Water
Desalination
Processes
Introduction
More than 11,000 desalination plants
are in operation throughout the world,
producing mor e than 20 million cubic
meters (m3 )—r oughly six billion gal-
lons—of water per day. About 60 percent
of the capacity exists in West Asia and
the Middle East. North America has
about 11 percent and North Africa and
Europe account for about seven percent
each. South and Central America to-
gether account for about four percent of
desalination capacity. Desalination is also
a significant and growing sour ce of fresh
water in the Caribbean Islands. Plant
sizes and designs range from more than
500,000 m3 /day (13,200,000 gallons per
day or 13.2 mgd) down to 20 to 100 m3 /
day (5,280 to 26,400 gallons per day). Due
to rapid advances in technology and im-
proved efficiencies, the cost of produc-
ing desalinated water is now approach-
ing $0.50 USD per cubic meter in large
plants ($1.89 per thousand gallons or
Kgal), so it is becoming much more ac-
cessible in areas wher e alternative fresh
water supplies are not available.
Most desalination plants use seawa-
ter and/or brackish water as their
sources for drinking water production,
however; membrane technologies are
also used for wastewater treatment and
for r emoving salts fr om processed
wastewaters for recycling applications
including prior-to -aquifer recharge. Per-
formance, operating and product qual-
ity specifications have evolved virtually
on a site-by-site basis relative to source
and the specific end product water use.
Most drinking water applications outside
of North America use World Health Or-
ganization Drinking Water Quality Guide-
lines (WHO GDWQ) as water quality speci-
J A N U A RY 2 0 0 5
and Associated Health and
Environmental Issues
By Joseph A. Cotruvo, Ph.D.
fications. WHOGDWQ cover a broad spec-
trum of contaminants from inorganic and
synthetic organic chemicals, disinfection
byproducts, microbial indicators and ra-
dionuclides. They are aimed at typical
drinking water sources and technologies.
Because desalination is applied to non-typi-
cal source waters and often uses non-typi-
cal technologies, the existing WHO GDWQ
may not fully cover the unique circum-
stances that can be encountered during
production and distribution of desalinated
drinking water.
Drinking water production
Drinking water production chains
can be divided into three broad catego-
ries, each of which will impact the qual-
ity of the finished water received by the
consumer: source water quality, treat-
ment processes and distribution. Some
issues that distinguish desalination pro-
cesses from typical drinking water opera-
tions include:
Source water quality (see Table 1)
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in the
range of 40,000 ppm for seawater and
about 10,000 ppm for brackish water.
• High levels of metal salts including so-
dium, calcium, magnesium, bromides,
iodides, sulfates and chlorides.
• Total Organic Carbon (TOC) type.
• Petroleum contamination potential.
• Microbial contaminants and other or-
ganisms.
Treatment
• Reverse osmosis membranes and ther-
mal distillation.
• Leachates from system components.
• Pretreatment and antifouling addi-
tives.
Water Conditioning & Purification
• Possible unique disinfection byprod-
ucts.
• Post treatment blending with source
waters.
Distribution
• Corrosion control additives and corro-
sion products.
• Bacterial regrowth in distribution sys-
tems.
There are other issues of interest
and/or concern as well. System compo-
nents that can contribute chemicals to the
water as direct additives or indirectly
from surface contact. Health risks can be
imparted from consumption of reconsti-
tuted or restabilized water from general
reduced or selective mineralization, or
from reduced intake of specific minerals
like calcium and magnesium. The envi-
ronmental impacts of desalination facil-
ity siting, operations and brine disposal
can be significant. Also, some micr oor-
ganisms unique to saline waters may not
be removed by the desalination process
or post disinfection. Thus, monitoring of
source water, process performance, fin-
ished water and distributed water must
be rigorous to assure consistent quality
at the consumer’s tap. Moreover, addi-
tional water quality or process guidelines
specific to desalination are needed to as-
sure water quality, safety and environ-
mental protection.
