Using Tertiary Treated Wastewater as

Desalination Plants Feed

Hassan K. Abdulrahim, PhD.
Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute (QEERI)
Qatar Foundation
 Wastewater Treatment Session
Official Launch of Ferric Chloride Plant
 Agenda
Distribution of Earths Water
Desalination Technologies in Use
Water Inventory in Qatar
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
Energy Consumptions Related to Water
Energy Required for Desalination
Energy Required for WWT
Energy Required for GW
Wastewater as a Desalination Feed Source
Conclusions
Distribution of Earths Water
71% of the earths surface
is covered by water (1,386
Mkm3)
Very small amount of the
Earth's water is freshwater
that can be used directly.
It is very important not to
waste or pollute it.

0.03% Only
Freshwater Availability
Groundwater Availability

Middle East region has 5% of the worlds population

but only 1% of the worlds renewable water resources
Desalination Technologies in Use
Thermal Membrane
Global Desalination Capacities (m3/d)

Sustainability Science and Engineering, Volume 2, Pages 1-416 (2010), Sustainable Water for the Future: Water
Recycling versus Desalination, Edited by Isabel C. Escobar and Andrea I. Schfer, ISBN: 978-0-444-53115-5
Desalted Water Demand
 Of the more than 12,500 desalination plants in
operation or in construction worldwide, 60 percent are
located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Desalination is no longer a marginal water resource, as
some countries such as Qatar and Kuwait rely 100% on
desalinated water for domestic and industrial use.
 Desalination Drivers: Feed Water and
Energy
Energy consumption is the main driver of desalination
industry.
The higher the salinity of the feed water the higher the
required energy.
SWRO specific energy consumption is about 3.5 kWh/m3 for
seawater salinity of 35,000 ppm and can go up to 6.0
kWh/m3 for Gulf seawater (salinity of 57,000 ppm)
 Qatar Water
Arid land, one of the poorest worldwide in natural water
resources, 58 Mm3/y of GW, 29 m3/Ca per year
In 2011, total withdrawal was 771.33 Mm3/y include:
414.4 Mm3/y (53.6%) from DW Fresh w,
257.2 Mm3/y (32.4%) from GW, Fresh w
108.0 Mm3/y (14.0%) from TWW
WWTP receives 400 m3/d and produce 108.0 m3/d of TWW
26.2 m3/d for aquifers recharge and 21.6 m3/d for landscape, 42
m3/d for agriculture + (250 from GW for agriculture)
 Side Effects

DP use only the Gulf water as feed

Limited and none sustainable source
Gulf water salinity and quality deteriorates
Marine life and environmental impacts
environmental catastrophic effects (Algal blooms or
radioactive pollution)
Water Reuse
 Why We Need Alternative Resources?
A Concern for Sustainability
Increasing impacts of climate change
Longer and more severe dry seasons
Widespread changes in the distribution of precipitation
with more frequent drought and flooding events,
leading to overall long-term reduction in aquifers
recharge rates
Increased water use for irrigation to meet food demand
 Why We Need Alternative Resources?

Deterioration of the quality of all freshwater sources

due to higher temperatures and diminishing flows.
Increasing water scarcity
By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or
regions with extreme water scarcity.
Water Reuse
 Why Water Reuse

Increasing water resource availability

Save scarce potable water previously used for non
potable applications.
Reduced nutrient discharge to water bodies
Enhanced recreation and tourism opportunities and
biodiversity benefits through the restoration/creation
of wetlands
 Global Water Reuse by Application

52% for
Irrigation

highly treated municipal wastewater is

discharged directly into groundwater or
Source: GWI/PUB Water Reuse Inventory, 2010 surface water sources with the intent of
augmenting drinking water supplies
 Wastewater Treatment Processes

The typical wastewater processing steps include:

Preliminary Treatment
Primary Treatment
Secondary Treatment
Tertiary Treatment
Preliminary Primary
(Screening and (Clarification and
Grit removal) Sedimentation)

