Understanding the role of ecological indicator use in assessing the effects of desalination plants

Chang, Jin-Soo

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2015.03.013

Cited by 42 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 164 publications

(227 reference statements)

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“…Consequently, it may intensify the toxicity of the brine discharge, and it would thus induce a localized eutrophication and turbidity of the sea water [10][11][12]. These characteristics of brine discharges impact upon their dispersion mechanisms, which can in turn affect benthic communities such as seagrasses (Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa), or benthic fauna [12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating environmental requirements for the management of brine discharges in Spain

Solà

Zarzo²,

Sánchez-Lizaso

2019

Desalination

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Desalination activities may have a detrimental impact on the marine environment, caused mainly by hypersaline effluents. The aim of this paper is to assess the quality of Environmental Monitoring Plans (EMPs) of desalination plants in Spain, and the aspects which could be improved to correctly manage brine discharges. A total of 30 desalination projects submitted to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) between 1998 and 2009 have been reviewed. Requirements for the monitoring of brine discharges, and their sampling designs, in the EMPs have improved over time. However, this trend is similar for essential and irrelevant descriptors. Furthermore, the presence of protected species in the area of brine discharges showed a significant increase of requirements. Nevertheless, there was no increase of requirements with respect to a major brine discharge production plant. In conclusion, a review of the EIAs would be advisable to unify the monitoring requirements at the national level, and improving their sampling designs, including the essential descriptors when they are absent, and eliminating irrelevant descriptors when they are present. This standardization should be paid attention to desalination plants with higher brine production as they may have a greater influence on the marine environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating environmental requirements for the management of brine discharges in Spain

Solà

Zarzo²,

Sánchez-Lizaso

2019

Desalination

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“…Environmental impacts associated with desalination plants can be grouped based on the source of impact [27]. For example, the operation of the intake structure will primarily lead to an uprooting of the seabed, whereas, during post construction, marine organisms are at risk of injury or could be killed due to the strong intake current.…”

Section: Environmental Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, phosphonates and polycarbonic acids are utilized as inhibitors to scale formation within pipelines that are carrying feed water. Although these chemicals are considered benign to marine organisms, corresponding low degradation rates can lead to persistence and accumulation in the discharged environment with low rates of decomposition, which result in their persistance in the receiving environment, eventually resulting in eutrophication at the disposal site [27].…”

Section: Environmental Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Afgan and Darwish [16] ranked various desalination technologies with indicators in relation to economic influences, while considering fossil energy consumption to demonstrate the need of using this energy source sparingly. Chang [27] adopted an ecological indicator method to a seawater desalination bed to evaluate the impacts of this water production system within a vulnerable marine ecosystem. To improve the current practise of life-cycle assessments for environmental evaluation of desalination works, Zhou et al [28] evaluated 30 desalination reports.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainability Ranking of Desalination Plants Using Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Inference Systems

et al. 2020

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As water desalination continues to expand globally, desalination plants are continually under pressure to meet the requirements of sustainable development. However, the majority of desalination sustainability research has focused on new desalination projects, with limited research on sustainability performance of existing desalination plants. This is particularly important while considering countries with limited resources for freshwater such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as it is heavily reliant on existing desalination infrastructure. In this regard, the current research deals with the sustainability analysis of desalination processes using a generic sustainability ranking framework based on Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Inference Systems. The fuzzy-based models were validated using data from two typical desalination plants in the UAE. The promising results obtained from the fuzzy ranking framework suggest this more in-depth sustainability analysis should be beneficial due to its flexibility and adaptability in meeting the requirements of desalination sustainability.

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“…However, environmental regulations and indicators are widely used. Using potential ecological indicators is important in assessing ecological risk and/or impact evaluations from observations at a molecular level (Jin-Soo, 2015). Regulations now cover products, air and water quality, waste disposal, soil reclamation, noise abatement and related matters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dependent Environmental Indicators and Their Effect of Ranking

Al-Sharrah¹,

Ali²,

Al‐Haddad³

2016

Int.J.Curr.Res.Aca.Rev

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The adverse effect on the environment is mainly due to the release of harmful chemicals that affects the world's ecological system. The concentrations of these chemicals are considered as the main indicators for environmental assessment. In some cases, environmental indicators are highly dependent and their inclusion will increase the size of experimental data to be collected and studied. Moreover, it will also increase computational time. This paper will answer the question if dependent indicators should be included when environmental decision making is to be made through ranking. It presents a methodology to implement simple tests on environmental indicators to check if their inclusion in the decision-making exercise is essential. A case study on desalination plants in the Arabian Gulf area will be presented. Although different and advanced desalination methods are being used, their environmental effects need to be assessed and a reliable methodology needs to be assessed and a reliable methodology needs to be established to identify existing harmful plants. The problem of insufficient data for decisions on desalination plants is resolved by identification of dependent indicators.

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Understanding the role of ecological indicator use in assessing the effects of desalination plants

Cited by 42 publications

References 164 publications

Evaluating environmental requirements for the management of brine discharges in Spain

Evaluating environmental requirements for the management of brine discharges in Spain

Sustainability Ranking of Desalination Plants Using Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Inference Systems

Dependent Environmental Indicators and Their Effect of Ranking

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