Project Abstract

                ABSTRACT 

The Kingdom of Jordan is the 10th water poorest country in the world and the 4th water poorest country in the Middle East. The natural water resources of the country are not sufficient to meet the demands of the population and because of this water rationing has been in place since the 1980’s. Currently, the economically viable harnessing of surface water has been maximized, groundwater is being pumped at 160% of the sustainable yield, and non‐renewable fossil water is also being utilized. A rapidly growing population and industrial sector threaten to exacerbate the water shortage in the very near future. Jordanian scientists in partnership with international organizations have determined that desalination of saline water will play the most important role in alleviating the country’s water scarcity problems. This document will outline a design proposal for a desalination unit to be powered by a renewable energy source that will provide sufficient fresh water for the needs of a small rural community in Jordan.

Project Overview

1.1 INTRODUCTION 

There are many issues related to water that nations are struggling with in the 21st century.   Currently, about one quarter of the world’s population, or about 1.2 billion people, lacks access to sufficient water of good quality (Rijsberman, 2005). This problem is only exacerbated as the world population continues to climb, as it has been shown that water usage increases at twice the rate of population increase (Eltawil et al., 2009). “Since 1950, global water use has tripled and in the next twenty years, it is estimated that humans will require 40% more water than we currently use [in 2000] (Eltawil et al., 2009).” 

Consequently, water scarcity, lack of accessibility, water quality deterioration, and insufficient recharge of ground water and over extraction of fresh water are all increasing in severity as economic growth leads to population growth and which requires ever‐expanding irrigation for highly productive agricultural systems. This shortage of water is a serious threat to world peace and security in the near future (Eltawil et al., 2009). Actions taken to alleviate water scarcity can be grouped into three categories: preservation of the quality of current supplies, increasing efficiency of current water usage, and increasing the overall quantity of available fresh water (Eltawil et al., 2009). Methods undertaken to accomplish these goals include desalination of saline water, rainwater harvesting, wastewater reuse, and water importation (Jaber et al., 2001). 

 Water issues are especially severe in the Mediterranean basin, southern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa where there is a condition of physical scarcity of water. Very large portions of the people stricken by water shortages are those who live in remote rural areas, where the socio‐ economic conditions prevent the rapid implementation of water treatment technology (Rijsberman, 2005). Undeveloped rural regions without access to the electrical grid typically do not have access to the infrastructure required for large scale desalination plants nor the need for such facilities. Consequently, there is an apparent need to develop desalination technology which ill function off‐the‐grid and on a smaller, village scale.  

Fortunately, island nations suffering from salt water intrusion typically have high wind resources. The arid and semi‐arid regions of the world are also some of most solar‐resource rich areas, which make sense, because the driest areas tend to have increased in solar irradiation because of their proximity to the equator. Under these conditions, the coupling of a renewable energy system (wind power, solar thermal, geothermal) to the desalination process makes water treatment feasible in remote areas.  (Eltawil et al., 2009).