THE IMPACT OF INCREASED FUEL COSTS AND INFLATION ON THE COST OF DESALTING SEA WATER AND BRACKISH WATERS

摘要

The combined increases in the cost of fuel, equipment, and money during the past four years have had a marked im¬pact on the cost of desalting saline waters. This report presents the results of a parametric study made to estimate the current costs of desalting sea water by distillation and reverse osmosis and brackish waters by reverse osmosis and electrodialysis as a function of plant size and feed-water chemistry.nTypically, distillation plant capital costs have in¬creased from $1 per daily gallon to $3 per daily gallon for large plants (100 Mgd) and from ~$1.40 per daily gallon to ~$5 per daily gallon for plant sizes of 5 Mgd or less. Con¬sequently, water costs are now ranging from $3 to $4 per 1000 gal when oil is used to generate steam.nSimilarly, the costs of desalting inland brackish waters using reverse osmosis or electrodialysis have in¬creased significantly.