Hassan K. Abdulrahim

Qatar and GCC water security

AbstractThe significant wealth in natural gas and oil makes Qatar the country of the highest income per capita in the world. Meanwhile, Qatar is among the world’s poorest countries in natural fresh water resources. The water scarcity severely limits agriculture food production. Agriculture in Qatar depends mainly on the over-exploited, depleted, and quality deteriorated ground water (GW). The use of GW for agriculture cannot be continued. Water scarcity is the main obstacle to achieve the food self-sufficiency. The possibility of using Qatar’s abundant energy to generate desalted seawater or wastewater treatment for agriculture purposes is thought by many. This possibility is studied in this paper, along with the interdependent relation between water, energy, and agriculture (and thus food).

Thermal desalination and air conditioning using absorption cycle

AbstractWater shortage and hot climate are the most stressing problems in many places all over the world, especially in the Arabian Gulf region. Efficient and sustainable solutions for these problems are a real challenge facing the Gulf Co-operating Countries countries. Vapor absorption cycles have been used for refrigeration and air conditioning application many years ago. The absorption cycle systems are a heat-driven system that can be used as a refrigerator, a heat pump, or a heat transformer. In this work, a new configuration of an absorption cycle has been used to provide chilled water for air conditioning applications and to supply saturated steam to a thermal desalination unit using solar radiation as the driving energy for the cycle. Water–Lithium Bromide absorption cycle is adapted. A low temperature, multi-effect distillation system is combined with the absorption cycle. The combined absorption-desalination systems are modeled and simulated using IPSEpro software.

The forward osmosis and desalination

Forward osmosis (FO) has emerged as a method for desalting saline water and power production. It utilizes a chemical potential difference, or a salinity gradient to permeate fresh water through membranes. This paper investigates the feasibility of using the FO process for seawater (SW) desalination in terms of consumed energy, capital costs, water recovery, operation & maintenance, water quality, and the final product water cost. The study covers FO by itself, and when combines with other desalting systems such as reverse osmosis, multi stage flash (MSF), and multi effect distillation as pretreatment method. This paper reviews first the principles of fluid and solutes flow in the FO membranes, concentration polarization, the difference between the FO, pressure retarded osmosis processes, draw solutions, and the solutes involved in these draw solutions. Then, the main characteristics of the FO membranes and their commercial availability are presented. Previous experimental work and a commercial plant using FO for desalination are also given. The use of FO as pretreatment for other desalting methods is presented in light of two proposed research projects. The first research project proposes utilizing FO as pretreatment for processing treated wastewater and SW in one system. The second project utilizes FO as pretreatment for a once-through MSF desalting method. The analysis proved energy reduction in the energy consumption of both desalting systems by more than 50 and 18%, respectively.

PV and CSP solar technologies & desalination: economic analysis

AbstractThis paper presents an overview of using solar energy in running desalination systems, called solar desalination. Solar energy can be converted directly to electric energy, which can operate electrically driven desalting systems such as reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis (ED), and mechanical vapor compression systems. Solar energy can also be converted to the thermal energy that can operate the mainly used thermally operated desalination system such as multistage flash (MSF), conventional multieffect (ME), and multieffect thermal vapor compression (ME-TVC), and emerging membrane distillation and humidification–dehumidification desalination systems. The thermal energy converted from solar energy can also be used to produce high-pressure steam running power plant producing electric power to operate mechanically driven desalting systems, and/or extracted steam at relatively low pressure to operate thermally driven desalting system. The main obstacle that hinders the use of solar desalination is th...

The role of energy to solve water scarcity in Qatar

AbstractQatar’s significant wealth in natural gas and oil brings the country to the highest income per capita worldwide. The drastic economic and social development gained by these revenues modernizes the country’s infrastructure and improve the population living standards in all aspects. Qatar gross domestic product income, in billion dollars (

Cogeneration Power-Desalting Plants Using Gas Turbine Combined Cycle

B) increased from

Reverse osmosis desalination system and algal blooms part II: seawater intake technologies

B 115.270 in 2008–

Techno-Economics of Hybrid NF/FO with Thermal Desalination Plants

B 202.45 in 2013. Meanwhile, Qatar faces real challenges due to very limited natural freshwater resources. Water scarcity creates water and food security problems. The viability of agriculture food productions is continually decreasing. Agriculture in Qatar depends mainly on groundwater, which is over-exploited, depleted, quality deteriorated, and becoming less suitable for agriculture, and its usage, in general, can be seized soon. Qatar’s abundant energy is used to generate desalted seawater to satisfy 99% of municipal water needs. The possibility of treating wastewater treatment to be used for agriculture purposes is discus...

Reverse osmosis desalination system and algal blooms Part I: harmful algal blooms (HABs) species and toxicity

The gas-steam turbine combined cycle (GTCC) is the preferred power plant type because of its high efficiency and its use of cheap and clean natural gas as fuel. It is also the preferred type in the Arab Gulf countries where it is used as cogeneration power-desalting plant (CPDP). In this chapter, descriptions and analysis of the GTCC components are presented, namely, the gas turbine cycle (compressor, combustor, gas turbine), heat recovery steam generator, and steam turbine. Combinations of the GTCC with thermally driven desalination units to present CPDP are presented. A parametric study to show the effect of using GTCC on several operating parameters on the CPDP is also presented, as well as cost allocation methods of fuel between the two product utilities (electric power and desalted seawater are also presented).

Realistic power and desalted water production costs in Qatar

AbstractWhile thermal desalination processes require minimum pretreatment (mainly screening and chemical additions to prevent scaling), seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants require extensive pretreatment of the feedwater before entering the membranes. As the Arabian Gulf (AG) countries depend on seawater desalination, there is a strategic decision to move gradually to SWRO desalination technologies. The algal bloom (AB) events that have happened in the AG countries raise more concerns about seawater pretreatment. A seawater intake is a key limiting factor and is a real part of pretreatment for high performance desalination process. This paper (second part of a series of three parts) reviews several intake options and their effects on the quality of feed seawater and the major parameters causing membrane fouling, especially bio-fouling. These include the concentrations of algae, bacteria, total organic carbon, particulate and colloidal transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), and the biopolym...