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Study on the water resources and the opportunities for sustainable desalination & minimal/zero liquid discharge (MLD/ZLD) practices in Greece (Eastern Mediterranean)

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Abstract

In recent years, climate change has resulted in a major decline in river levels, erratic rainfall, and issues procuring freshwater. This research article analyzes the water status in Greece (Eastern Mediterranean), the challenge of water scarcity, and the role of desalination and minimal/zero liquid discharge (MLD/ZLD) practices in tackling the water scarcity issue. The results revealed that the water resources are unequally distributed in Greece as the water balance is in surplus only for 9 river basin districts out of 14 in total. In particular, the water balance of the eastern parts of Greece (e.g., the Aegean Islands and Crete) is in deficit. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that Greece currently has 275 desalination plants in operation with a total freshwater production of 163,000 m3/day. Additionally, the energy consumption of desalination plants in Greece is projected at 1055 MWh/day, resulting in CO2 emissions of 658 tons/day. Despite the high energy and carbon footprint of desalination plants, the MLD/ZLD desalination systems can be adopted in Greece to address freshwater scarcity in many islands of the country, while the recovery of valuable resources such as salts, metals, minerals, or even energy can make the valorization strategy economically profitable. Furthermore, to decrease the high energy and carbon footprint, it is suggested to integrate renewable energy sources (e.g., solar/wind energy) with MLD/ZLD desalination systems to minimize the impacts and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (carbon neutrality).

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

Abbreviations

BC:

Brine concentrator

BCr:

Brine crystallizer

BMED:

Bipolar membrane electrodialysis

CAPMIX:

Capacitive mixing

ED:

Electrodialysis

EFC:

Eutectic freeze crystallization

EU:

European Union

FO:

Forward osmosis

HPRO:

High-pressure reverse osmosis

MCr:

Membrane crystallization

MD:

Membrane distillation

MED:

Multi-effect distillation

MLD:

Minimal liquid discharge

MSF:

Multi-stage flash distillation

NATO:

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NF:

Nanofiltration

OARO:

Osmotically-assisted reverse osmosis

PRO:

Pressure retarded osmosis

RED:

Reverse electrodialysis

RO:

Reverse osmosis

TDS:

Total dissolved solids

ZLD:

Zero liquid discharge

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  1. School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St., Zografou, 15780, Athens, Greece

    Argyris Panagopoulos & Vasiliki Giannika

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  1. Argyris Panagopoulos
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All the research has been done by the authors: AP and VG.

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Correspondence to Argyris Panagopoulos.

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Panagopoulos, A., Giannika, V. Study on the water resources and the opportunities for sustainable desalination & minimal/zero liquid discharge (MLD/ZLD) practices in Greece (Eastern Mediterranean). Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 9, 106 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-023-00884-5

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