| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: An analysis is undertaken to determine the conditions under which membrane desalination becomes an economically preferable alternative for treating brackish water supplies. While membrane desalination is more expensive than conventional treatment, it affords benefits beyond those of conventional processes by reducing salinity related damages. An important and largely unexplored issue regards how the added cost of desalination compares to its benefits in terms of damages avoided. A comparative analysis is undertaken over a range of scenarios with the objective of identifying the treatment technology the leads to the lowest “total economic cost,” a term described by the sum of costs related to supply, treatment, and salinity related damages. Using data from a representative region, desalination yields the lowest total economic cost for source waters that exceed “threshold” salinity concentrations below 1,000 mg/l total dissolved solids (TDS). In instances where standard conventional processes require upgrades to maintain compliance with pending regulations (e.g., disinfection byproducts), the cost gap between membrane and conventional processes is reduced and the threshold concentration lowered. Given the inherent uncertainty in both treatment cost and damage estimates, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine which factors have the greatest impact on the treatment decision. Results suggest that considering salinity related damages when selecting a treatment technology makes membrane desalination of brackish waters economically attractive under a wider range of circumstances. |