Secondary
(Biological)
Treatment
 Advanced (Tertiary) Treatment
Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR)
Nitrogen Control
Biological Phosphorus Control
Coagulation and Sedimentation
Iron salts (Ferric Chloride) are added to the
wastewater to remove phosphorus.
Carbon Adsorption
Membrane Treatment
Chlorination/Dechlorination or UV
Qatar has six WWTP in operation currently
Plant Capacity (m3/d)
1 Doha West 135,000
2 Doha South 112,000
3 Lusail 60,000
4 Al Thakhira 30,000
5 Doha industrial area 12,000
6 Alkhor 4,860
Total 352,860
Doha North 439,000
Expected completion date First quarter of 2016
Total after DN 791,860
Global Water Intelligence,
http://www.globalwaterintel.com/client_media/uploaded/GWM_2011_sample_chapter.pdf
Almost all wastewater (WW), 335,000 m3/d, are treated
to tertiary level, with 175,500 m3/d with Biological
Nutrient Removal (BNR), 159,400 m3/d for just
disinfection, and 2,000 m3/d for secondary treatment.
 Energy Consumptions Related to Water
Energy is consumed in all water facilities; including:
Seawater desalting plant and distribution
WW collection, treatment in WWTPs, and distribution
GW abstraction and distribution

How much energy is consumed in each?

 Energy Required for Desalination

Desalination Processes
Thermal needs thermal and electrical energy
Membranes needs electrical energy only

Both are energy intensive, accounting for

40 - 75% of the operating cost
 Energy Consumption in Desalination: MSF
Thermal energy required 265 MJ/m3
Pumping energy 4 kWh/m3
Total Equiv. Mechanical Energy (ME) 20 kWh/m3
DW produced in 2011 was 1.135 Mm3/d (414.4 Mm3/y)
Equiv. ME = 8,288 GWh/y @ $0.12/kWh, 1.0 Billion
USD for Energy; 1.333 Billion USD of total cost
The (real) total DW cost is $3.22/m3
If DW increased to 465 Mm3/y in 2013, EP=9300 GWh/y
 Energy Consumption
Process Thermal Electrica Total Capital Typical single
energy l energy energy cost unit capacity
kWh/m3 kWh/m3 kWh/m3 $/m3/d m3/d
Thermal MSF 15 - 18 3.0 - 4.0 18 - 22 1000 - 1500 5,000 - 70,000
MED 15 - 17 1.5 - 2.0 17 - 19 900 - 1200 500 - 12,000
Membrane SWRO - 3.0 - 6.0 3.0 - 6.0 800 - 1000 1 - 25,000
BWRO - 0.5 - 2.5 0.5 - 2.5 < 800 1 - 25,000
Energy Consumption for TWW (2011)

2250 (kWh/MG)/3750 = 0.60 kWh/m3

2,250

1,750
1750 (kWh/MG)/3750 = 0.47 kWh/m3
 Energy for Tertiary treated WW (2013)
Typical specific energy consumed (SEC) in medium size
plant for tertiary treatment is 0.467 kWh/m3 in case no N2
or P removal, and 70% more when N2 and P are removed
or 0.794 kWh/m3
In 2013, about 634,860 m3/d (231.7 Mm3/y) are treated,
and EP consumed was 183.99 GWh/y
Typical Energy Consumption for a WWTP
Activated-
sludge
aeration, 56%

Buildings, 9%

Solid
Handling, 9%
Disinfection, Secondary
3% Clarifier and
Preliminary
Treatment, 5% Primary Process Water, RAS, 4%
Clarifiers and 4%
Sludge Pump,
10%
Greenberg Ely, (2011), Energy Audits for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants and Pump Stations, Course No: M02-041, Continuing, Stony
Point, NY 10980, http://www.cedengineering.com/upload/Energy%20Audits%20for%20Water%20&%20Wastewater.pdf accessed April 2014
 The most recent
calculation of the overall
groundwater balance
shows an annual
overexploitation of 108.04
million m3 per year (2012).
Of all groundwater
abstractions 92% are for
agricultural purposes, the
remaining 8% are for
domestic, municipal and
industrial uses.
Michael Naji, Structure and content of the
Environment Statistics Report 2013, lessons
learnt and data shortcomings, Environment
Statistics Workshop, 2-3 December 2013,
Total Estimated Abstraction versus Time

