ABSTRACT
Source water salinity is one of the most important factors determining desalination project design and costs. Based on the salinity of the source water they process, desalination plants can be divided into three broad categories: low-salinity and high-salinity brackish water desalination plants, and seawater desalination plants. The steady trend of increasing use of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane desalination in the Middle East and North Africa region is mainly attributed to the lower energy use, high efficiency, and lower fresh water production costs associated with this technology as compared to thermal desalination. Capital costs include all expenditures associated with desalination project implementation: from the time of conceptual development, through design, permitting, financing, construction, commissioning, and acceptance testing for continuous operation. Seawater reverse osmosis desalination is the most widely used membrane salt separation technology, because allows tapping into the largest natural source of water on the planet – the seawater contained in the oceans and seas.
