This research paper analyzes the different desalination plants in Libya and their output. It also discusses the conventional and unconventional water resources in Libya and the role of desalination in overcoming water shortage. The study collects and analyzes data from various sources to make a survey on the desalination plants in Libya.
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DESALINATION PLANT IN LIBYA DATA ANALYSIS
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TABLE OF CONTENT: 1.0Problem Statement3 2.0 INTRODUCTION3 2.1 Background3 2.2 Rationale4 2.3 Aims and Objective4 3.0 WATER SHORTAGE PROBLEM IN LIBYA4 4.0 Literature Review4 4.1 The contribution of desalination technology to the economy of Libya5 4.2 Thermal desalination systems5 4.3 Multi-stage flush Technology5 4.4 Multi-Effect Distillation6 4.5 Output variation from the designed capacity6 5.0 Methodology6 6.0 Desalination Technology7 7.0 Role of Desalination in Libya9 9.0 Conclusion11 9.1 Contingency Plan12 10.0 Grantt Chart with Comments13 11.0 Conclusion14
1.0Problem Statement: Libya and many such countries in coastal region are facing water problem due to scarcity in the ground water. To compensate the need of fresh and clean water desalination process of Sea water has become the primary water source in such countries. This can achieve the requirement of clean water as well as reduces the consumption of ground water. In this paper we will discuss the Conventional and Unconventional water resource in Libya and their progress and development.We will also collect and analyze the data collected from various sources to make a survey on the desalination plants in Libya. 2.0 Introduction: Libya has 6.5 Million population spread across 1.7 million KM2and 90% of the population live in the coastal region. The south and central part has a population density of 1/KM2. It is considered as one of the dirtiest region in the world. Libya has a annual rain fall of 100mm to 600 mm. And some part of Libya is totally rainless. In the coastal region the availability of fresh and clean ground water is negisible. The only source of water is sea water. Libya is considered to be one of the top countries facing the water problem with baseline water stress score is 4.84. It is also considered as one of the most water insecure place in the world. Despite of this water scarcity, Libya Government has not taken any strong step regarding water desalination though the desalination process was started implementation in mid 70’s. There is an increasing demand for water in Libya. It is however regrettable that the groundwater that is being relied upon or rather considered being the main source under overexploitation. In order to overcome the increasing shortage of water, there has been a consideration on the unconventional sources of water including sea water. The desalination of seawater in Libya can be dated back to the late seventies [1]. Desalination of the sea water is therefore considered to be one of the most reliable water sources which supplement the other sources of water in Libya. The aim of the study is to Analyse the different different Water Desalination plant installed and their output. Also we will study various desalination plant design capacity and the actual production capacity. Also we will have a brief study on the reason behind this. 2.1 Background The country employs the technologies of thermal and membrane in the desalination process. These two processes have made Libya be one of the largest users of desalinated water in the Mediterranean region. Libya population is concentrated along the coastal line as a result of the fertile land and industrial, activities in these places. Such concentration in the population results in the water shortage(Mohamed, Al-Habaibeh and Abdo 2013). The intrusion of the water project was started back in the areas around the capital city of Tripoli. Tripoli is located on the Gefara plain on the Mediterranean coast of extreme northwestern Libya and of southeastern Tunisia. This process, however, has never been exploited to its potential due to the lack of maintenance, cost barrier and the unawareness of its integration into the management of the conventional water management. This has seriously hindered the efforts to overcome the increasing trend of deterioration of the
ground water [2]. 2.2 Rationale The use of desalination technology has been embrace in various parts of the world including Libya. The volume of the production keeps varying depending on the type of the technology used as well as the strategies. The ineffectiveness of some of these technologies has contributed to the slow production. There is need to assess the currently used technology in Libya in order to establish its effectives and make necessary recommendation for enhanced production. 2.3 Aimsand Objectives This research project aims to: To assess the technological methods and strategies that have been developed to provide water supply in some areas in Libya. To examine the advantages and disadvantages of the used techniques in Libya. Overview of the water supply and demand situation in Libya will be examined by evaluating the efficiency of the current methods and technologies. The role of desalination will be analysed based on the collected data in order to develop future trends and recommendations to ensure the optimum utilization of these technologies [8]. 3.0 Water Shortage Problem in Libya: Water shortage and scarcity are the major problem in North African countries. The following are the reason behind the lack of fresh and clean water. A.Excessive ground water exploitation B.Decrease in annual rainfall C.Intensive agriculture in coastal region D.Sea water intrusion E.Low of water traffic F.Lack of Institutional Framework G.Poor water strategy. H.Lack of people awareness I.Poor Management in General Water Authority. 4.0 Literature Review Libya just like many other countries in the semi-arid and arid areas heavily rely on the groundwater sources. In the year 1998, the estimated capacity of the underground water supply was 2557.62 Mm 3,.This particular figure represented about 95% of the total water supply in the country. The surface water accounted for 2.3% while the re-use of the sea water, minor resources with the surface water all shared about 0.9%. This meant that the total supply capacity was equivalent to 3843.21 Mm3. The highest consumption quantity was in the sector of agriculture followed by domestic use and finally the industrial sector.
