Eventually, the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain may have to contend with the presence of “peak salt”: the moment when ecological factors make desalination economically unfeasible. As reported in
The Guardian, the region’s steady increases in desalination may increase the quantity of brine that is pumped into the Gulf, and increase the cost of the desalination process.
[1]
“The 250,000 square kilometre Gulf is more like a salt-water lake than a sea”: it is very shallow and almost entirely enclosed; the few rivers that empty into it have either been dammed or diverted; and the hot, humid climate ensures perpetual evaporation. With the additional burden of 70m cubic metres of brine from desalination plants—Gulf waters are 25% more salty than typical seawater.
[2]
There is, however, a silver lining in the form of potentially ground-breaking research: Farid Benyahia, a chemical engineer at Qatar University, has patented a process that may entirely eliminate the need for brine disposal. The process turns brine into baking soda and calcium chloride, by using ammonia and pure carbon dioxide (the latter is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels that power the desalination process). The large-scale feasibility of this process has not yet been tested. And the market for the end products of baking soda and calcium chloride will need to have significant existing and ongoing demand, in order for this process to become a viable solution in the long run. But with desalination in the Gulf states set to double by 2030—this potential solution is an alluring one.
Credit: Globes
An Israeli desalination company has threatened Cyprus with a €50 million lawsuit.
[3] According to
Cyprus Mail, a subsidiary of The Mekorot National Water Company “alleges that the Cypriot government misled it, thereby causing it nearly €50 million in damages in violation of the 1998 Israel-Cyprus Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) for mutual protection of interests.”
[4]
Mekorot’s allegations refer to two tenders of the Cyprus Ministry of Agriculture, which the Israeli company won jointly with Cypriot businesses.
[5] In the first instance, Mekorot alleges that the Ministry delayed access to the land on which a desalination facility was built (thereby causing a year’s delay and generating attendant costs). In the second case, the company alleges that it became responsible for upgrading an existing desalination plant which was in “a significantly poorer technical state” than described in tender documents.
[6]
Currently, BIT terms require Mekerot to refrain from taking any action for a “warning period” of 6-months, in order to allow the Cypriot government to respond to its claims. After this period, the company may proceed to petition the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which collaborates with the World Bank in Washington.
[7]
Between July and September 2016—H2O Innovation, a Quebec-based company, has won seven contracts worth a total of $6.9 million, for business in Canada and the U.S.
[8] Five of the contracts encompass work for municipal and industrial clients; the sixth contract is for the construction of a potable water system and wastewater treatment system for miners working in Nunavut, Canada; and the seventh project is for an ultrafiltration system for an oil company in Alberta.
[1] Stephen Leahy and Katherine Purvis, “Peak Salt: IS the Desalination Dream Over for the Gulf States?” The Guardian, September 29, 2016, <https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/sep/29/peak-salt-is-the-desalination-dream-over-for-the-gulf-states> accessed September 29, 2016.
[3] “Israeli Desalination Company Threatens Cyprus with €50m Lawsuit,” Cyprus Mail, October 13, 2016, <http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/10/13/israeli-desalination-company-threatens-cyprus-e50m-lawsuit/> accessed October 13, 2016.
[5] Nati Yefet, “Mekorot Demands €50m damages from Cypriot Gov’t,” Globes, October 5, 2016, <http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-mekorot-wants-50m-damages-from-cypriot-govt-1001155595> accessed October 14, 2016.
[8] “H2O Innovation Secures New Contracts Worth $6.9 million,” Desalination.biz, October 5, 2016, <http://www.desalination.biz/news/0/H2O-Innovation-secures-new-contracts-worth-69-million/8555/> accessed October 12, 2016.