs affecting the system in an interactive way. Many criteria and objectives may come into
consideration at decision making level which would in turn necessitate the use of Decision Support Systems (DSS). The DSS approach, in the framework of utilization of Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) tools to assess ranking of potential development scenarios,
would become essential as part of the comprehensive decision making process. The approach may be further enhanced to lead
to adaption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for desalination in the greater context of integrated water resources management.

13

oral Presentations

Feasibility of using Desalination for Irrigation in the Souss Massa Region in the South of Morocco
Hirich Abdelaziz1, Choukr-Allah Redouane1, Rami Abdellatif2 and El-Otmani Mohamed1
1
Agronomic and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II Institute, Agadir, Morocco
2
University Ibn Zohr, Faculty of Science, Agadir, Morocco
Email: hirich_aziz@yahoo.fr
The region of Souss Massa in the south of Morocco is considered the most productive in terms of horticultural products especially
destined to exportation. The part of the region in exportation of fruit and vegetable is about 90% at national level. Green house
cropping system is the most dominated with more than 15 000 ha of crops are conducted under green houses. However this region
suffers from a serious problem of water scarcity, the annual rainfall doesnt exceed 200 mm, and the water deficit is more than 260
Mm3. In addition to this agriculture in this region consumes about 90% of water resources. Over-pumping of groundwater is among
the practices aggravating the situation by lowering the water table and consequently increasing pumping costs and groundwater
salinisation due to sea water intrusion especially in the coastal areas. Using desalination of sea water for irrigation of rentable
crops as tomato and berries and other vegetables crops could be a judicious solution to continue producing horticultural products
and saving water.
Pumping cost in Souss Massa region is about 0.3 US$, and the average desalination cost is equal to 0.5 US$ with a little change
depending to desalination technology. A study has been conducted surveying about 847 farmers representing 12770 ha of cropping area in order to evaluate the acceptance of those farmers to be part of a desalination project for irrigation. 92% of surveyed
farmers accepted to adhere to this project with a water demand equal to 32 Mm3, 61% of them accepted to participate in the project
investment. 42% of the farmers agreed to pay 0.59 to 0.83 US$ for 1 m3 of desalinated water. 15 and 4% accepted to pay 0.95 and
1.18 US$ respectively for 1 m3 of desalinated water.
This survey indicates that there is a great potential of using desalination for irrigation of rentable crops in the Souss Massa region.
Farmers are aware about the water scarcity problem and they accept to use desalinated water for irrigation to keep producing.
Furthermore the progress in the desalination technology will make it less costly in the future and the water price will be lower.

15

Use of Ceramic Membrane Technology for Sustainable Management of Oil Production Water
Mansour Al-Haddabi1, Hari Vuthaluru1, Mushtaque Ahmed2 and Hussein Znad1
1
School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
2
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: mans99@squ.edu.om
The huge quantities of water produced a long with oil makes it one of the main challenges in oil and gas industry. In the past the
oily produced water was considered as a tiresome by-product and it represent a significant liability and cost to the oil and gas
production. Recently this attitude has changed and the oily produced water is now seen more as a resource than a by-product.
By 2025, 2.8 billion people (from 48 countries) will be living in water-scare and water-stressed countries. Sultanate of Oman is
considered as a semi-arid country where the average annual rainfall is about 100 mm. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) which
is an oil company produces around 700,000 m3/day of water associated with hydrocarbon production. Currently under half of this
amount is rejected back into the producing reservoirs as water flood for reservoir management. The production of excessive
quantities of water is the reason behind to abandon oil and gas wells, leaving huge quantities of hydrocarbons behind. Upgrading of low quality water (i.e. oily produced water) for greening the desert or growing biofuels is becoming a strategic enabler for
the sustainable development of remote fields. Although opportunities exist for beneficial use of oily produced water, there may be
situations where treatment may not be economically feasible. In addition to volume, water quality is the other key determinant of
suitable management options. Due to the poor quality of oily produced water (because oily produced water contains a complex
mixture of organic and inorganic materials similar to those found in crude oil and natural gas), treatment might introduces potential
economic, technology and environmental challenges. Another constraint for the management of oily produced water is the regulatory framework which might cause restrictions to management options imposed by legislations. Economic constraint imposed by
the costs associated with management options can influence the feasibility of particular management techniques. The application
of ceramic membrane have shown great potential for the oil in water separation and purification due to their superior mechanical,
thermal, chemical stability and ease of generation after fouling. Very promising results were achieved by many researchers when
using ceramic membranes for oily water treatment. In some studies the removal of oil, COD and TOC reach up to 99%, 96% and
94% respectively.

16

Achieving the Zero-Liquid-Discharge Target Using the Integrated Membrane System for Seawater Desalination
Sulaiman Al Obaidani1, Mohammed Al-Abri2 and Nabeel Al-Rawahi1
1
Department Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
2
Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: sobeidani@squ.edu.om
Membrane desalination technology has emerged in recent years as the most viable solution to water shortage. However, despite
the enormous improvement in membrane desalination technology, some critical developments are still necessary in order to
accomplish possible improvements in the process efficiency (increase recovery), operational stability (reduce fouling and scaling problems), environmental impact (reduce brine disposal), water quality (remove harmful substances) and costs. In particular,
cost effective and environmentally sensitive concentrate management is today recognized as a significant obstacle to extensive
implementation of desalination technologies. As a result of the significant impact of desalination plants on the environment, the
requirements for concentrate management tight up: brine disposal minimization and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) are the demanding
targets for several applications. In this concept, conventional pressure-driven membranes such as MF, NF and RO were integrated
with the innovative units of membrane contactors such as Membrane Distillation/Crystallization (MD/MC). The integration of different membrane units represents an interesting way for achieving the ZLD goal due to the possibility of overcoming the limits of the
single units and, thus, to improve the performance of the overall operation.
The present research study is focusing on the evaluation of the integrated membrane system which merges the membrane contactor technology with the conventional pressure-driven membrane operations for seawater desalination. Sensitivity studies were
performed for several configurations of the integrated system to obtain the most sensitive parameter in the total water cost and the
optimal design of the system.
The results revealed that the pressure-driven membrane operations were very sensitive to the feed concentration and the cost of
electricity consumption. On the other hand, MD processes were not sensitive to the variation on the feed concentration or the electricity costs. The most sensitive parameter in the total water cost of the MD plant was the cost of steam which contributed to values
as high as high as 11.4% in case of MD without heat recovery system. The best tolerance to the variation of these parameters was
obtained when using the integrated membrane system of pressure-driven membranes and MC processes.

17

Environmental Impacts of Seawater Desalination on Marine Life in the Coastal Area of Oman
Abdelkader T. Ahmed1, Mohamed H. Elsanabary2 and Brahim Askri1
1
Caledonian College of Engineering, Oman
2
Civil Engineering Dept, Port Said University, Egypt
Email: dratahmed@yahoo.com; ahmed-at@caledonian.edu.om
A gap between supply and demand for fresh water is grown up in many countries. Desalination of seawater is recently practiced by
many coastline countries such as Gulf counties as a solution for water shortages. Although, using desalination has many benefits,
however, some arguments raised against building desalination plants due to their environmental impacts to the surrounding area,
especially to marine life via discharging the high concentrated brine into the ocean. The negative impacts of the brine discharge
are due to the high level of salinity, total alkalinity and alteration to the temperature. These impacts could be considerable in terms
of the influence on the marine organisms. Reductions in either water quality or quantity have serious negative impacts on the biodiversity. Thus, yielding fresh water from desalination of seawater must be done in a way that saves the environment. In this study,
a 3D modeling investigation was implemented on a case study of a desalination unit in Oman to find out the exact alterations in
the environment due to using this unit and recommendations for limited or eliminate these impacts. Results showed a significant
change in the salinity and temperature of the local area surrounding the discharge point. This new media under seawater affected
the development of species, survival of larva and reproductive qualities.

18

Small-Scale Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants Induced Brine Disposal Practices in the United Arab Emirates
Nurul Akhand1, Mohamed AlMulla2, Yousif Hedar1 and Basel AlAraj1
1
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2
Ministry of Environment and Water, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Email: n.akhand@biosaline.org.ae
Brackish groundwater is the primary water source for agricultural development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). About 400 farms
out of 35,200 in the UAE use small-scale reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants to desalinize brackish groundwater for farm
production systems. The production systems include vegetables (in green houses and open fields), forages, date palm and fruit
trees. Twelve plants in inland areas and three plants in coastal areas were studied to evaluate the performance of membrane
technology, irrigation management and brine disposal practices. Pretreated brackish groundwater, salinity varying from 4 to 33 dS
m-1, was used as feed water. Higher groundwater salinity was observed in coastal areas due to sea-water intrusion. The capacity
of ROs varied from 70 to 800 m3 d-1. The salt rejection values of ROs varied from 60 to 99 percent; and the recovery percent varied
from 30 to 90. Such a wide range of performance values is due to variation in (i) feed water salinity, (ii) pressure applied, and (iii)
membrane characteristics. Surface drippers were used for irrigating vegetables in both green houses and fields. Field irrigation
techniques include micro-sprayers (for forages), furrow/basin (for vegetables/forages) and hose pipe (for date palm). Chemical
analysis of brine showed trace existence of heavy metals but high concentrations of NO3-N. The current methods of brine disposal
include (i) surface disposal (to excavated/non-excavated pits or mountain terrain or steep edge of sand dunes), (ii) well injection
or dug well, (iii) pipeline to sea beach, (iv) irrigation of salt-tolerant plants or blending brine with feed water for irrigating date palm,
(v) use in cooling pads of green houses, and (vi) wadi beds. Among the disposal methods, surface disposal and dug well near the
plants are critical as feed water can be further polluted by brine and chemicals used in RO plants. The study also recommended
some appropriate brine disposal practices to safeguard environment particularly protecting further pollution of non-renewable
groundwater reserve in UAE. In fact, site specific assessment is a prerequisite to come up with a suitable disposal practice. The
recommended brine disposal practices include (i) evaporation ponds with better control of leakage and appropriate disposal of high
concentrate, (ii) biosaline agriculture, (iii) brine reduction, etc. Community based evaporation ponds with aquaculture can be more
justifiable for small-scale RO plants. Similarly, higher concentration of NO3-N in brine could an additional advantage for growing
biosaline agriculture.