Desalination technologies
Several common desalination tech-
nologies are described herein. Desalina-
tion processes remove dissolved salts and
other chemicals and materials from sea-
water and brackish water. Related pro-
cesses are also used for water softening
13
and wastewater recla- Table 1. Major ion composition of seawater (mg/L) corrosion inhibitors
mation. The principal de- and increasing the alka-
Typical Eastern Arabian Gulf Red Sea
salination technologies linity. Lime, limestone
Constituent seawater Mediterranean at Kuwait at Jeddah
are reverse osmosis (RO) or bases such as sodium
and thermal (distilla- Chloride (C1-1 ) 18,980 21,200 23,000 22,219 carbonate or sodium
tion). Electrodialysis and Sodium (Na+1) 10,556 11,800 15,850 14,255 hydroxide may be
electrodialysis reversal Sulfate (SO4 -2) 2,649 2,950 3,200 3,078 added to the product
are also in use. Magnesium (Mg+2) 1,262 1,403 1,765 742 water; alternately, the
Calcium (Ca+2) 400 423 500 225 product water might be
Reverse osmosis (RO) blended with the source
Potassium (K+1) 380 463 460 210
These systems re- water to increase TDS
verse the natural solvent Bicarbonate (HCO3 -1 ) 140 — 142 146 and stabilize the water.
transport process driven Strontium (Sr +2 ) 13 — — — Post disinfection is also
by osmotic pressur e Bromide (Br -1) 65 155 80 72 necessary to control mi-
across a semi-permeable Borate (BO3 -3 ) 26 72 — — croorganisms during
membrane from a re- distribution, as well as
Fluoride (F-1) 1 — — —
gion of lower solute con- to eliminate pathogens
centration into one of Silicate (SiO3 -2) 1 — 1.5 — introduced by blending.
higher solute concentra- Iodide (I-1 ) <1 2 — — Degasification may also
tion to equalize the free Others 1 — — — be necessary.
energies. In RO, external Total dissolved solids 34,483 38,600 45,000 41,000
pressure is applied to the Thermal/distilla-
high solute (concentrated) water to cause prior to contact with the membrane. tion
solvent (water) to migrate through the technologies
membrane pores leaving the salts and Membranes The principal distillation (vaporiza-
other nonpermeates behind in a more Common polymeric membranes in- tion → condensation) systems include
concentrated brine. Some membranes clude cellulose triacetate or more recently
Multistage Flash (MSF) Distillation,
will reject over 99 percent of all ionic sol- polyamides and polysulfones. Selection Multi-effect Distillation (MED) and Va-
ids and organics and can have molecular factors for membranes include pH and por Compression Distillation (VCD).
weight separation as low as 50 to 100 oxidant stability, working life, mechani- They can produce water in the range of 1
Daltons. Mechanisms of salt removal by cal strength, pressurization capacity and to 50 ppm TDS.