Qatar farming and total GW abstraction, and number of wells from 1977 to 2009, MoE final GW report (2009), [12].
Area underlain by fresh water (<1000 ppm)
and good brackish water (2000-3000 ppm)
 Energy for GW abstraction (2013)
Pumping power (PP) is used to overcome both gravity for
elevation and friction in water piping.
An example to calculate the PP for 1 m3 of water extracted
from well at 36 m below surface ( 360 kPa) to deliver it to
20 m height tank ( 200 kPa), and overcome 200 kPa of
friction by using pump of p = 65% and motor of m= 90%
is:
[1 (360+200+200)/(0.650.9)]/3600 = 0.36 kWh/m3
For 250,000 m3/d in 2013, total PP is 32.85 GWh/y
 Energy Required for Water
Energy required to deliver 1m3 of clean water from different sources
Feed Source Required Energy (kW-h/m3)
Lake or river 0.37
Groundwater 0.1 - 0.5
Tertiary Treated Wastewater 1.0 - 2.50
Advanced Treated Wastewater 0.62 - 0.87
for reuse (1.62 3.37)
Seawater 2.58 - 8.50
Cramwinckel, J. F., Water and energy nexus Role of technology, CHAPTER 16, Shell Exploration International and Production B.V., Rijswijk, the
Netherlands. http://www.fundacionbotin.org/file/10361/ Accessed April 2014
 Wastewater Reuse in the Region

Reuse varies widely, but mostly for agriculture.

GCC countries generally treat the wastewater up to
tertiary treatment.
Major amount dumped into the sea after conventional
treatment.
Partly used for greening and agriculture.
Presently there are plans for aquifers recharging using
treated wastewater.
 Wastewater as a Desalination Feed
Source
The driving force for wastewater becoming a water
source has been the advancement in water treatment
technologies.
Water conservation alone is not sufficient to solve
water scarcity challenges.
Economic value and energy footprint of water are
becoming an issue.
 Wastewater as a Desalination Feed
Source
Environmental value of water is underestimated.
Expensive desalinated water will have to be recycled as
many times as possible through water reuse.
Available technologies to produce even more superior
quality water at a reasonable cost has widened the
options for use.
Reducing the discharge of pollutants to the surface
water.
 Wastewater as a Desalination Feed
Source
It is technically and economically possible to produce
potable water from wastewater.
Desalination of seawater and brackish water for
Production of freshwater only for potable domestic
purposes.
Beneficial reuse/recycling of treated urban or
industrial wastewater to increase the overall efficiency
of water use.
Simultaneous Desalination and WW
Purification
 Most WW is treated to tertiary level with both
phosphors (P) and nitrogen (N) removal. This tertiary
treated waste water can be further treated to potable
conditions for unlimited use, other than drinking.
Qatar could make extensive use of this treated water
which cost about the DW cost.
 Expected Benefits

Decrease the consumed energy of desalting water, and

thus the cost of desalted water.
Mitigate the impacts of the desalting processes on the
air and marine environment due to the decrease of
both consumed fuel and the discharge brine back to the
sea.
Reduce the amount of the treated wastewater dumped
to the sea and hence mitigate the impacts of the
wastewater treatment plants.
Simultaneous Desalination and WW
Purification PRO Stage FO Stage TTWW
Concentrated Wastewater Recycle Pump
Back to WW Plant
RO Feed
Pump