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There has been existence of this water deficit for several years amounting to about 1270MCMY currently. The supply of the deficit though being sorted by the use of various mechanisms, the issue is not yet fully sorted[9}. In order to fully address or alleviate the shortages, there have been several remedial measures that have put in place. Some of these remedial measures include transportation of the groundwater from the southern region where it is available in large quantities to the northern regions where there is an urgent need. The other programs that are put in place to address this shortage include protection of the current sources from the possible pollution. There has been the development of the unconventional water sources which includes desalination process. 4.1 The contribution of desalination technology to the economy of Libya The use of desalination technique in Libya has had several advantages to the general population. Some of these advantages include the following: Access to the clean water for drinking The desalination technologies that are used in Libya have led to the accessibility of drinking water to the general population. The water that has been obtained from the salty regional has even been used to supplement the other areas with an unreliable fresh water source. It is important to note once again theta 0ver 70 present of Libya get their clean water through the process. Protection of the habitat The quality of the desalinated water meets the demands and even sometimes supposes the other quality standards of water. This basically implies they can assist in offloading the pressure on other sources of water which are regarded as fresh[8] Provision of water for agricultural purposes The program of desalination has not only been used in Libya to provide water for the drinking or the commonly reefed to as potable water but also water for agricultural use. 4.2 Thermal desalination systems Desalination is actually a stage of separation method in which the saline water is transformed into the steam before it is condensed to produce fresh water [7]. In general, all the methods of thermal techniques including MED, VC, and MSF operate on the principle of boiling water at low temperatures through reduction of the vapour pressure. The thermal process requires a process of pre-treatment which involves removal of the suspended solid particles prior to the addition of the chemicals. 4.3 Multi-stage flush Technology The Multi-stage flush technology involves a process whereby saline water is heated and allowed to flow into the chambers that have low pressure. This makes water to start boiling at relatively low temperatures [6]. The heated water then flows over the pipes that have cold water from the sea to thereby necessitating condensation of water vapour to take place. The collection of fresh water is done at different stages and it is passed from one point to another though in line with the brine. This kind of technology used in Libya utilizes chemical products like acids that should be handled carefully to avoid recontamination of water and also making it safe for domestic use. The combination of process assists in the reduction of the cost of production. This was the first plant that was installed in Libya at the Sir city to cover for the industrial needs of the Oil Company called ASO. The capacity of this plant has been experiencing significant growth in the past years.
4.4 Multi-Effect Distillation In this particular technique, there is a flow of steam through the pipes that are surrounded by sea water where there is an exchange of heat. The heat is used in the generation of more steam that is later condensed and collected as freshwater. This process is repeated several times to obtain very freshwater. Despite the similarity between MED and MSF in the final treatment and pre-treatment, there is a limitation of the MED in Libya to 500m3 per year [5]. 4.5 Output variation from the designed capacity From the statically values that have been collected, it is evident that the design capacity of the desalination plant will directly influence the out provided other factors like cost of the chemicals, energy, and material efficiency remains constant[5]. It is possible to deduce that plants with higher capacity will definitely give a higher output of the product. This probably explains why the government of Libya is in the business of expanding some of the plants to increase their capacity. The design capacity of the desalination plant that was under the study was actually 100000 cubic meters per day. The statistical data on the output showed a mere value of 78000 cubic meters per day [9]. This kind of variation can be attributed to the following factors: Varying efficiency of the machine components Consideration of safety measures hence avoiding overloading of the plant. Shortage of chemicals and other raw materials hence the machine is underutilized. Poor maintenance level of the plant making it performs below its designed capacity. 5.0 Methodology: The methodological framework to be followed in this research project is as depicted in figure below.