19

Harmful Algal Blooms in Oman Waters and Their Effect on Desalination Plants
Hamed Mohammed Al Gheilani
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Muscat, Oman
Email: asadalaqidah@gmail.com
Red tide, one of the harmful algal blooms (HABs) is a natural ecological phenomenon and often this event is accompanied by
severe impacts on coastal resources, local economies, and public health. The occurrence of red tides has become more frequent
in Omani waters in recent years. Some of them caused fish kill, damaged fishery resources and mariculture, threatened the marine environment and the osmosis membranes of desalination plants. However, a number of them have been harmless. The most
common dinoflagellate Noctilucascintillansis associated with the red tide events in Omani waters. Toxic species like Kareniaselliformis, Prorocentrumarabianum, and Trichodesmiumerythraeum also have been reported recently. Although red tides in Oman
have been considered a consequence of upwelling in the summer season (May to September), recent phytoplankton outbreaks in
Oman are not restricted to summer. Frequent algal blooms have been reported during winter (December to March). HABs may have
contributed to hypoxia and/or other negative ecological impacts. The effect of HABs on desalination plants were increased in last
three years, by blooms of Cochlodinium, noctiluca species, and blooms of jellyfish. Most of these blooms were affected Al Batinah
and Muscat coast. These effect including millions of Omani Rialsand several shutdown of desalination plants during these years.

20

Minimizing the Impact of Red Tide Environmental Events on Safety Critical Equipment of a Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant
A.F. Al-Hinai, B.M. Alkali and M. El Sharif.
School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom
Email: ahmed.Alhinai@gcu.ac.uk
Seawater desalination is vital for most of the Middle East countries where there is an increased demand for desalinated water and
at the same time severe shortage of fresh ground water. This shortage is as a result of the increase in on-going number of infrastructure construction and development projects. The frequent occurrences of red tide events in Arab Gulf countries had alerted
lots of researchers and many organizations have started looking for solutions and alternative opportunities that could minimize the
severe impacts of the sea environmental events such as red tide and tropical cyclones on desalination and petrochemical plants.
This paper considers scaling and fouling as serious failure modes contributing to the deterioration of RO desalination plant overall
efficiency. We observe an increase in the frequency of these failure modes during red tide events and as a consequence leading
to a significant numbers of breakdowns and operational interruptions. This study focuses on conducting a reliability analysis of a
reverse osmosis desalination plant. A 5 years historical data for the plant unplanned maintenance and repairs actions have been
analyzed to have a better insight of the failure patterns in order to come up with an adequate maintenance strategy. A comprehensive failure mode and effect analysis is conducted on the plant critical equipment to further identify other failure modes and their
impacts on the plants overall efficiency. The framework of a classical competing risk model and conditional independent multiple
competing risk models are proposed. A simulation example using the failure data collected is proposed and simulated results of
the models cost curve show optimal cost effective preventive maintenance schedules for the plant critical equipments.

21

Prospects of Desalination for Irrigation Water in the Sultanate of Oman


Salem Ali Al-Jabri and Mushtaque Ahmed
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: salemj@squ.edu.om
The most limiting factor for the agricultural sector in the Sultanate of Oman is the scarcity of water in terms of quantity and quality. Salinization of both soils and groundwater systems along the coastal strip of Al Batinah has placed a substantial burden on
the farmers regarding crop selection and, therefore, farm profitability. Consequently, many farmers had no choice but to abandon
their farm activities and seek change of land status. Finding a source of water of good quality is probably the only viable choice for
sustaining the agricultural sector in the country. Desalination of brackish and sea waters might be an attractive option to sustain
salt-affected lands in the Sultanate. The advancement in desalination technologies had reduced energy and running cost requirements. We present in this work the international experience on desalination for irrigation water; the opportunities and challenges
of the use of this technology for sustaining agriculture in arid environments; and the outcome of a survey that explores the extent of
the use of desalination for providing irrigation water in the Batinah coast. Results showed the main two challenges for adopting this
technology for agriculture are the initial cost of desalination units and reject water in terms of means of disposal. Current practices
of disposal are not environmentally feasible and are associated with several detrimental effects, such as soil and aquifer contamination with brines. Use of desalination technology for irrigation is still cost-ineffective. The availability of energy in the Sultanate in
conjunction with certain economic measures may make desalination a practical option to sustaining the sector of agriculture in the
country. However, there is a need for more applied research efforts to minimize the detrimental impact of disposal of reject water
on environment, long-term impaction of desalinated water on agricultural soils, and cost/benefit analysis of the technology.

22

Presence of THMs in Desalinated Water in Muscat


Aliaa Al-Kalbani, Zainab Ambu-Saidi, Sara Al-Kiyumi and Salwa Al-Rawahi
College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: squ1071991@gmail.com
Disinfection is of unquestionable importance in the supply of safe drinking water. Chlorination is the major disinfection process for
drinking water. However, the reaction between the disinfection and the organic matter (OM) could form disinfection by-products
like trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAA) and others. The study was done in order to check the presence of chlorination
by-products in drinking water system for Muscat. This study presented the monitoring results of Muscat with collaboration with
Public Authority of Electricity and Water (PAEW) in the period of June 9, 2013 to August 1, 2013. 17 drinking water reservoirs were
selected to assess the presence of the chlorination by-products (THM). The chlorination by-products were detected by using the
Gas Chromatography Mass spectrometry instrument. The concentration of the THMs did not exceed 0.3g/l (ppb). Also, Chloroform,
Bromodichloromethane (BDCM) and Dibromochloromethane (DBCM) concentrations did not exceed 1.6g/l while the Bromoform
reached 28g/l. Therefore, the results showed that the Bromoform concentration is the most dominant THM species observed in
all the samples. The Bromoform concentration and the THMs concentrations did not exceed the maximum value of the Omani
standard for drinking water (1 mg/l). The drinking water quality in Muscat is considered as high water quality according to the THMs
standards. Thus, at present, there is no health concerns associated with the presence of THMs in the drinking water. However,
continuous monitoring is required because contamination could occur at any time which could enhance the formation of the byproducts when the suitable conditions are present.

23

Thermal Performance of a Single Slope Solar Water Still with Enhanced Solar Heating System for Omani Climate
Abdullah M. Al-Shabibi and M. Tahat
College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: ashabibi@squ.edu.om
Oman is located in the southeastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula and, according to official estimates, covers a total land
area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers. The land area is composed of varying topographic features: valleys and desert
account for 82 % of the land mass; mountain ranges, 15%; and the coastal plain, 3 %. The climatic zone of sultanate of Oman is
dry tropical characterized by extreme heat in the summer around June and coolness in the winter around January. The sultanate
receives a high degree of solar radiation through the year. Oman has limited amount of fresh water resources and therefore it is
important for Omani to use solar energy to desalinate sea water to solve the critical shortages of fresh water in the country.
This research work deals with the experimental investigations of conventional water still in Oman and modified to include solar
energy heating unit, to increase or preheat saline water before entering the solar still in order to enhance its hourly or daily yield
of pure water. A single slope, single effect conventional solar still with basin area of (1mx1m) was constructed, experimentally
tested under different Omani weather conditions, and then using solar water heating system to heat the water before entering the
conventional solar still basin. Different basin geometries were also investigated and the yield pure water was recorded. Different
quantities of water in the solar still basin were tested to find the effect of water quantity on the hourly yield. The result of the thermal
performance of the conventional solar still when its used with the solar energy heating system is outperform the thermal performance of a conventional solar still.

24

Strategies for Addressing Sustainability Risks of Seawater Desalination Plants in the Arabian Gulf
Aliyu Salisu Barau
Research Fellow, Earth System Governance Project, IPO, Lund University, Sweden
Email: aliyubarau1@yahoo.co.uk
The Arabian Gulfs hyper-arid climate makes it an excessively water-deficient region. Ironically, the Gulf has one of the highest
per capita daily water consumption rates in the world. Presently, seawater desalination seems to be the most reliable source of
clean water in the Gulf. However, multiple brine discharges from desalination plants endanger marine organisms. Similarly, high
energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions raise sustainability concerns. By and large, lack of integrated regional governance framework hampers realising sustainable desalination industry. This paper seeks to unravel complexities in sustainability
dimensions of the Gulfs desalination projects. It also identifies pathways for overcoming risks of fragmented governance of the
desalination industry. The study applied complexity theory, the DPSIR model, and the Earth System Governance paradigm to prop
its theoretical and methodological underpinnings. The paper identified 29 factors (natural, institutional, technological, policy and
demographic) that underscore dynamics of the Gulf desalination industry. The recommendations made for sustainable pathways
were based on principles of the Earth System Governance and interdisciplinary team building. This study stressed that sustainable
future for the desalination industry in the Gulf region would depend on building a unified, and comprehensive desalinated water
governance framework.