Generator ERD

Pressurized

(draw-solution)
Tank

Seawater
Clean
Diluted
Brine

Water
RO Section

Turbine

Seawater
 Conclusions

Qatar and the GCC region are facing acute water scarcity.
The water problem in Qatar is more worsen by the very rapid
increase in population, urban expansion, and consumed water.
The increasing demand for food cannot be met by the scarce
and dwindling conventional GW water resources.
These conventional resources have already been over exploited
by irrigation practices.
 Conclusions

The water problem should be solved by sustainable water

management to cope with ever-increasing water demands.
Securing DW by solar energy, aquifer recharge using recycled
wastewater; and the use of recycled water of better than
tertiary-treated wastewater for irrigation and other purposes
are some of the sustainable solutions.
Qatar is mining its fossil water reserves. This is not only should
stop, but GW should be replenished by potable quality injected
to aquifers to restore the GW resource, and use it as strategic
water storage.
 Conclusions

DW and/or advanced TWW (both of potable quality) should

be used to aquifer storage and recharge.
Qatar is using the most inefficient desalting systems, namely
MSF and ME-TVC. Additional of these systems should be
stopped. Any new installed DW system should use the most
efficient SWRO desalting system.
 Conclusions

Qatar should fully utilize its wastewater. It should be treated

beyond its tertiary water quality for unrestricted water usage,
say to potable water quality. This should replace the usage of
GW for agriculture, and usage DW for municipal water for
non-drinking and cooking needs. Dual distribution system can
be constructed: one for high quality system DW for drinking
water and other high quality uses; and second for reclaimed
water for agricultural irrigation, landscaping, laundry, toilet
flushing, fire protection, just as examples.
 Regulations for using desalinated
wastewater
The timeline of implementing water recycling on a global scale (it
could be done is as little as 15 years):
5 years of spreading the word (or more as it catches on).
2 years to review the nations current capabilities of water distribution and the
optimal location of recycling plants.
2 years to design the recycling plants and the pipes systems that will
distribute the water.
2-3 years to build the recycling plants.
3 or more years build the pipes to distribute the water.
Time will also be needed to establish legislation regarding the use of
recycling water (this aspect will be unique to each country), however,
this will begin when the plans are drawn up to build the recycling
plants and thus will not require more time than listed above.
 No water treatment is ever without risk, including
conventional drinking water treatment and traditional
drinking water sources.
Similarly, Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR) as a new water source,
will never be a totally risk-free practice. However, using best
available technologies, risk assessment and risk management
practices, water agencies, health regulators and other
stakeholders can evaluate and mitigate the potential public
health risks from the biological or chemical contaminants
found or likely to be found in the recycled water.
Wastewater Treatment Processes and Equipment
 WATER AND AGRICULTURE
Almost 70 per cent of all available freshwater is used for agriculture.
Over pumping of groundwater by the worlds farmers exceeds natural
replenishment rates by at least 160 billion cubic meters a year.
It takes an enormous amount of water to produce crops: one to three cubic
meters to yield just one kilo of rice, and 1,000 tons of water to produce one
ton of grain.
As their income rises, people consume more poultry, beef and eggs,
requiring more feed grain. It takes four kilograms of grain to produce one
kilogram of beef, and two kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of
chicken. More grain needed means more water needed.

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information

DPI/2293 C December 2002
 WATER CONSUMPTION
There is a wide gulf between the rich and the poor in terms of water use.
People in the industrialized world use an average of 400-500 liters of
water each day. People in developing countries are considered to have
access to freshwater if they are able to obtain 20 liters of water per person
a day within one kilometer walking distance from the household. In many
areas, people have to live with less.
One flush of a toilet in the developed world uses as much water as the
average person in the developing world uses for a whole days washing,
cleaning, cooking and drinking.
People living in the Kibeira slum in Nairobi, Kenya, pay up to five times
more for a liter of water than the average American citizen.

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information

DPI/2293 C December 2002
Doha North WWTP
Doha North WWTP