Fresh Water for Arizona by Salt Replacement Desalination
Affiliation
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721Issue Date
1974-04-20Keywords
Hydrology -- Arizona.Water resources development -- Arizona.
Hydrology -- Southwestern states.
Water resources development -- Southwestern states.
Desalination
Water chemistry
Desalination processes
Membrane processes
Reverse osmosis
ArizonaWater treatmentWater purificationDesalination plantsCostsSaline waterWater supplyCost comparisonsSolvent extractionsWater yieldSalt replacement desalinationReplacer chemicalUltrafiltrationHigh flux membranesEnergy requirementsFixed gel syneresis
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Copyright ©, where appropriate, is held by the author.Collection Information
This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact anashydrology@gmail.com.Publisher
Arizona-Nevada Academy of ScienceAbstract
The process of salt replacement desalination proposed is believed to be able to produce vast quantities of fresh water be desalination. This method, which is a novel approach to minimizing the costs of saline water conversion, consists of the substitution of solutes in a solution to be desalted by a replacer chemical, and the low energy removal of that replacer chemical. The ultrafiltration of larger molecular sized replacer chemicals with high flux membranes increases the produce yield rate and reduces the corresponding energy requirement, with respect to reverse osmosis. In addition, the initial captial investment is less since no pressure constraining devices are required. The alteration of the osmotic pressure of the replacer solution within the process can also take advantage of energy savings through the utilization of an easily reversible reaction which synthesizes and breaks down a constituent that has a significant osmotic pressure difference between phases. Finally, the unusual process of fixed gel syneresis shows potential as a low energy salt replacement type process, but still requires extensive investigation.ISSN
0272-6106Related items
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Salinity Control Planning in the Colorado River System (invited)In the lower reaches of the Colorado River, damages from the increase in salinity to U.S. water users are now estimated to be about 53 million dollars per year and will increase to about 124 million dollars per year by the year 2000 if no salinity control measures are taken. Physical, legal, economic, and institutional aspects of the salinity problem and proposed actions to mesh salinity control with a total water management plan for the basin are discussed. A scheme is presented for planning under the Colorado River water quality improvement program. Recent legislative action is also discussed which provides control plans to improve the water quality delivered to Mexico as well as upper basin water users. These efforts now under study will assure the continued, full utility of Colorado River water to U.S. users and Mexico. However, more extensive development of the basin's natural resources puts new emphasis on total resources management through improved water and land use planning to conserve a most precious western resource - water.
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United States-Mexico Water Agreements and Related Water Use in Mexicali Valley: A SummaryA summary is given of interrelated, technical and institutional events concerning the Colorado River which took place between the United States and Mexico from 1849 to 1974 with emphasis on the 1961-1974 period. Until the treaty of 1944, Mexico had had no guarantee of a specific annual quantity of water, but in the years after 1945, when a guarantee of 1.5 million acre-feet per year was established, more than that amount was available for use. Salinity problems arose, and in 1965 an agreement for a 5-year plan for alleviating the technical and political difficulties surrounding the salinity question was made. In 1973 it was agreed that the United States would build, within approximately 5 years, a facility for desalting the saline drainage water entering Mexico. Fulfillment of the technical provisions for this agreement requires, in any event, the timely provision of federal funds to construct and operate the physical works. The several states should receive assurance that their rights and those of their respective water users will not be impaired within the legal operation of the agreement.
