TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DESALINATION BY INCREASING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Global water demand is estimated to increase by more than ۵۵% of current levels by ۲۰۵۰.Due to limited water resources, increasing demand means that large populations of the world will live in areas under water stress (Shahzad et al. ۲۰۱۷). Desalination is growing as an option to supply the water demand in locations that are confronting water scarcity and in more than ۱۵۰ countries, desalination technologies are used to provide drinking water (Ahmadi et al. ۲۰۲۰). By ۲۰۵۰, the number of desalination plants is projected to increase by ۴۰% compared to ۲۰۱۶ (UNWWDR ۲۰۱۴). Compared to other water treatment methods, seawater desalination consumes the most energy (UN Water Report ۲۰۱۴). For example, the amount of energy required to produce water from the sea can be ۲۰ times that of groundwater (IRENA ۲۰۱۵). It is estimated that every year, ۷۵.۲ TWh electricity is consumed for water desalination throughout the World (UN Water Report ۲۰۱۴). Due to the high amount of energy consumed in the water desalination process as well as the increasing demand for seawater desalination, many studies are conducted to use energy more efficiently and reduce dependence on fossil fuels to produce fresh water from the sea (energywater nexus). Therefore, improving energy efficiency and utilization of the renewable energy are fundamental to achieve sustainable desalination. In this paper, the aim is to review studies focusing on increasing energy efficiency in desalination (Li et al. ۲۰۱۸).