25

Hydrodynamic Modelling: Application of the Delft3D-FLOW in Santos Bay, Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Silene Cristina Baptistelli
Companhia de Saneamento Bsico do Estado de So Paulo, SABESP, Brasil
Email: sbaptistelli@uol.com.br; sbaptistelli@sabesp.com.br
This work aims to evaluate the hydrodynamic behavior of Santos Bay through mathematical modeling using the three-dimensional
hydrodynamic model Delft3D.The study region is situated on the coastal area, on the south coast of So Paulo State. The State
of So Paulo is located in the southeastern region of the Brazilian Atlantic coast and is the most populous and developed State
in Brazil. The Delft3D hydrodynamic model was developed by WL-Delft Hydraulics, with a set of programs capable of simulating
flows in surface water bodies. For modeling implementation, field measurements data were compiled, analyzed and consisted,
and then were used to star the model Delft3D in the process of initialization, calibration, validation and evaluation of the modeling
results. The results of the simulations demonstrated that the approach was appropriate for study region. Also, it was verified that
the forcing that determines the hydrodynamic in Santos Bay is the tide, and near the imaginary line connecting Ponta de Itaipu and
Ponta Grossa, there is a strong influence of coastal circulation which dominates the NE and SW direction, thus parallel to Praia
Grande. In conclusion, this study contributed to obtain a better knowledge about hydrodynamic mathematic modeling and about
the studied area.

26

Prediction of the Environmental Impact of Large Scale SeaWater Outfalls


M.C.M. Bruijs and H.J.G. Polman
DNV GL Energy Advisory, The Netherlands
Email: maarten.bruijs@dnvgl.com
Power plants, desalination and other industrial facilities apply large quantities of sea water for their processes. These industries
are obliged to provide insight in the environmental effects on the water bodies on which the discharge takes place in order minimize
negative impact on aquatic organisms. The general approach requires evaluation of these effects by industrial releases of waste
heat, brine, chlorination by-products. For many coastal water bodies, environmental quality standards have been determined. To
assess the impact of environmental releases, it is necessary to estimate the extent to which the pollutant disperses in the aquatic
environment.
Chlorine is worldwide still the most applied method to prevent fouling in a cooling water system. However, chlorination of (sea)
water results in the formation of compounds such as chloroform, bromoform and trihalomethanes. It is beneficial to get more insight
in the fate and effects of these compounds in the outfall area before allowing these discharges seen in the light of the consents. For
desalination, the discharge of brine may impair the (local) environment by increasing the local salinity to an extent at which organisms are affected. Also, the discharge of waste heat will impact sessile organisms and may impact the migration and abundance
of fish.
For the environmental impact assessment process, prediction of thermal and chemical discharge and enables evaluation of potential environmental effects in the receiving water bodies. By doing so, the environmental impact and subsequent risk assessment
is evaluated as function of time and space, even when an installation is still under development. 3D hydrodynamic modelling is a
helpful and cost effective tool to predict the discharge of waste heat, brine and chlorination by-products.

27

Near Field Dilution of a Dense Jet Impinging on a Solid Boundary


G.C. Christodoulou, I.K. Nikiforakis, T.D. Diamantis and A.I. Stamou
School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Email: christod@hydro.ntua.gr
Experimental measurements of concentrations were performed for vertical dense jets discharged downwards to a horizontal or
a sloping bottom, aiming at (a) determining the dilution at the impingement point on a solid bed and assess the influence of the
boundary, and (b) evaluating the local dilution in the near field, namely the additional dilution achieved within the density current
which forms in the vicinity of the impingement point. It is found that the presence of the solid boundary affects the axial dilution of
the approaching jet up to a distance of hD which is well correlated to the source height and the length scale LM. The dilution at the
impingement point on the boundary is reduced appreciably compared to that of a boundary-free jet at the same location. The additional dilution within the density current on a sloping bottom is well correlated to the dimensionless distance from the impingement
point. Dimensionless empirical equations are proposed for the dilution at the impingement point and in the density current near the
bed, in terms of geometrical parameters and the densimetric Froude number.

28

The Viability of Renewable energy and Energy storage as the Power Source for Municipal Scale Reverse Osmosis Desalination
Clifford Dansoh
Mott MacDonald Limited, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Email: Clifford.dansoh@mottmac.com
The use of renewable energy to power reverse osmosis desalination plants to provide potable water for around 50,000 people
in Newhaven, in South East England, and in Massawa in Eritrea, was investigated. The following energy sources, in a variety of
combinations were specifically assessed:
Wind Power
Wave Power
Solar Power
Tidal Current Power
Hydrogen production, storage and use in Fuel Cell
The following types of reverse osmosis plants were studied:
No Brine Stream Recovery (BSR) reverse osmosis plant
Pelton Wheel BSR reverse osmosis plant
Pressure Exchanger BSR reverse osmosis plant
Modelling was conducted to derive the amount of water that each reverse osmosis plant would deliver from various combinations
and amounts of renewable power input, at varying feedwater temperatures. Scenarios that were not able to deliver enough water
to meet the users needs were scaled-up so that they could.
The cost of the scaled-up scenarios that were able to meet the users water demands were compared with the costs associated
with the equivalent conventionally-powered scenario over a 25-year life. Specifically, the following were considered:
A coal-fired plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Newhaven and
A diesel generator at Massawa.
This comparison was made with and without the external costs associated with conventional energy production and use. A comparison of the most financially-attractive renewable energy option and the equivalent conventionally-powered scenario at Massawa was undertaken, based on Net Present Value (NPV) methodology.

29

Mathematical Model Study of the Effluent Disposal from a Desalination Plant in the Marine Environment at Tuticorin
D.R. Danish1, B.V. Mudgal2, G. Dhinesh3 and M.V. Ramanamurthy3
1
Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, CEG Campus, Chennai, India
2
Centre for Water Resources, Anna University, CEG Campus, Chennai, India
3
National Institute for Ocean Management, NIOT Campus, Chennai, India
Email: civildanish@gmail.com
Consequent to rapid urbanization and industrialization, desalination of sea water is considered as a potential source of water
along coastal areas. The greatest challenge in putting up a desalination plant along the coastal areas is the safe disposal of brine
discharge and its dispersion in seawater, as it can have a profound impact on marine environmental. The Tuticorin coast in Tamil
Nadu, south India, is well known for its major port. It is also under growing pressure of industrialization and urbanization. The coast
has many important ecological features as well. Hence, this study has been carried out to ensure better disposal and dispersion of
the effluent from the proposed desalination plant at Tuticorin. The fate of the brine discharge is predicted using a numerical model
from the outfall of the desalination plant by considering the local bathymetry and assessing the hydrodynamic parameters such as
waves, tides and currents of the area as well as wind and the other local environmental parameters.

30

Functional Appraisal of Marine Outfall for Domestic Waste Disposal Through Tracer Technique
Shivani Dhage1, Ritesh Vijay2 and Prakash Kelkar3
1
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Mumbai Zonal Centre, Mumbai, India
2
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur, India
3
Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Government of Maharashtra, Nagpur, India
Email: shivanid25@hotmail.com
Many coastal cities release liquid waste into marine water bodies through point and non-point discharges. Marine outfalls with
multi-port diffusers are one of the modern systems adopted by mega cities along the coast for disposal of large volume of domestic
wastewaters. Once the marine outfall is operational, it is cumbersome to find its functional and operational behavior in coastal
region. Evaluation of extent of dilution achieved is complicated due to many reasons like, variation in direction and buoyancy
of upward flow, density, currents, tidal effects and also the submergence of the physical components of the diffuser. All these
limitations create difficulty in establishing fulfillment of the rationale behind outfall installation because accurate information on
compliance of the coastal water standards is not readily computable. Hydrodynamic simulation through mathematical models and
experimental application of tracers are the commonly adopted techniques for finding effectiveness of outfall for mixing behavior,
dilution and dispersion pattern of waste plume released through diffusers. Simulation through mathematical models provides expected dilution and dispersion pattern of the waste plume but these models need precise calibration for hydrodynamic and water
quality parameters. A tracer investigation is a valuable tool to obtain factual information for the dispersion of wastewater. Natural,
fluorescent and radio tracers are used during the studies conducted for the city of Mumbai, India. The paper presents the comparison of the natural and fluorescent dye tracers to find out functional behavior and the travel path of pollutant concentration through
distribution of the tracers in longitudinal and transverse direction from existing ocean outfall at Mumbai.

31

Overview of Different Approaches Simulating the Long Term Response to Climate Change and Coastal Effluents in the Arabian
Gulf
A. Elhakeem1 and W. Elshorbagy2
Water Resources Graduate Program, UAE University, United Arab Emirates
2
Civil Environmental Engineering Dept., UAE University, United Arab Emirates
Email: aasalim@uaeu.ac.ae
1

Evaluating the long-term variability of the seawaters salinity and temperature among other ambient conditions due to climate
changes a limiting economical and operational factor in planning the design of new and expansion of existing desalination plants.
This need is amplified in the Arabian Gulf due to the natural arid climate and anthropogenic stresses related to urban growth, energy exploration and ongoing major developments. Due to the drastic lack of long term monitoring data the hydrodynamic response
of the Arabian Gulf due to the climate change and coastal effluents is not fully defined. Moreover the assessment studies conducted using either field sampling or numerical modelling are mostly qualitative and of local fashion in which the superimposing effects
of multiple sources and trans-boundary effects are not distinguished nor considered. A robust method is needed to evaluate the
future seawater quality state considering the scarcity of comprehensive historical data. The present work represents an overview
of approaches used in addressing the issue which was found in the literature. The approaches are categorized as, first the simple
approach producing time average lumped regional response, and second an extensive approach which includes a numerical modelling component and produces detailed local response. In conclusion an original method developed by the authors is presented.
The developed method represents a systematic approach to evaluate the anticipated long-term changes in the seawater salinity
and temperature under the stresses of projected climate change and industrial effluents. It is developed for the AG region but could
certainly be applied else ware.