RO membranes are not fully understood selectivity for solutes. Membranes are Source water is heated and vapor-
and some ions like borate and arsenite packed into a module and they can be ized and the condensed vapor has very
are not removed with high efficiency. In- configured as spiral, plate and tubular. low TDS, while a concentrated brine is
creasing the operating pressure also in- Each has its own characteristics that af- produced as a residual. Simple distilla-
creases the rate of water permeation, fect performance in particular cases. Spi-tion processes can be applicable to de-
however the fouling rate will also in- ral configurations generally have more salination because significant amounts of
crease. Figure 1 illustrates the basic RO favorable operating characteristics of volatile chemicals are usually not present
process that includes pretreatment, mem- performance relative to cost and they are in seawater and brackish waters. Salts and
brane transport, brine con- high molecular weight natu-
centrate production and post Figure 1. ral organics are non-volatile
treatment stabilization and Saline feed water Pressure /membrane and easily separated; how-
disinfection prior to distribu- ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→ Pretreatment ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→ Freshwater ever, there are circumstances
tion. RO processes can pro- ↓ ↓ where volatile petroleum
duce water in the range of Brine Post treatment → Distribution chemicals are present due to
10 to 500 ppm TDS. spills and other contamina-
most commonly used. Operating pres- tion. Even though their vapor pressures
Pretreatment sures are in the range of 250-1000 psi (17 can range from low to very high, many
Saline feedwater is pretreated to pro- to 68 atm). of them of higher molecular weight could
tect the membranes, reduce fouling and Membranes are typically layered or be steam distilled in a process. In addi-
extend membrane operation cycles. Sus- thin film composites. The contact layer tion, some physical entrainment may also
pended solids are removed by filtration; (rejection layer) is adhered to a porous allow low volatility substances to be car-
pH adjustments (lowering) are made to support, which can be produced from the ried over into the distillate. Periodic clean-
limit precipitation of salts; scale inhibi- same material as the surface. Thin film ing is required to remove scale and salts
tors are added to reduce formation of membranes can be made by polymeriza- deposits from pipes, tubing and mem-
calcium carbonates and sulfates. Inor- tion of the rejection layer to the surface branes. Alkaline cleaners remove organic
ganic oxides such as those from iron or of the porous support. Membrane thick- fouling and acid cleaners are used to re-
manganese, along with organic products, nesses are on the order of 0.05 mm. move scale and salts (See Figure 2).
contribute to membrane fouling. Disin- The boiling point of water (where
fection helps to contr ol bacterial Post treatment the vapor pressure of the liquid is the
biofouling of the membrane; chlorine Product water must be tr eated to
species, ozone or UV light are commonly stabilize it, reduce its corrosivity and
used. Other marine organisms such as make it compatible with the distribution Figure 2.
algae must also be eliminated. Excess system. Adjusting pH to approximately Solution + Energy → V apor → Liquid + Energy
ozone or chlorine must be neutralized 8 is required along with the addition of

14 Water Conditioning & Purification JA N U A R Y 2 0 0 5

same as the external pressure) is 100°C
(212°F) at 1 atmosphere (760 mm Hg or
14.7 pounds per square inch). As the pres-
sure is decreased, the boiling tempera-
ture decr eases. The amount of energy
requir ed to vaporize a liquid at its boil-
ing point is called the heat of vaporiza-
tion. For water, this amounts to 2,256 ki-
lojoules per kilogram at 100°C (970 Btu
per pound at 212°F). The same amount
of heat must be removed from the vapor
to condense it back to liquid at the boil-
ing point. In desalination processes, heat
generated from vapor condensation is
transferred to the feed water to raise its
temperature and cause vaporization and
thus improve thermal efficiency and re-
duce fuel consumption and cost.
Multistage Flash Distillation (MSF)
MSF plants are major contributors to
desalting capacity. The principle of MSF
distillation is that heated water will boil
rapidly (flash) when the pressure of the
vapor is rapidly reduced below the vapor
pressure of the liquid at that temperature.
The vapor generated is condensed on one
side of surfaces in contact with feed water
on the other side, thus preheating the
water prior to its introduction into the
flash chamber. This will recover most of
the heat of vaporization. Approximately
25 to 50 percent of the flow is recovered
as fresh water in multistage plants. MSF
plants typically have high feed water vol-
ume and flow, incur corrosion and scaling
in the plant and have high rates of use of
treatment chemicals.
Multiple Effect Distillation (MEF)
Several configurations of MEF plants
exist, including vertical and horizontal
tubes. In all cases, steam is condensed on
one side of a tube causing evaporation
of saline water on the other side. Pres-
sure is reduced sequentially in each ef-
fect (stage) as the temperature declines
and additional heat is provided in each
stage to increase vaporization.
Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD)
VCD systems function by mechani-
cally compressing water vapor causing
condensation on a heat transfer surface
(tube) that allows the heat of condensa-
tion to be transported to salt water on the
other side of the surface resulting in its
partial vaporization. The principal energy
requirement is in the operation of the com-
pressor. The compressor functions to in-
crease the pressure on the vapor side and
lower the pressure on the feed water brine
side to lower its boiling temperature.