There has been the use of desalination technology in Libya as from the year 1960s mainly by the oil-exploring companies in the places with water shortages. Their utilization has been on the increase to match the demands of water for their use. Actually, Libya is the largest user of these technologies.Just by the year 1996, the total number of desalination plants were beyond 400 with the installed capacity of 0.65 MCM/d. 6.0 Desalination Technology Desalination technology is the process of removal of salt and other non required minerals from the sea water for general and irrigation purpose. According to International Desalination Association total 18426 desalination plants are installed across world with a production capacity of 18.37 Millions/day. Libya has total 21 desalination plants running on different technology. The 955 of the plant run on thermal process and the rest 5% run on Reverse Osmosis Membrane technology. Fig 1: Mapping of Desalination Plants The following table represents the different desalination plant and their design capacity and Actual Production:
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Design Capacity m3/hr Tubrok Bomba Darna Sussa Sussa ext Abou Traba Zliten Azawia Zawara Zawara Ext Tubrok Tajoura Misrata Sirt Azawia Double Tripoli West Homes Benghazi North Benghazi North Double Darna Hrawa Fig 1: Contribution toward Requirement From the above diagram Azawia has the highest single plant contribution towards the requirement where as Tubrok has a highest contribution towards the requirement from a single location. 7.0 Role of Desalination in Libya: Generally Libya is dependent on two water resource A.Conventional: ground water and Surface water B.Sea Water But the desalination technology has become the most effective solution for the water scarcity in Libya. The following are the reason behind the desalination process’s importance Over exploration of ground water The increasing demand of water The current unstable condition of Man Made River Project (MMRP). Availability of abundant quantity of sea water Long coastal line Create opportunity for spatial development Availability of natural gas Besides the advantage of desalination process, this is not a strategic option for Libya Government. The major investment goes towards the MMRP thereby causing shortage of chemical and other required material supply to run the desalination plant. The following table represent the actual production capacity of various desalination plants.
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LocationDesalination Type Design Capacity m3/hr Actual Capacity TubrokMED-TVC400000 BombaMSF3000017000 DarnaMED-TVC4000019000 SussaMED-TVC100005500 Sussa extMED-TVC4000013000 Abou TrabaMED-TVC4000011000 ZlitenMSF3000012000 AzawiaMED-TVC8000072000 ZawaraMSF4000013000 Zawara ExtMED-TVC4000023000 TubrokMSF2400015000 TajouraRO100008000 MisrataMSF3000012000 SirtMSF100007000 Azawia DoubleMED50004400 Tripoli WestMED-TVC100008000 HomesMSF3168028000 Benghazi NorthMED-TVC48002000 Benghazi North DoubleMED-TVC50003700 DarnaMED-TVC47003200 HrawaMSF500488 Table 2: Design capacity vs Actual Capacity Tubrok Bomba Darna Sussa Sussa ext Abou Traba Zliten Azawia Zawara Zawara Ext Tubrok Tajoura Misrata Sirt Azawia Double Tripoli West Homes Benghazi North Benghazi North Double Darna Hrawa 050000100000150000200000 Design Capacity m3/hr Actual Capacity Fig 2: Comparison between design capacity v/s actual output
Total Design Capacity:525680 m3/hr Actual Production Capacity:277288 m3/hr Based on the above figure and calculation the desalination plants are running only at 52.74% of its design capacity, which is very low if we are looking into the requirement. 8.0 Conclusion As per the detailed review of the unconventional and connectional water sources in Libya, technology for desalination, their advantages, and disadvantages as presented in this particular paper, the country is actually headed to a very pathetic state of fresh water shortage. This will probably turn to be disastrous in case actions are not taken by the relevant authorities on time. The government and other concerned bodies should, therefore, move so quickly to have the following recommendation put into practice. The correct decisions will be made by the private sectors and the government authorities with the correct and reliable information on the report. It is important to note that allowing the issues like plants out of service being unattended to may create social, technical and environmental problems which will impact the country badly [10]. There should be an initiative by the government on the programs of water recycling and reuse through the encouragement of the research in the field of water reuse. The research work should be dedicated to the research centers and the university. The absence of the proper management in all water authorities has resulted in very many problems some of which are related to the documentation. The water shortage problem and proper desalination process will, therefore, be adequately addressed through the cooperation of the national authorities. In spite of the presence of the manmade rivers in Libya that has partly solved the problem of water shortage especially the northern parts of the country, its reliability has never been full. This basically means that the current technologies for the desalination must be empowered properly[3]. There should be an adoption of the seawater desalination, especially in the coastal Libyan cities. Also, the installation of the banish water plant should be done in the entire country. The responsible water authorities should actually establish an urgent professional team that is basically responsible for the inspection. Through this initiative, it will be possible to identify the desalination plants that are already out of service. This will be followed by a written comprehensive report that describes the technical status of the plants and the required costs of maintenance. 8.1 Contingency Plan RiskContingency plan