32

Data Assimilation of Remote Sensing Images in a Portable Operational Forecasting Blooms System: Study case Algae Blooms
in the North Sea
G.Y. El Serafy1, 2
1Deltares, Rotterdamseweg Delft, The Netherlands
2
Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
Email: ghada.elserafy@deltares.nl
The ecological state of the North Sea surface water can be indicated by ocean variables such as the Chlorophyll-a (Chlfa) concentration. Chlfais the principal photosynthetic pigment and is common to all phytoplankton and can therefore be used as a measure
of phytoplankton biomass. The D-Water Quality (GEM) model developed at Deltares is a generic ecological model that simulates
transport of substances in a water system along with various ecological processes. This model is able to estimate the Chlfaconcentration operationally for the North Sea. Models are always prone to errors due to assumptions made for simplification and the
use of numerical approximations. Such errors can be reduced through the use data assimilation and thus can significantly improve
the forecast. The use of remote sensing images in improving the forecast is attractive due to its spatial coverage. A sensitivity
analysis using themodel-independent and computationally inexpensive adaptive Morris method has been carried out to identify
the significant parameters. Accordingly, the model has been optimized with respect to the MODIS remote sensing data of Chla by
means of the generic simulated annealing algorithm. The algorithm has been redesigned in an innovative parallel framework that
optimizes the searching procedure while considerably reducing the number of iterations. The optimization is carried out over the
years 2003-2008. From the results we conclude that the optimization has improved the model results to better match the MODIS
data at the surface in all regions, and in particular along the Dutch and the English coast. Validation of the optimised model results
to independent in situ data indicates global improvements. The model forecasting capability is validated against insitu measurement and presented in this paper. The operational forecasting system setup is generically setup that is portable to other study case
or other marine or water systems.

33

Brackish water in Some Coastal Wilayat in Oman: Analysis and Treatment Using Dehydrated Carbons
El-Said I. El-Shafey, Amal S. J. Al-Hadi and Salma M. Z. Al-Kindy
College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: elshafey@squ.edu.om
The coastal area of Muscat and Al-Batinah experiences recently increased salinity turning the ground water into brackish water.
This has adversely affects the agricultural coastal farm areas in the region. The analysis of brackish water in different locations
in the costal Wilayat showed elevated levels of Ca (II), Mg (II) and Na (I), but low levels of K, Cr, Zn and Fe with concentration
variation from location to another. TDS, pH and other parameters were also analyzed. Dehydrated carbons from Omani date palm
leaflets were was prepared from an agricultural waste (date palm leaflets) at 160 and 200 oC after which both carbons were subject
to surface modification by sulfonation. Carbons prepared were characterized for surface area, surface functional group, cation
exchange capacity and pHzpc. The carbons were tested for the removal of the different metals from brackish water. The results
showed that dehydrated carbons at higher temperature followed by sulfonation showed the best performance for metal removal
from brackish water. Developed modified dehydrated carbons showed promising results and can be introduced as a cheap ion
exchanger for desalination of brackish water.

34

Impact of the Coastal Intake Environment on the Operating Conditions of Thermal Desalination Plants: A Case Study in United
Arab Emirates
1

W.E. Elshorbagy1 and A.H. Basioni2


College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
2
Project Manager, ADCO, AADNOC, United Arab Emirates
E-mail: Walid.shorbagy@uaeu.ac.ae

Coastal physical conditions can greatly affect the energy required to operate coastal thermal desalination plants and eventually
the relevant costs. A multi-layered hydrodynamic model was developed in this study for a coastal area in the United Arab Emirates
to investigate such effect. The simulation was carried out using a curvilinear grid model with sigma layers in the vertical direction,
and incorporates the transport of salt and temperature interactively with water dynamics. Several simulations were carried out to
investigate the impact of the brine and warm cooling water released from the desalination plant as well as other nearby industrial
facilities using three-dimensional advection-dispersion surface formulation. The model output was used to determine suitable
locations and configurations for water intakes as well as outlets to maintain the temperature and salinity of the water introduced
to the plant at optimum acceptable levels, so that maximum efficiency and minimum operation cost are achieved. A number of
alternative scenarios were also considered to fully assess the problem. This includes extreme desalination operations scenarios
in summer and winter, possible maximum release of warm water by other industrial facilities, and scenarios of future expansion of
the plant production. Three alternatives were investigated including shifting the intake to new offshore locations, moving the outfall
away from the intake area, and having the outfall discharge its effluent into further and deeper zone. Cost analysis was carried out
for two scenarios to evaluate the operation cost tin terms of chemical and energy cost. The first alternative that involves shifting
the intake location about one kilometre offshore was found to be the best option as it achieved maximum reduction of chemical
and energy costs for all tested scenarios when compared with the existing configuration. A 2.5% of the total annual cost; equivalent
to USD 1.2 Million is saved considering major expansion to the existing industrial facilities; that is 10 times the present existing
effluent levels.

35

Intake Variation Effect on Water Quality for SWRO


Nour Fawal1, Baghdad Ouddane2 and Jalal Halwani3
1
Huta Marine Works Limited Huta Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2
Universit Lille1, Chimie Analytique et Marine, Laboratoire Geosystemes, UMR CNRS, France
3
Universit Libanaise, Lab. Sciences de lEau et de lEnvironnement, Tripoli, Libya
Email: nourfawal@hotmail.com
Most of the worlds experience with sea water intakes is a result of their use in the industry of electric power generation where
sea water is generally used for cooling purposes in wide and huge surface condensers. Although thermal desalination processes
such as multistage flash evaporation (MSF) and multiple effect distillation (MED) have intake water quality requirements almost
identical to power plant condensers, seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems can benefit greatly from a finer level of screening. But SWRO is expected to be the dominate desalination technology in the near future since it is giving the needed results with
the minimum cost.
As populations numbers grow, traditional drinking water sources are suffering to keep up with new water request. Tapping the
ocean and sea for potable water via sea water desalination is getting more popular as a potential water supply source. However,
it can only be used where the associated regulatory, ecological, and social and industrial challenges/obligations can be overcome
and respected. Of the three components of sea water desalination plant (intake, treatment, and concentrate discharge), intake
-design and location - is mostly the most challenging aspect of the system in terms of technical strategy, regulatory challenges,
and public perception.
Seawater intake is the essential process of SWRO desalination and is of utmost importance for desalination projects since it
conditions other processes like pre-treatment, membrane selection, membrane treatment and post-treatment, and it influences
product water quality. The objective of seawater intakes is to provide reliable and consistent high-quality feed water with lowest
environmental impact.
Improvements in the raw water quality can lead to reduction in the complexity of pretreatment systems, for example: reducing the
need for physical cleaning and the quantity of used chemicals, and increasing the operational reliability of facilities. Commonly,
feeding higher quality raw water into the primary membrane process leads to a reduction in the rate of organic biofouling, reduced
capital cost for construction of pretreatment processes, and reduced operating costs for maintenance, chemical use, and accessory operations.
Intake designs are mostly site specific, possibly more so then any other aspect of the desalination facility. The field survey, design,
monitoring, and permitting activities that surround them, may represent between 15-20% of the capital cost of the entire facility, and
it is basically that intake-related issues may ultimately determine the feasibility and performance of the desalination plant itself.

36

Geometrical Characteristics of Inclined Negatively Buoyant Jets: A Numerical Approach


H. Kheirkhah Gildeh1, A. Mohammadian1, I. Nistor1 and H. Qiblawey2
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
2
University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Email: h.kheirkhah.gil@gmail.com
A numerical study of inclined turbulent jets with negatively buoyant discharge into stationary ambient water is presented in this
paper. Two discharge angles (30 and 45) have been investigated. These two angles were selected due to lower terminal rise
heights for 30 and 45, which are critically important for discharges of effluent in shallow waters compared to higher angles. The
jet evolutions for the cases have been modeled using OpnFOAM which is based on Finite Volume Method (FVM). A refined mesh
system has been used in all cases for better capturing of the velocity and concentration fields close to the nozzle and the bottom
of the tank. The results in this paper concern the geometrical properties of the trajectory. This includes the following parameters:
(1) the terminal rise height of the jet at steady state condition, (2) the horizontal distance from the nozzle to the point where the final
terminal rise height is observed, and (3) the horizontal distance from the nozzle to the point where the jet returns to the elevation of
the nozzle. Three different cases have been investigated numerically for each angle. The densimetric Froude number of the effluent
at the nozzle ranges between 10 and 34. Five Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes turbulence models were applied to evaluate the
accuracy of CFD predictions. These models include two Linear Eddy Viscosity Models: RNG k-E, and realizable k-E; one Nonlinear Eddy Viscosity Model: Nonlinear k-E; and two Reynolds Stress Models: LRR and Launder-Gibson. Comparing to the previous
experimental and analytical data, it has been observed that the LRR and realizable k-E turbulence models predict the flow more
accurately among the various turbulence models studied herein.