Other systems
J A N U A RY 2 0 0 5
Electrodialysis processes utilize selec-
tive membranes that contain cation and
anion exchange groups. Under a direct
current electric field, cations and anions
migrate to the respective chambers so that
ion-rich and ion-depleted streams form in
alternate spaces between membranes.
Reversal of electric fields reduces scaling
and flushes the membranes. Pretreatment
is required to control scale and extend
membrane life and to prevent migration
of non-ionized substances such as bacte-
ria, organics and silica.
Potential technical, health
and environmental issues
associated with desalination
Trace nutrients
In general, public drinking water
supplies are not relied upon as contribu-
tors of significant trace nutrients to daily
intake, but rather as a serendipitous
supplementation whenever it occurs. The
geographic distribution of the nutrients
in conventional drinking water will be
varied and inconsistent so an appropri-
ate diet should be the principal source.
Dietary supplementation is, however,
widely practiced for general benefit; e.g.,
vitamin D in milk, vitamin C in drinks,
iron, B vitamins and folic acid in bread.
The only therapeutic substance com-
monly added to drinking water is fluo-
ride to strengthen dental enamel and re-
duce the incidence of tooth decay (dental
caries). Seawater is low in fluoride and fluo-
ride is depleted by desalination, so desali-
nated water does not contribute fluoride
to daily intake unless it is present in blend-
ing waters or added post treatment.
Health issues
Water can be a source of beneficial
dietary substances, as well as harmful
contaminants such as microorganisms
and chemicals that can mitigate dietary
components. The presence or absence of
beneficial ions can affect public health in
the population over the long term, just
as the presence or absence of toxicants.
Water components can supplement di-
etary intake of trace micronutrients and
macronutrients or contribute undesirable
contaminants. In both toxicology and nu-
trition, the line between health and ill-
ness in a population is not a single line,
but rather a matter of optimal intake ver-
sus adequate intake, versus intake that is
inadequate to maintain good health ver-
sus a toxic intake that will lead to frank
illness in some segment of the popula-
tion. Some parts of the population such
as young children, pregnant women, the
aged and infirm and immune compro-
Water Conditioning & Purification
mised can be more sensitive than the typi-
cal healthy adult to essential and hazard-
ous dietary components. Often the spe-
cific requirements for optimal health
states and minimal risk are not under-
stood for these high-risk segments of the
population.
Some of the beneficial chemicals of
interest in drinking water include cal-
cium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, se-
lenium, potassium, bromide, iodide, fluo-
ride, chromium, zinc, copper and
manganese. Seawater is rich in ions such
as calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride
and iodine, but low in other essential ions
like zinc, copper, chr omium and manga-
nese. Desalting processes significantly
reduce virtually all of the ions in drink-
ing water to the point where people who
traditionally consume unreconstituted
desalted water may be consistently re-
ceiving smaller amounts of some impor-
tant nutrients relative to people who con-
sume water from more traditional
sources. Thus, they may be disadvan-
taged if their diets do not provide suffi-
cient mineral intake. Since desalinated
water is stabilized by blending and
chemical addition, some of these ions can
be replenished in that process if the ap-
propriate treatment chemicals, such as
lime or limestone, are selected.
Calcium/magnesium/cardiovascular
disease
Over about 50 years, a body of epi-
demiological work involving more than
80 studies of varying quality (e.g. in U.K.,
U.S., Canada and Scandinavia), has fairly
consistently suggested that cardiovascu-
lar disease mortality rates in many com-
munities are inversely proportional to the
hardness of the water supply. Calcium
and magnesium are significant compo-
nents of hard water, so many research-
ers have concluded that calcium and
magnesium may have a protective effect.
There ar e biochemical arguments that
support this hypothesis, however the is-
sue is not resolved with certainty. More
recent studies seem to be finding greater
positive benefits from magnesium rather
than calcium intake, particularly in re-
gard to reduced risk fr om stroke or is-
chemic heart disease.