Choice of unreliable places associated with high cost of production Relocation of the sites to places to reduce the cost of production Insufficient training threatening the certainty of the future Conduction of proper training programs to make it popular and effective among the locals. Use of substandard machine components which threaten to ruin some of the companies completely Setting up of a supervisory plan to investigate the quality of the components that are being used for installation and maintenance. 9.0 Gantt chart with Comments 10.0 References [1]Abdul Dayem, A. and Scott, A.H., 2014. Water infrastructure in Libya and the Tasks Time in Months FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep Literature Review Investigative Studies Experimental Investigation Conclusions Research Paper Presentation
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water situation in agriculture in the Jefara region of Libya.African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development,3(1), pp.33-64. [2]Al-Hengari, S., ElMoudir, W., and El-Bousiffi, M.A., 2015. Economic assessment of thermal desalination processes.Desalination and Water Treatment,55(9), pp.2423- 2436. [3]Al-Karaghouli, A. and Kazmierski, L.L., 2013. Energy consumption and water production cost of conventional and renewable-energy-powered desalination processes.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,24, pp.343-356. [4]Badi, I., Ballem, M., and Shetwan, A., 2018. SITE SELECTION OF DESALINATION PLANT IN LIBYA BY USING COMBINATIVE DISTANCE- BASED ASSESSMENT (CODAS) METHOD.International Journal for Quality Research,12(3). [5]Elhajaji, A., Al-Khaddar, R., Dürr, S. and Haddad, D., 2014. Thermal desalination technologies as alternative options for water scarcity in Libya. InWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2014(pp. 2247-2258). [5]Eshoul, N.M., Agnew, B., and Snider, A.M., 2016, March. Parametric study of multi-effect desalination with thermal vapor compression plant. In2016 7th International Renewable Energy Congress (IREC)(pp. 1-6). IEEE. [6]Eshoul, N.M., Agnew, B., Anderson, A. and Atab, M.S., 2017. Exergetic and economic analysis of two-pass RO desalination proposed plant for domestic water and irrigation.Energy,122, pp.319-328.
[7]Gude, V.G., 2015. Energy storage for desalination processes powered by renewable energy and waste heat sources.Applied Energy,137, pp.877-898. [8]Mohamed, A.M., Al-Habaibeh, A. and Abdo, H., 2013. An investigation into the current utilization and perspective of renewable energy resources and technologies in Libya.Renewable energy,50, pp.732-740. [9]Mohamed, A.M., Al-Habaibeh, A. and Abdo, H., 2013. An investigation into the current utilisation and prospective of renewable energy resources and technologies in Libya.Renewable energy,50, pp.732-740. [10]Mokheimer, E.M., Sahin, A.Z., Al-Sharafi, A. and Ali, A.I., 2013. Modeling and optimization of hybrid wind–solar-powered reverse osmosis water desalination system in Saudi Arabia.Energy Conversion and Management,75, pp.86-97. [11]Nasr, S.M., Okbah, M.A., El Haddad, H.S. and Soliman, N.F., 2015. Fractionation profile and mobility pattern of metals in sediments from the Mediterranean Coast, Libya.Environmental monitoring and assessment,187(7), p.430. REFERENCES: [1]Abdul Dayem, A. and Scott, A.H., 2014. Water infrastructure in Libya and the
water situation in agriculture in the Jefara region of Libya.African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development,3(1), pp.33-64. [2]Al-Hengari, S., ElMoudir, W., and El-Bousiffi, M.A., 2015. Economic assessment of thermal desalination processes.Desalination and Water Treatment,55(9), pp.2423- 2436. [3]Al-Karaghouli, A. and Kazmierski, L.L., 2013. Energy consumption and water production cost of conventional and renewable-energy-powered desalination processes.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,24, pp.343-356. [4]Badi, I., Ballem, M., and Shetwan, A., 2018. SITE SELECTION OF DESALINATION PLANT IN LIBYA BY USING COMBINATIVE DISTANCE- BASED ASSESSMENT (CODAS) METHOD.International Journal for Quality Research,12(3). [5]Elhajaji, A., Al-Khaddar, R., Dürr, S. and Haddad, D., 2014. Thermal desalination technologies as alternative options for water scarcity in Libya. InWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2014(pp. 2247-2258). [5]Eshoul, N.M., Agnew, B., and Snider, A.M., 2016, March. Parametric study of multi-effect desalination with thermal vapor compression plant. In2016 7th International Renewable Energy Congress (IREC)(pp. 1-6). IEEE. [6]Eshoul, N.M., Agnew, B., Anderson, A. and Atab, M.S., 2017. Exergetic and economic analysis of two-pass RO desalination proposed plant for domestic water and irrigation.Energy,122, pp.319-328.
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