Integrated power, water and salt generation: a discussion paper

Cogeneration of electricity and desalinised water — for water production — is an accepted principle in many countries. However, there is an opportunity to extend the concept to obtain greater efficiencies by reassessing the desalination paradigm. The new paradigm considers desalination as only part of the saline water processing chain. It looks at value-adding opportunities through further processing of salt by-products, particularly bitterns. It considers aspects such as multiple use of evaporation basins, electricity generation from solar ponds using bitterns as a main constituent, and opportunities for resource recovery from bitterns. Above all, it considers the integration of water, salt and power production, as a mutually supporting system. The overall concept of better integration of water, salt and power production is discussed with a focus on the utilisation of saline effluent from desalination plants.