37

Treatment of Mixed Bed Ion Exchange Resins Regeneration Wastewater by Reverse Osmosis (RO) Method and Determination of
Operation Conditions
Karim Ghasemipanah and Rasti Abuzar
Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran
E-mail: ghasemipanahk@ripi.ir
This research was done to investigate the treatability and reuse of Mixed Bed ion Exchange Resins regeneration Wastewater
(MBERW) by using reverse osmosis process in a pilot plant. At a petrochemical company in Iran for steam generation, after reverse
osmosis process in water treatment plant, the mixed bed ion exchange resins are used to deionize water. After resin saturation,
regeneration will be done by sulphuric acid and caustic soda. The regeneration operation cycle in a day is led to produce about
1100 m3 wastewater. At present this wastewater with 8000 s/cm Electrical Conductivity (EC) is discharged to outside of company.
The aim of this study is determination of the most appropriate applied pressure and feed flow rate for treatment of MBERW and
their effects on permeate and flux in a pilot plant. Results showed the optimum conditions for treating of this wastewater in pilot
plant consist of 9 bar pressure, 115 l/min feed flow rate as the best options which 26.5 l/m2.hr permeate flux, 86.8 % salt rejection,
and 13 % recovery ratio for one 8 inch spiral wound element were obtained. Findings showed that industrial wastewater from ion
exchange regeneration unit can be treated satisfactorily by the method presented in this study.

38

Desalination Integration with Renewable Energy for Climate Change Abatement in MENA Region
Eman Hasan
Faculty of Engineering, Misurata University, Misurate, Libya
Email: dr_eman30@hotmail.com
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is considered the most water-scarce region in the world. Renewable energy has
tremendous potential to provide energy security and reduce green houses gases emissions in MENA. Renewable energies for use
in desalination processes include wind, solar thermal, photovoltaic and geothermal. The objective of this research is to review
and select the best choice of desalination technology combination with renewable solar energy in MENA region, among different
alternatives systems using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The alternative systems are Solar still, Solar Humidification (Solar
MHE), Concentrating Solar Plant Multi Effect Desalination (CSP-MED), Photovoltaic Reverse Osmosis (PV-RO) and Photovoltaic
Electodyalsis Reverse (PV-EDR). Energy demand, capacity of desalination plant (m3/day), cost of produced water (USD/m3), volume
of saline water per m3 fresh water, volume of brine effluents per m3 of fresh water and cost of brine disposal (USD/m3) are the criteria that have been taken into consideration in the process of analysis. A specific weight is given to each criterion according to its
relative influence on the process of decision making. The results from the presented methodology determine the relative suitability
of renewable energy desalination systems in MENA.

39

Impact of Marine Outfall Systems on Environment: Indian Scenario


N. Jayaraju and G. Sreenivasulu
Department of Geology, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, India
Email: nadimikeri@gmail.com
India has a long coastline of over 8000 km with associated continental shelf of 0.5 million km2 and an Exclusive Economic Zone of
2.02 million km2. The coastal zone of the country with its wetlands, lagoons, mangroves, sea-grass beds, coral reefs and shallow
bays, creeks and estuaries is rich in natural resources. Unfortunately, much of this wealth is often exploited in an indiscriminate or
ill-planned manner resulting in rapid resource depletion and irreversible environmental degradation. Indiscriminate marine outfalls
of untreated or partially treated wastes without considering the assimilative capacity of the waste receiving water body have resulted in pockets of polluted environs with depleted coastal resources, public health risks and loss of biodiversity. Over 300 million
people living in the coastal zone of India are considered to generate 1.11 x 1010 m3 of sewage annually ( including cooling system
outfalls, waste water). There is a high concentration of large and medium industries within the narrow coastal belt of 25 km width
than the rest of the country. These industries are estimated to generate 1.35 million m3/d of liquid effluent and about 34,500 ton/d
of solid waste. The West coast of India is more industrialized than the East coast with Maharashtra and Gujarat having largest
concentration of industries. A Survey revealed that out of 308 large and medium industries in the country, 233 were located along
the West coast. A major fraction of the liquid effluents is released to marine areas, presumably treated, to meet specifications of the
respective state pollution control board. In addition, aquaculture farms, largely concentrated in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,
generate 2.37 million m3/d of effluent. Much of the development along the coast has taken place several kilometers inland from the
shoreline. Primary considerations for such developments in the past had been the availability of water, electricity and transport,
while, environment received the lowest priority. Evidently, many industries are located near national highways and railway stations
and release their effluents in nearby rivers, estuaries or creeks. Nearly 8% of industries in the country are located around Mumbai in
four large industrial clusters namely, Trans Thane-Belapur belt, Kalyan-Ulhasnagar-Ambarnath belt, western bank of Thane Creek
and around Patalganga and Amba Rivers. Evidently, Ulhas, Patalganga and Amba rivers as well as Thane Creek are the recipients
of a variety of wastes. On a conservative estimate the oil demand of 94 million ton in 1999-2000 is projected to reach 155 million t
by 2006-07. Domestic production however, was only 31.95 million ton in 1999-2000 and met about 34% of the total need making it
inevitable to import large volumes of oil. Despite best efforts put in so far, indigenous crude oil production is expected to be only
around 58 million t on an annual basis by 2006. Hence, the wide gap between the indigenous production and demand will continue
to be met through imports of crude oil and petroleum products. The rivers along the coast of India discharge about 1.56 x 1012 m3
of runoff annually to the seas transporting a wide range of pollutants of terrestrial origin. The present paper attempts to study the
impact of the marine outfalls on the environment which is washed to the sea through river runoff thereby increasing the productivity
potential of the marine area that, in the long run, can considerably modify the marine outfall systems.

40

Ultrafiltration of Seawater Impacted by Algal Organic Matter


Muhammad Tariq Khan1, Jean Philippe Croue1, Veronica G. Molina2 and Nasir Moosa2
1
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
2
Dow Saudi Arabia, KAUST Research Park, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: muhammed.khan@kaust.edu.sa
In seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process, use of a source water pretreatment setup implementing ultrafiltrationis
continuously increasing. This size based membrane barrier to the foulantsensures that the quality of water supplied to RO membranes is adequately improved. However, during naturally occurring algal bloom events, it becomes more challenging to pretreat
the source water to a satisfactory level. Algal organic matter (AOM) released during these events strongly impacts RO membrane
performance leading to strong organic fouling but also enhancing the risk of biofouling formation by serving as nutrient for bacterial growth.In this study the fouling potential of seawater AOM was evaluated toward two different types of UF hollow fiber membranes under controlled experimental conditions.Fouling indexes, i.e., Hydraulically Irreversible Fouling Index (HIFI) and Chemically Irreversible Fouling Index (CIFI) were determined and the permeate quality (i.e., DOC profile) was monitored over time.

41

Monitoring of Phytoplankton Species and Associated Bacterial Populations in the Coastal Water of United Arab Emirates
M.A. Khan1, K.G.A. Qalandri2, A. Sankaran1, L.H. Adnani1 and U. AlAlami1
1
Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2
Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Email: Munawwar.Khan@zu.ac.ae
The aim of this study was to monitor the phytoplankton species and associated bacterial populations in the coastal waters of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). Samples were collected from the Umm al Quwain (UAQ) and the Dibba coastal water area. The samples were analyzed to determine the phytoplankton species and associated bacterial populations. Fluorescent in situ hybridization
(FISH) technique using six sub-groups and a family specific oligonucleotide probe was performed on the ethanol and paraformaldehyde fixed samples. The microscope-based analysis of eight samples revealed the presence of both toxic and non-toxic phytoplankton species. The four dominant harmful dinoflagellate species detected in the samples were Cochlodinium polykrikoides,
Dinophysis caudata, Prorocentrum arenarium and Protoperidinium spp. The FISH analysis showed a diverse bacterial community
associated with phytoplankton species. The overall findings of this study showed the presence of 4 non-toxic and 11 toxic phytoplankton species in the UAE coastal water samples. The FISH analysis indicated the presence of a highly diverse bacterial community belonging to five different sub-groups (Alpha, Beta and Gamma sub-classes of proteobacteria, High and Low G+C sub-groups)
and one family (Enterobacteriaceae).

42

Integrated using of Desalination Brine Effluent and Flue Gas for Growing of Cyanobacteria Spirulina
Abdolmajid Lababpour
National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran
Email: lababpour@nigeb.ac.ir
A comprehensive study on production of useful biomass for various applications such as biofuels; utilizing the desalination brine
discharge; and capturing the carbon dioxide of flue gas to decrease their environmental impacts on global warming caused by
greenhouse gases were the motivation for performing this research. This work aimed to evaluate the laboratory cultivation of
photosynthetic cyanobacteria Spirulina in desalination brine for biomass production and desalination effluent treatment. The cultivation performed in 2-L photobioreactor illuminated with 2 fluorescent lamps from both sides. The cultures were agitated with
airstreams prepared by an airfish pumps. The flow rate of aeration was controlled by a mass flowmeter at 2L min-1. As the reject
brine and the flue gas have both inhibitory effects on the cell growth of Spirulina, the growth rate of Spirulina was lower in the beginning phases of the experiments. In the other word, after adaptation cells growth increased and reached to 0.6-g L-1 in a 15-day
cultivation period. Simultaneous biomass production, ions removal of reject brine, and carbon dioxide fixation were performed
in the experiments. Future experiments are ongoing for optimization of Spirulina cultivation conditions with desalination brine
discharge and combustion flue gas.