Some researchers have argued that
water softening by ion exchange or RO
also reduces trace nutrients and increases
sodium (ion exchange) in drinking wa-
ter, or that there is a negative health ef-
fect from general decreased mineraliza-
tion (total of dissolved salts and electrical
conductivity changes). Ion exchange soft-
ening replaces each calcium or magne-
sium ion with two sodium ions. Other
15
researchers argue that low mineralized
water is more aggressive to piping and
metal surfaces and thus increased risks
could be caused by exposure to trace ele-
ments like lead and cadmium that are
extracted. Cooking foods in low miner-
alized water increases the depletion of
essential minerals from the foods. The
health significance of these hypothesized
relationships with drinking water in any
given population would be dependent
upon many factors including diet,
lifestyle, age, smoking, population genet-
ics, occupation and other confounders.
Sodium
Sodium can be present in desalinated
water depending upon the efficiency of
salts removal and the type of post treat-
ment blending or stabilization. Typical
daily dietary intake of sodium can be in
the range of 2,000 to 10,000 mg or more
and is a function of personal taste and
cultural factors. Some segment of the
population is salt sensitive
(hypertensinogenic) which means that
blood pressure elevation and its com-
mensurate adverse effects occur to a
greater degree in those individuals as-
sociated with their total salt consump-
tion. Salt sensitivity is estimated in the
range of 15 percent of some populations.
Water is usually not a significant con-
tributor to total daily sodium intake ex-
cept for persons who are r equired to be
on highly restricted diets of less than 400
mg sodium per day.
Petroleum contamination
Raw and refined petroleum contains
a very large number of toxic chemicals
and substances that impart undesirable
taste to finished water. Crude oil contains
hydrocarbons and other chemicals that
contain nitrogen and sulfur. Aliphatic
hydrocarbons can range from gaseous
methane (C1) and other small molecules,
to midrange liquids (C5 to C 16 approxi-
mately) like heptane (C7 ) and cetane (C13)
and to high molecular weight solids that
are dissolved or suspended in the mix-
ture. Aromatic hydrocarbons range from
benzene and toluene to polynuclear aro-
matic naphthalene (2 rings) to benzopy-
rene (6 rings) and above. Benzene is
known to cause leukemia and benzopy-
rene causes skin and other cancers.
Numerous sulfur compounds are
present both as heterocycles and as thi-
ols and other forms including sulfur and
hydrogen sulfide that is highly toxic and
particularly malodorous at very low con-
centrations. Refined petrochemicals and
gasoline products challenge the treatment
processes with high concentrations of
mobile, volatile and often more toxic
16 Water Conditioning & Purification
lower and mid-range fractions.
The lower molecular weight cut off
for RO rejection is typically in the range
of 100-300 Daltons. Very large molecules
are removed by RO membranes, however
significant fouling can impede operations
by reducing flux. Small non-polar mol-
ecules pass through the membrane. Some
molecules, although rejected due to their
size, may, depending on their solubility
characteristics and the chemistry of the
polymeric membrane, dissolve in the
membrane polymer and diffuse through
to the finished water.
Distillation processes can theoreti-
cally separate any substance by fraction-
ation based upon boiling point differ-
ences, however desalination distillation
is not designed to be a fractionating sys-
tem, thus substances with boiling points
lower than water ’s would easily be car-
ried over in the vapors and even higher
boiling substances could “steam” distill
and be carried into the distillate.
Pretreatments are used to avoid con-
tamination of finished water by certain
organics and these can involve an adsorp-
tion process using granular activated car-
bon, or more frequently, powdered acti-
vated carbon for intermittent
contamination. Pretreatment of blending
water may also be required for the same
reason.
Waste management
Wastes from desalination plants in-
clude concentrated brines, backwash liq-
uids containing scale and corrosion salts
and antifouling chemicals and pretreat-
ment chemicals in filter waste sludges.
Depending upon the location and other
circumstances, including access to the
ocean and sensitive aquifers, concentra-
tions of toxic substances etc., wastes could
be discharged directly to the sea, mixed
with other waste streams before discharge,
discharged to sewers or treated at a sew-
age treatment plant, lagooned, or dried
and disposed in landfills.
