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Water-energy nexus: matching sources and uses

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An Erratum to this article was published on 11 December 2014

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that the issues of water and energy are inextricable with energy production becoming an increasingly large water consumer, and water being both a potential sink and source for energy. A complicating factor is the long-term impact of continued use of fossil fuel exacerbating global warming with attendant impact on water supplies. At the same time, the location of population relative to water and energy sources suggests that there is a need to choose those technologies for energy and water production, which produce an appropriate match between sources and population. These ideas are developed with respect to coastal populations.

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Abbreviations

A :

Total membrane area

C f :

Initial feed water concentration

C mix :

Concentration of mixed seawater and feed water

C d :

Initial draw solution concentration

L p :

Intrinsic water permeability of RO or PRO membrane

R stack :

Resistance of electrodialysis stack

Voc:

Open circuit voltage

W max,m :

Maximum power generated per membrane area

\(\Delta \pi\) :

Osmotic pressure difference between feed and draw solution

\(\phi\) :

Fraction of feed water in total water volume fed to salinity gradient power generation

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research—BIDR, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, SdeBoker, Israel

    J. Gilron

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  1. J. Gilron
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Correspondence to J. Gilron.

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Gilron, J. Water-energy nexus: matching sources and uses. Clean Techn Environ Policy 16, 1471–1479 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-014-0853-1

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