43

Combining Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Missions with Hydroacoustic Current meters and Hydrodynamic Flow Visualizations for the Evaluation of a Submerged offshore SWRO Concentrate Discharge
1

R. van der Merwe1, T. Bleninger2, D. Acevedo-Feliz3, S. Lattemann1 and G. Amy1


Water Desalination and Reuse Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
2
Departmentof Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Paran (UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil
3
Visualization Laboratory, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Email: riaan.vandermerwe@kaust.edu.sa

High salinity discharges from seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants into the marine environment may adversely affect water
quality in the near-field area surrounding the outfall. In general, very little systematic information from full-scale operations on
marine biota is available and even less to quantify such impacts for regulatory purposes. Scientifically validated and efficient
planning tools in the form of predictive models and expert systems are normally used to assist regulators with regards to possible
impacts on the marine environment. Numeric modeling has always been an efficient tool, useful for predicting concentrate plume
behavior in seawater. As part of this study, we conducted a series of propulsion driven autonomous underwater (AUV) missions
in multiple areas around the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) underwater concentrate discharge
structure. The purpose was to combine a series of AUV missions with hydroacoustic current meters for the effective evaluation of
a submerged offshore SWRO concentrate discharge. We also utilized the Cornell Mixing Zone Expert System (CORMIX) for modeling the negatively buoyant effluent and explored different design configurations.
The paper therefore focuses on the evaluation of an existing SWRO desalination outfall design with the emphasis on the regulatory
mixing zone (RMZ). The objective is to produce a baseline that will provide SWRO plant operators and environmental competent
agencies with a broad framework to ensure sustainable concentrate discharge management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
elsewhere.

44

Hydrodynamic Modelling of Large-scale Cooling Water Outfalls with a Dynamically Coupled near field and far field Modelling
System
Robin Morelissen1, Roland Vlijm1 and Intae Hwang2
Hydraulic Engineering Department, Deltares, Rotterdamseweg, Delft, The Netherlands
2
KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company Inc, South Korea
Email: Robin.Morelissen@deltares.nl

A dynamically coupled near field and far field modelling system was developed in previous research by coupling the CORMIX near
field expert system to the Delft3D-FLOW far field system. That research has shown that the dynamic coupling of the two models in
combination with the distributed entrainment sinks approach (DESA), results in a more comprehensive and accurate representation
of the modelled physical processes over different spatial scales associated with outfalls.
In the present study, the dynamically coupled modeling system was extended for other and multiple discharge types and was
applied in an engineering study for multiple (planned) large-scale cooling water outfalls for a Korean power plant. Next to the
application of the coupled modeling system to the future situation with all planned large cooling water outfalls in operation, this
comprehensive modeling approach was also validated against near field measurements around the first large-scale outfall diffuser in operation at the project site. The numerical model simulation results were compared to the measurement data for several
physical phenomena related to the outfall and observed in the measurement data. Furthermore, the results from the dynamically
coupled modeling system were compared to results from simulations carried out with a traditional method for modeling outfalls.
The validation of the coupled modeling system shows that this comprehensive modeling approach is able to reproduce the physical
phenomena of the outfall very well, including some less obvious observations. The traditional modeling approach is not able to reproduce these phenomena correctly, since some important physical processes are not well represented in that modeling approach.
The dynamically coupled near field-far field modeling system is therefore an important improvement in adequately modeling outfalls. For the engineering project, this improved modeling approach led to a more accurate and less conservative prediction of the
environmental impacts of the outfall and a more accurate and safer prediction of the design parameters of the intake and outfall
configuration of these large-scale power plants.

45

Formation of Emerging Disinfection Byproducts by Chlorination/Chloramination of Seawater Impacted by Algal Organic Matter
M. Nihemaiti, J. Le Roux and J.P. Croue
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia
Email: julien.leroux@kaust.edu.sa
The aim of this work was to study the formation of haloacetamides (HAcAms) and other DBPs during chlorination and chloramination of algal organic matter (AlOM). The HAcAms formation potentials of different precursors (amino acids, simulated algal blooms
grown in the Red Sea) were evaluated. Experiments with simulated algal blooms were conducted in the presence of bromide ion
(synthetic seawater containing 800 g/l Br-) to assess the formation of brominated analogues of HAcAms in conditions close to
the disinfection of real seawater. Chlorination produced more HAcAms than chloramination from real algae (Synecococcus), thus
indicating that the nitrogen of HAcAms comes predominantly from DON through the decarboxylation of amino acids rather than
from NH2Cl.Dibrominated species of DBPs (i.e., DBAcAm, DBAA, DBAN) were the dominant species formed by both chlorination and
chloramination of algal blooms samples. Chloramination of the amino acid asparagine produced an important amount of DCAcAm
as compared to chlorination, indicating the existence of a specific reaction pathway.

46

Impacts of desalination effluents on macrobenthic assemblages in Bahrain, Arabian Gulf


Humood Naser
College of Science, University of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: hnaser@uob.edu.bh
Most of the fresh water needs in the Arabian Gulf countries are being obtained from seawater through the various processes of
desalination, including Multi-Stage Flash (MSF), and seawater/brackish Reverse Osmosis (RO). Hypersaline water discharges associated with chemical products from desalination plants are increasingly becoming a serious threat to coastal and marine ecosystems in the Arabian Gulf. Receiving coastal and marine environments are subject to chemical and physical alterations that can
subsequently affect benthic communities. Macrobenthic assemblages are widely used to detect anthropogenic impacts, including
effluent discharges, on coastal and marine environments. The present study utilized macrobenthic assemblages to characterize
the effects of water discharges from desalination plants on marine environment in Bahrain. Two major desalination plants that use
Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) and brackish water Reverse Osmosis (RO) technologies and produce around 66,000 and 1,500 m3day-1,
respectively were selected. Macrobenthic assemblages in the proximity of the desalination plants were sampled subtidally in a
transect design in order to detect the gradient impacts on macrobenthic assemblages. Environmental parameters were measured and selected nutrients in seawaters and heavy metals in sediments were analyzed. Differences in macrobenthic community
structure were detected between the two sampling areas. Reduced levels of biodiversity and abundance were found in sampling
stations adjacent to the outlet of MSF reflecting severe impacts on macrobenthic assemblages caused by brine effluents that associated with high levels temperature and salinity. Although localized severe impacts on macrobenthic assemblages were detected,
collective discharges of desalination effluents, may synergistically contribute to the degradation of the naturally stressed marine
ecosystems and natural resources in the Arabian Gulf.

47

BrIHne-Jet-Spreading: A New Model to Simulate the Near Field Region of Brine Jet Discharges
P. Palomar, J.L. Lara, L. Tarrade, and I.J. Losada
Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria (IH Cantabria), Parque Cientfico Tecnolgico de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
Email: palomarmp@unican.es
Faced with the potential negative impact of brine on the marine environment, numerical modelling is a fundamental tool to predict
the brine flow behaviour. The most used commercial models to simulate brine discharges present significant shortcomings and a
poor agreement with the experimental data published (Palomar et al, 2012).
To better understand the brine flow behaviour and the commercial models disagreement with experimental data, the Environmental
Hydraulics Institute has carried out an in-depth experimental study of the brine flow behaviour when discharged through jets. The
jet path and the spreading layer have been characterized by using laser anemometry techniques. Thanks to this experimental research, the simplifying assumptions generally assumed by commercial models have been critical assessed and a huge database
to calibrate and validate numerical models has been generated.
To overcome the commercial model shortcomings and to achieve more feasible predicting tools, IH Cantabria is developing a set
of alternative models to simulate brine discharges: brIHne tools. These models simulates discharges under different disposal
systems, covering the near and the far field region. They have been recalibrated with the experimental database obtained by the
experimental research carried out.
Among the available brIHne models, Brihe-Jet-Spreading is presented in more detail in the present document. It simulates the
whole near field region of a brine single port jet discharge, providing the spreading layer features at the end of the near field region.
BrIHne tools can be run online from the website www.brihne.ihcantabria.com.

48

Numerical modeling of a Coaxial Buoyant Surface Discharge


AbolGhasem Pilechi1, Abdolmajid Mohammadian1, Colin D. Rennie1 and Hazim Qiblawey2
1
Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa Canada.
2
Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Email: apile073@uottawa.ca
In this paper, the near field mixing of a highly buoyant surface outfall was simulated using both a hydrostatic model and a coupled hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic model. The coupling approach performance was evaluated by comparing the coupled nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic model with the hydrostatic model. The estimated bed detachment point by the hydrostatic and the nonhydrostatic models were very close. However, the non-hydrostatic model showed better performance in estimating the width and
the thickness of the plume in the near field. The coupling non-hydrostatic and hydrostatic approach was determined to be efficient
in simulating the mixing process.

49

Seawater Intakes for Desalination Plants: Design and Construction


Eloy Pita
Ingeniera Creativa Pita, S.L. (INCREA), C/ Buganvilla 6, Madrid, Spain
Email: epita@increa.eu
The function of seawater intakes in desalination plants is to collect water of specific characteristics for the required function. The
design thereof must be carried out so that the negative impacts on the environment may be minimised to the upmost and with adequate characteristics of water relating to temperature, suspended solids, etc.
The most commonly used structures at desalination plants are open intakes located on the seabed. These structures are elements
which are, generally speaking, constructed from reinforced concrete, special metal alloys or plastic elements (GRP) covered with
concrete. Water taken from them is then transported by means of underwater pipelines to the pump stations, which are located on
land.
This presentation supplements other papers as it will explain the new trends in intake structure design with an emphasis on recent
experiences.