Energy consumption
Desalination plants require signifi-
cant amounts of electricity and heat de-
pending upon the process and type of
source water. It has been estimated that
one plant producing about seven million
gallons per day could require about 50
million kWh/yr., which would be simi-
lar to the energy demands of an oil refin-
ery or a small steel mill. Co-generation
facilities that produce both electric power
(or produce excess heat) and water pro-
vide significant opportunities for efficien-
cies by using waste heat from power gen-
eration in the desalination process.
Environmental impacts
Installation and operation of a de-
salination facility will have the poten-
tial for adverse impacts on air, seawa-
ter, groundwater and possibly other
aspects. These impacts should be con-
sidered and their acceptability and miti-
gation requirements would usually be
matters of national and local regulation
and policies. Studies to examine these
ef fects would usually be conducted at
each candidate site and post installation
monitoring programs should be insti-
tuted. A brief partial listing of issues fol-
lows:
Construction: Coastal zone and sea
floor ecology, bir ds and mammals habi-
tat, erosion and non-point sour ce pollu-
tion.
Energy: Fuel source and fuel trans-
portation, cooling water discharges, air
emissions from electrical power genera-
tion and fuel combustion.
Air Quality: Energy production re-
lated.
Marine Environment: Constituents in
waste discharges, thermal effects, feed
water intake process, effects of biocides
in discharge water and toxic metals, oxy-
gen levels, turbidity, salinity, mixing
zones, commercial fishing impacts, rec-
reation and many others.
Ground Water: Seepage from unlined
drying lagoons causing increased salin-
ity and possibly toxic metals deposition.
Disinfection and microbe control
Sea and brine waters contain micro-
organisms including bacteria, protozoa
and viruses that could be pathogenic, es-
pecially if impacted by sewage discharges
or urban runoff. Disinfection occurs at
several points during the treatment pro-
cess. The question is: what is adequate dis-
infection to protect public health from ex-
posure to pathogenic microbes and are
there any unique risks that may be associ-
ated with desalination practices? During
pretreatment, a disinfectant, often chlo-
rine, will be added to reduce biofouling
and protect the membrane from degra-
dation. Chlorination of seawater would
be expected to produce substantial
amounts of brominated organic
byproducts. Membranes also have the ca-
pacity to separate microorganisms by pre-
venting their passage through the mem-
branes. So long as the membrane is intact,
complete removal of microorganisms can
occur; however, some bacteria can grow
through the membrane. Leakage can also
occur in membranes and through seals,
so surveillance to assure continued mem-
brane integrity is an important part of the
JA N U A R Y 2 0 0 5
process management system.
Even ultrafiltration (UF) membranes,
which have pores (~0.001 to 0.1 microns),
have been demonstrated to achieve sig-
nificant reductions of virus and protozoa.
Better performance would be expected
from RO membranes. Several challenge
tests employing giardia lamblia and
cryptosporidia oocysts and MS2 bacterioph-
age with an ultrafiltration membrane of
nominal pore size of 0.035 microns and
absolute 0.1 micron have demonstrated
very effective removals. Giardia oocysts
can vary from 4 to 14 microns in length
and 5 to 10 microns in width; cryptosporidia
oocysts range from about 4 to 6 microns.
Intact microfiltra-tion (0.1 micron nomi-
nal) and RO membranes should com-
pletely remove the cysts. MS2 bacterioph-
age size is approximately 0.027 micron,
which is smaller than the pore size of the
membrane. Substantial virus removal is
achieved probably due to adsorption of
the virus on suspended particles, adsorp-
tion on the membrane, or from the sec-
ondary filtration due to fouling of the
membrane surface. (Curiously, RO is
noted for passing microbes and micro-
scopic particles, usually assumed to be
around end-seals and the like. In some
instances, particle counts from RO exceeds
particle counts from UF, depending on the
configuration—spiral, dead end, etc. End
seal leakage does not effect salt rejection
by much.)
