Desalination in the GCC countries- a review

Abstract

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are located in one of the most arid regions in the world with very less freshwater resources, and hence depending on desalination plants to tackle the water scarcity and satisfy the increasing water demand. However, several adverse effects are associated with the desalination process and thus many technologies are being implemented to reduce their environmental effects. In this paper, the GCC desalination plants, their capacities, socio-economic costs, the nature of the brine discharged, the energy demand and water production costs have been discussed. The review also features the different desalination policies in the GCC countries, their potential environmental impact, the emerging techniques, which reduces the negative impact of the desalination plants on the environment. Also, the different mitigation strategies to lower the environmental impacts of different conventional desalination techniques are analysed. This study has confirmed that the environmental impact assessment should be carried out before building a new desalination plant or prolonging the capacity of the prevailing one for limiting the adverse impact of the facility. The use of renewable energy in the desalination sector is recommended as an impressive idea to reduce the environmental impacts and huge energy costs associated.