50

Cost effective Fouling control in (cooling) Water intake Systems with Environmental and Operational Benefits
H.J.G. Polman and M.C.M. Bruijs
DNV GL Energy Advisory, The Netherlands
Email: harry.polman@dnvgl.com
Colonization of intake (cooling) water systems by fouling organisms is a major concern for industries, power and desalination
plants over the world. Biofouling can result in increased risk of upset conditions and large operational problems, resulting in a
reduction of output or even an unplanned shutdown which has high costs impact. Biofouling results in an increased wall roughness
and reduction of the inner pipe diameter which leads to a significant head loss in the intake structure and requires additional pump
capacity. To prevent settlement and growth of fouling species, an effective antifouling treatment is required. Worldwide, the standard industrial practice in coastal areas is application an oxidative biocide, e.g. hypochlorite, which is dosed at the water intake. Opportunities exist for science-based decisions to optimize site-specific biocide dosing regime, that enable cost-efficient and reliable
fouling control while complying to stringent regulatory discharge limits. R&D in this work field resulted in the dosing technology
Pulse-Chlorination which applies a timed based on/off low level chlorine dosing regime based on the reactional patterns of local
bivalve fouling species. The adaptation of this dosing technology has resulted in significant reduction of chlorine use (up to 50%)
and proved to be more effective in preventing biofouling settlement in intake and cooling water systems compared to continuous
and shock dosing regimes and resulted in major costs savings and consequently reduced the environmental impact significantly

51

Environmental Quality Standards for Brine Discharge from Desalination Plants


Anton Purnama
College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: antonp@squ.edu.om
When many desalination plants are operated closely together along the coastal areas, the continuous brine stream discharges
through sea outfalls from these cluster plants can have a significant impact on the coastal marine environment. The potential impact can be reduced and regulated, in addition to some treatment and recycling technologies, by restricting concentration levels
of brine at the discharge point (known as ELV, the emission limit values) or in addition to the outfall design, by imposing the environmental quality standards (EQS) within the coastal waters prescribed as the concentration limit values.
Since it is practical and easy to monitor the concentration at the end-of-outfall, many regulators and permitting authorities prefer
ELV over EQS for granting a discharge permit. This makes the permit holder not aware of the possibility of harming the ecosystems
and therefore, EQS should also be taken into consideration in granting a discharge permit.
In order to demonstrate compliance with EQS, analytical solutions of the far field mathematical model for single and multiple outfall
discharges based on a flat seabed are developed that incorporate the effect of a tidally oscillating flow. Using asymptotic approximation of the solutions, the paper proposes the maximum value of the brine concentration at the shoreline as an impact measure
for EQS. The results can answer questions such as: if a new desalination plant is allowed to be built on a coastline which is close
to an existing plant, how can one calculate the compounded impacts? In particular, will a possible scenario ever arise in which the
existing plant with a discharge permit based on EQS no longer meets the regulatory requirements?

52

CFD Techniques for Mixing and Dispersion of Desalination and other Marine Discharges
David Robinson1, 2, Matthew Piggott1, Gerard Gorman1 and Matthew Wood2
1
Applied Modelling and Computation Group, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
2
HR Wallingford Limited, United Kingdom
Email: M.Wood@hrwallingford.com
Accurate and appropriate assessment of the dispersion and dilution of effluent is important when planning desalination and other
marine discharges. Environmental impact and engineering constraints must be considered. Studies carried out to support the design and planning processes usually involve computational models. Two-stage approaches are often used: 1) a near-field dilution
assessment, based on mixing zone software or empirical formulae; and 2) a mid- to far-field dilution/dispersion assessment to
predict wider dispersion, using hydrodynamic models. As numerical methods and computational power improve, computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques are likely to be increasingly used to model dispersion in both the near- and far-field regions. However, in order to apply such models with confidence, validation of the underlying solvers and turbulence closure schemes must be
carried out.
This paper presents initial results of a joint study carried out between Imperial College London and HR Wallingford to assess the
most appropriate methods for modeling the near-field effects of turbulence and buoyancy on mixing within the Fluidity CFD software. Three standard test cases for modeling turbulence in typical environmental jet discharge flow regimes are simulated: free
jet, buoyant jet, and dense jet.

53

Photocatalytic Degradation of Divalent Metals under Sunlight Irradiation using Nanoparticle TiO2 Modified Concrete Materials
(Recycled Glass Cullet)
M.N. Rashed
Aswan faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt
Email: mnrashed@hotmail.com
Tackling water shortage issues with desalting of seawater and salty water is common in the desert nations of the world. Recently,
new methodologies have been developed based on using nanotechnology for water desalination. Updating the field of water treatment by photochemical technique has led to an important in oxidative degradation processes applying TiO2 as a catalyst. Searching for low-cost technologies for materials science application, glass waste was used as adsorbent and a promoting catalyst
for photocatalytic oxidation of pollutants under sunlight irradiation source. In this study the newly explored nanocomposite TiO2
catalyst supported with recycled glass cullet, derived from crushed waste beverage bottles (as adsorbent), was used as promising alternative catalyst material for the removal of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn from water. The effects of various parameters (adsorbent
and catalyst dose, solution pH, contact time and initial metal concentration) on the metal removal efficiency were investigated.
The results revealed higher removal percent of metals using glass cullet /TiO2 (GB /TiO2) than GB as low-cost materials for water
treatment.

54

Investigations into the Effects of Field Spacer Filament Spacings on Fouling Properties of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane
Surfaces using Computational Fluid Dynamic Techniques
Asim Saeed, Rupa Vuthaluru and Hari B. Vuthaluru
School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, Australia
Email: h.vuthaluru@curtin.edu.au
Membrane operations often experience material build-up on membrane surfaces leading to maintenance issues during reverse
osmosis (RO) operations. Although several studies addressed the flow distributions and concentration patterns during membrane
operations, the prediction of fouling propensities of top and bottom membranes are non-existent. Present study investigates the effects of dimensionless filament spacing of feed spacer on flow and concentration patterns on membrane surfaces. Comparisons of
spacers in terms of a novel concept Spacer Configuration Efficacy, SCE (which is the ratio of Sherwood number to Power number)
revealed that spacers with higher SCE values would lead to higher mass transport of the solute away from the membrane walls
with moderate energy losses. Among the 16 spacer arrangements studied, spacer with filament spacing of 4 was found to be the
optimal (Reh up to 200) with moderate pressure drop with nearly equal/higher area weighted values of mass transfer coefficient for
the two walls leading to lower/equal fouling tendencies for top and bottom membrane surfaces. The observations reported in this
paper are non-existent in the literature and will be of practical value to RO operations in paving the way for efficient membrane
module designs with reduced periodic maintenance of membranes.

55

Installation of Shore Approaches and Sealines with Trenchless Methods: Technologies and Case Studies
Peter Schmaeh
Business Unit Utility Tunnelling, Herrenknecht AG, Germany
Email: schmaeh.peter@herrenknecht.de
From the mainland into the sea or vice versa. For a sea outfall, an intake or landfall, a pipeline is laid from the mainland out to sea
or into a lake or river. Such lines can be installed by trenchless technology using pipe jacking, segment lining or pipeline installation methods (HDD and direct pipe), according to requested diameter, length and geological conditions.
This paper shows different trenchless installation methods, also for large diameter pipelines. Selected case histories show the
multi-purpose use of the trenchless outfall technology in various industrial sectors. Herrenknecht machines have installed numerous marine outfall systems safely beneath the seabed, such as sewer and brine outlets or landfall constructions for oil and gas
pipelines. Another application field which has been gaining importance during the recent years are water intake and brine tunnels
for desalination plants. With machine concepts for offshore foundations, e.g. wind parks for renewable energy, Herrenknecht also
entered the energy sector. Tunnels and casings for offshore-onshore connection lines and cooling water intakes for coastal power
plants complete the trenchless range of energy solutions.
Furthermore, the paper points out environmental and economic aspects of tunnelled outfall construction. Trenchless installation
methods have less impact on the environment and on the existing infrastructure than methods applying open-cut-trenching. They
reduce environmental impact and can also be carried out in heavily built-up areas. Shipping and tourisms remain unaffected. The
pipeline is better protected against damage and therefore has a longer lifetime. Due to the fact that the tunnelled pipeline lays
underground, it is safe and maintenance-free for decades.

56

Power Plants in Northern Germany: Project Examples for Optimizing Intakes and Outfalls
Oliver Stoschek
DHI, Coastal and Estuarine Dynamics Department, Hrsholm, Denmark
Email: ost@dhigroup.com
Reliable production of low cost electrical power will in the near future be one of the most challenging infrastructural problems in
Germany. Numerous existing power plants (nuclear/coal) need to be replaced within the next 5 to 10 years. All these power plants
need cooling water, either taken from an atmospheric cooling tower or directly from rivers and seas. As heated outfall water may
potentially affect the surrounding environment and other cooling water systems in the area, and because of recirculation optimization for the system itself is needed, methods for evaluating the effects has to be adopted. Several new plants along the German
shoreline have been in the planning phase in the last years. This paper gives a short overview about the planned and realized
sites. Three examples from the North Sea coast and the River Elbe were chosen to illustrate different intake and outfall techniques
at the seaside, in an estuary and inside a tidal river. Numerical models were used to optimize the shape, size and location of the
structures. All examples show the clear demand of on-site investigations to optimize the design for intake and outfall structures. In
nearly all cases optimization is needed to stay within the environmental criteria, e.g. the size of the mixing zone.

