IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i4p1616-d1339281.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental and Economic Assessment of Membrane Capacitive Deionization (MCDI) and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO) for Sustainable Irrigation in the Mediterranean Region

Author

Listed:
  • Marwa Ben Saad

    (Wastewater and Environment Laboratory, Water Researches and Technologies Center, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman BP 273, Tunisia)

  • Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz

    (Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Sun-Hea Hong

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Nobelstra. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Carla Scagnetti

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Nobelstra. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Ulrich Hellriegel

    (Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Jan Hoinkis

    (Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany)

  • Makram Anane

    (Wastewater and Environment Laboratory, Water Researches and Technologies Center, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman BP 273, Tunisia)

Abstract

Ensuring the sustainability of a product or a system requires a thorough evaluation of its environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In this context, one of the objectives of the EU-PRIMA SmaCuMed project is to evaluate the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the Smart Cube system. The Smart Cube was developed for the PV-powered desalination of brackish groundwater with membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) and low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO); it additionally uses smart sensors for controlled irrigation in remote agricultural areas in Morocco, as an example for the North African region. Based on the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment approach, this paper aims to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the Smart Cube, using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyses for environmental evaluation. Various scenarios have been defined for both environmental and economic assessments. Based on 1 m 3 of produced desalinated water, the LCC results showed that, when using the desalination technologies directly connected to the grid, the prices are lower than those obtained when it was supplied by the PV system. This is only due to the very low energy prices from the Moroccan grid (EUR 0.10/kWh). The LCC results showed that LPRO is a more cost-effective option for producing desalinated water, with a lower total cost compared to MCDI. However, LCA results indicated that LPRO has a higher environmental impact compared to MCDI. If higher water production capacity is a priority, MCDI connected to PV is the best choice, with lower carbon emission but higher overall water costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Marwa Ben Saad & Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz & Sun-Hea Hong & Carla Scagnetti & Ulrich Hellriegel & Jan Hoinkis & Makram Anane, 2024. "Environmental and Economic Assessment of Membrane Capacitive Deionization (MCDI) and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO) for Sustainable Irrigation in the Mediterranean Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:4:p:1616-:d:1339281
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/4/1616/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/4/1616/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chau, C.K. & Leung, T.M. & Ng, W.Y., 2015. "A review on Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Energy Assessment and Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Assessment on buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 395-413.
    2. Andi Mehmeti & Kledja Canaj, 2022. "Environmental Assessment of Wastewater Treatment and Reuse for Irrigation: A Mini-Review of LCA Studies," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meijing Liu & Changqi Liu & Hao Xie & Zhonghui Zhao & Chong Zhu & Yangang Lu & Changsheng Bu, 2023. "Analysis of the Impact of Photovoltaic Curtain Walls Replacing Glass Curtain Walls on the Whole Life Cycle Carbon Emission of Public Buildings Based on BIM Modeling Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Patricia González-Vallejo & Radu Muntean & Jaime Solís-Guzmán & Madelyn Marrero, 2020. "Carbon Footprint of Dwelling Construction in Romania and Spain. A Comparative Analysis with the OERCO2 Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Ana Ferreira & Manuel Duarte Pinheiro & Jorge de Brito & Ricardo Mateus, 2022. "Embodied vs. Operational Energy and Carbon in Retail Building Shells: A Case Study in Portugal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Mastrucci, Alessio & Marvuglia, Antonino & Leopold, Ulrich & Benetto, Enrico, 2017. "Life Cycle Assessment of building stocks from urban to transnational scales: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 316-332.
    5. Belen Moreno Santamaria & Fernando del Ama Gonzalo & Matthew Griffin & Benito Lauret Aguirregabiria & Juan A. Hernandez Ramos, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Dynamic Water Flow Glazing Envelopes: A Case Study with Real Test Facilities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Wang, Zhaohua & Liu, Qiang & Zhang, Bin, 2022. "What kinds of building energy-saving retrofit projects should be preferred? Efficiency evaluation with three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    7. Liu, Xiuli & Guo, Pibin & Yue, Xiaohang & Qi, Xiaoyan & Guo, Shufeng & Zhou, Xijun, 2021. "Measuring metabolic efficiency of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration: A slacks-based measures method," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Zejun Yu & Yao Wang & Bin Zhao & Zhixin Li & Qingli Hao, 2023. "Research on Carbon Emission Structure and Model in Low-Carbon Rural Areas: Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Kong, Minjin & Ji, Changyoon & Hong, Taehoon & Kang, Hyuna, 2022. "Impact of the use of recycled materials on the energy conservation and energy transition of buildings using life cycle assessment: A case study in South Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    10. Claudia Calle Müller & Mohamed ElZomor, 2024. "Addressing Post-Disaster Challenges and Fostering Social Mobility through Origami Infrastructure and Construction Trade Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Craig Langston & Edwin H. W. Chan & Esther H. K. Yung, 2018. "Hybrid Input-Output Analysis of Embodied Carbon and Construction Cost Differences between New-Build and Refurbished Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Rosaria E.C. Amaral & Joel Brito & Matt Buckman & Elicia Drake & Esther Ilatova & Paige Rice & Carlos Sabbagh & Sergei Voronkin & Yewande S. Abraham, 2020. "Waste Management and Operational Energy for Sustainable Buildings: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Estévez, Sofía & Rebolledo-Leiva, Ricardo & Hernández, Diógenes & González-García, Sara & Feijoo, Gumersindo & Moreira, María Teresa, 2023. "Benchmarking composting, anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation for apple vinasse management as a strategy for sustainable energy production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    14. ZhiWu Zhou & Julián Alcalá & Víctor Yepes, 2020. "Environmental, Economic and Social Impact Assessment: Study of Bridges in China’s Five Major Economic Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-33, December.
    15. Kun Lu & Xiaoyan Jiang & Vivian W. Y. Tam & Mengyun Li & Hongyu Wang & Bo Xia & Qing Chen, 2019. "Development of a Carbon Emissions Analysis Framework Using Building Information Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment for the Construction of Hospital Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-18, November.
    16. Andrea Salandin & Alberto Quintana-Gallardo & Vicente Gómez-Lozano & Ignacio Guillén-Guillamón, 2022. "The First 3D-Printed Building in Spain: A Study on Its Acoustic, Thermal and Environmental Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    17. Duan, Cuncun & Chen, Bin & Feng, Kuishuang & Liu, Zhu & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Ahmad, Bashir, 2018. "Interregional carbon flows of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 342-352.
    18. Luiz Maurício Maués & Norma Beltrão & Isabela Silva, 2021. "GHG Emissions Assessment of Civil Construction Waste Disposal and Transportation Process in the Eastern Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-26, May.
    19. Jozef Švajlenka & Mária Kozlovská, 2021. "Factors Influencing the Sustainability of Wood-Based Constructions’ Use from the Perspective of Users," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, November.
    20. Vidhyalakshmi Chandrasekaran & Jolanta Dvarioniene & Ausrine Vitkute & Giedrius Gecevicius, 2021. "Environmental Impact Assessment of Renovated Multi-Apartment Building Using LCA Approach: Case Study from Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:4:p:1616-:d:1339281. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.