Perspective on desalination discharges and coastal environments of the Arabian Peninsula

Saeed, Mohamed O.; Ershath, MI Mohamed; Al-Tisan, Ibrahim

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.02.005

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…34 Benthic Fauna and Flora: Ecological Functions and Brine Discharge Impacts. To date, little attention has been paid to the specific impacts of brine discharge on benthic organisms, 22,37,43,48,53,99 and only a handful of papers have reported impacts on porewater chemistry. 51,53,67 Nearly all (∼93%) of these studies addressed the effects of salinity or brine effluent, while only a very few focused on the chemical additives used in the desalination process.…”

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… a Note that studies that collected brine from within the facility or did not specify where the parameters were measured are not included. All data in the table are for SWRO plants except for ref , which is an MED/RO hybrid desalination facility, and ref , which has brine from MSF and SWRO facilities deposited into the same canal. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, little attention has been paid to the specific impacts of brine discharge on benthic organisms, ,,,,, and only a handful of papers have reported impacts on porewater chemistry. ,, Nearly all (∼93%) of these studies addressed the effects of salinity or brine effluent, while only a very few focused on the chemical additives used in the desalination process. ,, By compiling the latest literature, we provide a detailed overview of benthic organisms that were reported to be impacted by SWRO brine (Table ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, much is still unclear regarding the effect of multiple stressors (e.g., the combination of high temperatures and hypersalinities) and common chemicals (e.g., coagulants and antiscalants) used in the treatment process. More importantly, we emphasize that additional long-term studies are needed to determine the effects of brine on porewater chemistry, [51][52][53]61,67 sediments, 37,43,48,51,99 and the ecophysiology of a wider range of benthic organisms. 22,39,40,50,53,57 The Black Box: Effects of Desalination Effluent on Subsurface Biogeochemistry.…”

Section: Environmental Science and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), the brine should be considerably diluted before discharge, and brine should be discharged through underground or offshore diffuser systems to maximize mixing and minimize the affected area. 37,41,57 (B) Chemical additives, such as antiscalants and coagulates, should be replaced by environmentally friendly products. 100,178 Specifically, we suggest reducing the use of phosphate-based antiscalants, especially if these additives are discharged with the brine into oligotrophic, phosphorus-poor marine environments.…”

Section: Nexus Of Brine Discharge and Marine Environments: Current Ch...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Desalination Brine Discharge on Benthic Ecosystems

Sirota,

Winters,

Levy

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination facilities produce freshwater and, at the same time, discharge hypersaline brine that often includes various chemical additives such as antiscalants and coagulants. This dense brine can sink to the sea bottom and creep over the seabed, reaching up to 5 km from the discharge point. Previous reviews have discussed the effects of SWRO desalination brine on various marine ecosystems, yet little attention has been paid to the impacts on benthic habitats. This review comprehensibly discusses the effects of SWRO brine discharge on marine benthic fauna and flora. We review previous studies that indicated a suite of impacts by SWRO brine on benthic organisms, including bacteria, seagrasses, polychaetes, and corals. The effects within the discharge mixing zones range from impaired activities and morphological deformations to changes in the community composition. Recent modeling work demonstrated that brine could spread over the seabed, beyond the mixing zone, for up to several tens of kilometers and impair nutrient fluxes from the sediment to the water column. We also provide a possible perspective on brine's impact on the biogeochemical process within the mixing zone subsurface. Desalination brine can infiltrate into the sandy bottom around the discharge area due to gravity currents. Accumulation of brine and associated chemical additives, such as polyphosphonate-based antiscalants and ferric-based coagulants in the porewater, may change the redox zones and, hence, impact biogeochemical processes in sediments. With the demand for drinking water escalating worldwide, the volumes of brine discharge are predicted to triple during the current century. Future efforts should focus on the development and operation of viable technologies to minimize the volumes of brine discharged into marine environments, along with a change to environmentally friendly additives. However, the application of these technologies should be partly subsidized by governmental stakeholders to safeguard coastal ecosystems around desalination facilities.

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