57

Hydrodynamic and Thermal Dispersion Modeling of the Effluent in a Coastal Channel


Ahmad Sana
College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: sana@squ.edu.om
Generally an outfall structure is designed to keep minimum possible impact on the ambient environment. Mostly the effluent is
discharged into the sea through diffusers placed at recommended depths and offshore spans to enhance the efficiency of the mixing process. The local environmental regulations dictate the allowable effluent water quality parameters after mixing process has
taken place. In certain situations the industrial plant is located in the proximity of a natural channel forming a lagoon-like water
body and only thermal dispersion is the main concern. The disposal of such a treated effluent in the channel would be economically
feasible, since a submerged outfall will not be required.
One of such situations is the topic of the present study. An industrial plant is expected to produce an effluent having a temperature
of approximately 40oC. Such a high temperature may cause thermal pollution along-with erosion in the channel and deposition of
the eroded sediment in the vicinity of the channel mouth (in the sea). Delft3D suite was used in the present study, which is one of
the modern models capable of predicting over greater distances in the water body of the concentration distributions for different
pollutants as well as morphologic changes occurring due to high flow rate.

58

Mirfa IWPP: Plume Dispersion and Recirculation Modelling in a Complex Hydrodynamic Environment Using Scenario Based
Adaptive Modelling
1

Fahd Shehhi1, Fadi Makarem1, Eiad Al Hawat1, Robin Morelissen2 and Wilbert Verbruggen2
National Energy and Water Research Center, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority, United Arab Emirates
2
Deltares, Rotterdamseweg, Delft, The Netherlands
E-mail: fahd.shehhi@adwea.ae

The electricity demand in various regions in the Middle East is expected to increase significantly in the near future. In the Western
Region of Abu Dhabi, the expected increase in electricity demand from 2010 to 2015 is about 11%. The Abu Dhabi Executive Council approved on the 5th June 2012 the development of an extended power and water production at Mirfa with a maximum power
capacity of 1600 MW and a water capacity of 52.5 MIGD.
For the implementation of the Mirfa IWPP, Deltares and the National Energy and Water Research Center, subsidiary of the Abu
Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority, collaborated together to carry out a marine baseline survey and hydrodynamic and water
quality modeling for the new extension. Delft3D simulation software was used to study the potential impact associated with the
proposed extension of Mirfa plant. Based on hydrodynamic simulations, it was found that the plume is vertically mixed over the
water column and deeper outfall channel has less positive effect on plume dispersion near outfall. Also, maximum recirculation of
0.15 oC and 0.7 ppt for temperature and salinity respectively were found to take place at the intake channel.

59

The Effect of Fouling on Performance and Design Aspects of Multiple Effects Desalination Systems
F. Tahir, M. Atif and M.A. Antar
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Email: antar@kfupm.edu.sa
MED systems are attractive water desalination units for large capacity production, low TBT that does not exceed 65oC and less
power consumption compared to other thermal desalination systems. A MED system is modeled for performance prediction as
well as the assessment of design aspects such as the total heat transfer area in the effects, the preheaters and the system down
condenser. Then, the system degradation with time due to fouling is considered for both rating and design aspects. It is therefore
believed that the results presented in this manuscript fill an existing in the open literature for such information and can provide
guidelines for designers and engineers using MED systems for specifying system sizes and/or scheduling maintenance of the
existing MED systems.

60

Modelling of Dense Brine Discharges in Oman: Recirculation and Environmental Aspects: A Case Study
Wilbert Verbruggen1, Robin Morelissen1, Carlos Martn Freixa2 and Naif Al-Abri3
1
Deltares, Rotterdamseweg , Delft, The Netherlands
2
Ayesa, Npoles, Barcelona, Spain
3
Oman Power and Water Procurement Company, P.O. Box 1388, Oman
Email: Wilbert.Verbruggen@deltares.nl
To minimize the effects on the environment and optimize the performance of the increasing amount of desalination plants in Oman
and other parts of the world, a comprehensive and reliable numerical modeling assessment of the brine effluent behavior is of great
importance. This paper elaborates on the specific techniques required for such a comprehensive assessment and the benefits of
these techniques compared to other (more general) approaches. The techniques will be illustrated for a detailed assessment of the
recirculation potential and outfall plume behavior for a proposed desalination plant in Oman.
In this assessment, a process-based numerical model, Delft3D, was applied to identify feasible intake and outfall layout options
regarding the recirculation potential and compliance with regard to environmental criteria. Aspects such as possible sensitivity to
algal blooms, available head for discharging, diffuser dimensions etc. were also taken into consideration. The initial mixing behavior of the effluent close to the diffuser was assessed using the CORMIX expert system and knowledge from literature. The resulting
near-field information was included in the Delft3D model using the Distributed Entrainment Sinks Approach (DESA), which includes
sinks along the jet trajectory in the far field model to also represent entrainment effects in the far field model. This study has shown
that these entrainment effects can be significant for the plume behavior (even) in the far field if different (negatively and positively
buoyant) plumes interact at the outfall location. The modeling assessment was carried out following a state-of-the art ScenarioBased Adaptive Modeling approach (SBAM), which was applied to determine a complete set of ambient conditions, which covers
all representative and governing processes for the behavior of the effluent. The comprehensive and detailed modeling approach
that was applied in this study has resulted in an accurate representation of the expected outfall plume behavior and recirculation
potential and provided very useful input to the design process of the overall project.

61

Web-based Rapid-assessment Tools for Designing Intake and Outfall Systems


Roland Vlijm, Robin Morelissen and Wilbert Verbruggen
Deltares, Rotterdamseweg, Delft, The Netherlands
Email: Roland.Vlijm@deltares.nl
Early involvement of numerical modelling assessments in the design process of an intake and outfallsystem can be very beneficial
to the optimisation of the design from an operational and environmental point of view. When quick and reliable assessments can
be made available in the first stages of a project, important design decisions can be made based on better and more information.
To allow for an efficient initial assessment of the expected effects and behaviour of coastal outfalls, rapid-assessment modelling
techniques and tools have been under development. These techniques and tools allow for screening different designs under representative ambient conditions to obtain an initial assessment on feasibility and performance of the design options. Furthermore,
they allow for involvement and interaction with the designer/developer. A wide range of possible tools and applications are being
used or developed, of which some examples are presented in this paper:

Web-based interactive model results viewer; this tool allows the designer of an outfall to interactively and independently
work with the results of a detailed numerical modelling assessment (carried out by a modelling expert) to optimise aspects of the intake and outfall design.
Web-based rapid-assessment tools; an example of a web-based rapid-assessment tool for the dispersion of dredge
(sediment) plumes and the expected effects on ecology has been developed for a pilot in Singapore. A similar concept
could be used for coastal outfalls, e.g. for initial design considerations and siting of plants, taking into account regional,
cumulative effects of outfalls.
Operational warning systems; operationally running modelling systems can provide very useful forecasts and assessments on e.g. harmful algal blooms, jelly fish, oil spills or other events that could affect the operation of intakes and outfall
systems by indicating available response times in these events.

In addition, some outlooks on other, new applications for such tools and techniques are presented. The interactive, rapid-assessment tools and techniques contribute to efficient and high-quality designs, beneficial to engineers, operators and environment and
can assist in the iteration and communication with the developers and stakeholders.

62

Conference Organizing Committee


Dr. Mahad Baawain, Chair, ICDEMOS, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Dr. Mushtaque Ahmed, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences
Dr. Anton Purnama, College of Science
Dr. B.S. Choudri, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Dr. Osman Abdalla, Water Research Center and College of Science
Dr. Ahmed Al-Busaidi, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences
Dr. Mohammed Al-Abri, College of Engineering
Dr. Nabeel Al-Abri, College of Engineering
Dr. Ahmad Sana, College of Engineering
Mr. Saeed Al-Muharrmy, Deanship of Research
Ms. Zahra Al-Siyabi, Deanship of Research
Mr. Khalifa Al-Zeidi, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Mr. Khamis Al-Hadrami, Department of Public Relations and Information
Ms. Rahma Al-Siyabi, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Ms. Safiya Al-Mahrouqi, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Ms. Maryam Al-Nasseri, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)
Conference Scientific Committee
Dr. Adrian Law, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore
Dr. Ahmed Mohamed, Hydraulic Research Institute, Egypt
Dr. Anupam Sarkar, National Institute of Oceanography, India
Dr. B. Miller, University of New South Wales, Australia
Dr. C.D. Memos, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Dr. D. Botelho, BMT WBM Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
Dr. D.D. Shao, Beijing Normal University, China
Prof. Joydeep Dutta, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Dr. J.P. Ortiz, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dr. K. Murali, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Dr. Mushtaque Ahmed, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Dr. Mohammed Al-Abri, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Dr. Nabeel Al-Abri, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Mr. Neil Palmer, National Centre of Excellence in Desalination, Australia
Prof. Philip J Roberts, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. In S. Kim, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Korea
Dr. Ahmad Sana, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Prof. Tobias Bleninger, Federal University of Parana, Brazil
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Mamun, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Conference Editorial Board
Dr. Mahad Baawain, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR), Sultan Qaboos University
Dr. Mushtaque Ahmed, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University
Dr. Anton Purnama, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University
Dr. B.S. Choudri, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR), Sultan Qaboos University
Ms. Rahma Al-Siyabi, Center for Environmental Studies and Research (CESAR)

63

Center for Environmental Studies and Research


(CESAR)
P.O. Box 17
P.C. 123 Al-Khoud
Tel: 24143122 / 3376
FaX: 24414012

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