Distillation at high temperatures
close to the normal boiling point of wa-
ter would likely eliminate all pathogens.
Reduced pressures are used in some de-
salination systems to reduce the boiling
point and reduce energy demands. Tem-
peratures as low as 50° C may be utilized.
Several pathogenic organisms are dena-
tured or killed in a few seconds to min-
utes at temperatures in the 60° to 80°C
range, but spores require higher tempera-
tures and longer times.
Disinfection byproducts
Since desalinated waters are lower
in TOC than most natural waters it would
be expected that the disinfectant demand
and also disinfectant byproduct forma-
tion would be relatively low. This has
been indicated in some studies of
trihalomethane production that have
been reported. However, this could be
significantly affected by the type of
blending water that is used post treat-
ment to stabilize the water. One of the
factors to consider would be the amounts
of brominated organic byproducts that
could be formed from predisinfection of
salt waters containing bromide and from
disinfection of blending waters. Some of
J A N U A RY 2 0 0 5
these may reach the finished water. This
is a concern since data is accumulating
that some br ominated disinfection
byproducts have greater car cinogenic or
toxic potential than many chlorinated
byproducts. Indeed chloroform is not
considered to be carcinogenic at levels
typically found in drinking water. Since
the TOC found in seawater could be dif-
ferent than TOC in fresh waters, it is also
possible that there could be some differ-
ences in the chemistry of the byproduct
formation reactions that could lead to
some differ ent byproducts or different
distribution of byproducts.
Conclusion
Desalination of seawater and brack-
ish waters offers the opportunity to sig-
nificantly increase the world’s supply of
fresh water for drinking and other pur-
poses. Costs of pr oduction have been
declining rapidly and further economies
are expected. Due to the saline sour ce
waters and treatment processes involved,
several issues in finished water compo-
sition and process arise that are not typi-
cally dealt with in conventional drinking
water supplies. The World Health Orga-
nization is currently engaged in devel-
oping guidance aimed at the health and
environmental issues associated with
desalination technologies and applica-
tions so as to facilitate broader usage of
desalination technologies.
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9. The USAID Desalination Manual, PN-
AAJ-122, USAID; 1980.
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#72. US Bureau of Reclamation, 3r d Edition,
July 2003
11. Trace Metals in Ground Water RO Brine
Water; A.I. Alabdula’aly, M.A. Khan in Pro-
ceedings of the International Desalination
Association, Vol. V, pp. 573-596, 1997.
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Technology Survey; Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs, Sultanate of Oman, April 1994.
13. World Health Organization Guidelines for
Drinking Water; World Health Organization,
Geneva, 3rd edition, 2004. www.who.int/
water_sanitation_health/dwq/guidelines/en
14. World Health Or ganization, Nutrient Min-
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Consequences of Long-Term Consumption of
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Acknowledgement
This assessment was derived in part
from an assessment pr epared for the
World Health Organization’s Eastern
Mediterranean Regional Office to inves-
tigate the appropriateness of develop-
ing WHO guidance for the health and
environmental impacts of desalination
practices. It was also derived in part
from a contribution to a WHO Expert
Workshop investigating nutrients in
drinking water.
About the author
6 Dr. Joseph Cotruvo is President of Joseph
Cotruvo & Associates, Environmental and
Public Health Consultants, Washington, D.C.
USA. His Ph.D is in Physical Organic Chem-
istry. He was Director of the Drinking Water
Standards Division and the Toxic Substances
Risk Assessment Division during his almost
25 years of service with U.S. EPA. He cur-
rently works extensively on drinking water
quality, desalination, water reuse and water
delivery systems and health science issues.
Cortruvo also serves on several World Health
Organization panels and on research panels
with the National Water Research Institute
and the WaterReuse Foundation. He is a
member of the Agua Latinoamerica Comite
Consultivo de Asesores Technicos and Vice
President of AIDIS USA. Contact informa-
tion: phone/fax: 1 202 362 3076, email joseph.
cotruvo@verizon.net.
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