Water-Energy Nexus at Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination Technology

Generation of electrical energy requires water as well as water conveyance and treatment to energy. For encounter to challenges and uncertainty about the water and energy nexus, requires to understand the nature of this linkage to identify, approve and execute the appropriate policies. The aim of this study is the evaluation of water and energy nexus at freshwater production by SWRO desalination. For this purpose, assuming that the electric power supplier for the desalination plant is a thermal power plant with a cooling tower or once-through-cooled, the specific water withdrawal in a thermal wet tower- and once-through-cooled plants using S-GEM model and specific energy consumption in RO plants using solution–diffusion model was calculated. The results indicate in the production energy sector, the practical power effect on fuel consumption and consequently water withdrawal. Also, in the desalination plant, the physio-chemical parameter, and temperature of feed water, and ERD type effect on specific energy consumption. Finally, the indirect volume of water withdrawal, fuel and thermal energy consumption to produce a cubic meter of desalting water was obtained which could be used by effective institutions to better manage the supply and demand of water and energy.