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Combatting water scarcity and economic distress along the US-Mexico border using renewable powered desalination

Author

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  • Roggenburg, Michael
  • Warsinger, David M.
  • Bocanegra Evans, Humberto
  • Castillo, Luciano

Abstract

Access to sustainable clean water is a necessity for any successful civilization. The US-Mexico border has been experiencing a decline in the availability of this critical resource, stemming from mismanagement and heightened population which are exacerbated by climate change. If water is not adequately overseen, the region will be unable to support local societies and industry, effecting millions of inhabitants. A vision, articulated in Scientific American in 2019, outlined the potential for the development of a technology innovation park along the border which would provide sustainable water using renewable powered desalination. A version of this concept is demonstrated for the American side with configurations of coastal Seawater Reverse Osmosis desalination plants, sized to meet the public water demand of ~1000 MGal/day (~3.79 Mm3/day). The desalination and distribution of clean water is powered by offshore wind and onshore solar PV farms, which transfer energy over High Voltage Direct Current cables. One-hundred eight (108) renewable variations were simulated and demonstrated the ability to supply clean water at a levelized cost of 2.00–3.52 $/m3. When compared to 27 fossil fuel configurations, renewable powered variations avert adding the equivalent of 1.7–2,000,000 cars worth of CO2 pollution per year, avoid withdrawing the equivalent of 67–77,000 US households worth of water for power generation annually and add potentially over 100,000 more jobs. As water scarcity along the border becomes more prevalent, alternative sources of sustainable water will be crucial for bringing long term resource and economic stability to the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Roggenburg, Michael & Warsinger, David M. & Bocanegra Evans, Humberto & Castillo, Luciano, 2021. "Combatting water scarcity and economic distress along the US-Mexico border using renewable powered desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:291:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921002725
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116765
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    Cited by:

    1. Carta, José A. & Cabrera, Pedro, 2021. "Optimal sizing of stand-alone wind-powered seawater reverse osmosis plants without use of massive energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    2. Ma, Xiaolu & Zhao, Jin & Wang, Run & Li, Yuyao & Liu, Chuanyong & Liu, Yong, 2022. "Multi-angle wide-spectrum light-trapping nanofiber membrane for highly efficient solar desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    3. Xu, Jianwei & Liang, Yingzong & Luo, Xianglong & Chen, Jianyong & Yang, Zhi & Chen, Ying, 2023. "Techno-economic-environmental analysis of direct-contact membrane distillation systems integrated with low-grade heat sources: A multi-objective optimization approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    4. María Magdalena Armendáriz-Ontiveros & Germán Eduardo Dévora-Isiordia & Jorge Rodríguez-López & Reyna Guadalupe Sánchez-Duarte & Jesús Álvarez-Sánchez & Yedidia Villegas-Peralta & María del Rosario Ma, 2022. "Effect of Temperature on Energy Consumption and Polarization in Reverse Osmosis Desalination Using a Spray-Cooled Photovoltaic System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Juan Ríos-Arriola & Nicolás Velázquez & Jesús Armando Aguilar-Jiménez & Germán Eduardo Dévora-Isiordia & Cristian Ascención Cásares-de la Torre & José Armando Corona-Sánchez & Saúl Islas, 2022. "State of the Art of Desalination in Mexico," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-23, November.

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