Too much brine? Study highlights growing toxic brine problem

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Too much brine? Study highlights growing toxic brine problem

January 14, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — The world’s thirst for fresh water is causing a salty problem.

Desalination plants around the world are producing enough brine waste to swamp an area the size of Florida with a foot of salty water every year, according to a U.N.-backed report released Monday.

The study by researchers from Canada, the Netherlands and South Korea warned that much of the brine is being dumped untreated into the sea, and some is laden with toxic chemicals, causing harm to sea life.

The authors called for better brine management, particularly in countries that rely heavily on desalination for their water needs, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/638144f03bbc45de87d467dd2ecc1975

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Related: The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook (Science of The Total Environment)

[at140]

1. So where are they dumping all that brine?

In the ocean?

[mr_lebowski]

2. Shouldn't be any big harm in putting it back in teh sea, as long as it's distributed properly

Probably can't pump 1,000,000 gallons an hour into one spot on the seashore, for example without wiping everything in the water for miles around.

What you probably need are very large networks of pipes under water, like a giant septic system, letting it out at a slow rate across a very wide area, so saline concentrations don't reach toxic levels.

After all, this stuff came from the sea to begin with.

[hunter]

3. Toxic chemicals are often added to the intake water...

...to reduce scaling and to kill any life that would foul the plumbing.

Removing or neutralizing these chemicals before the brine is discharged, or using more expensive processes having lower environmental impacts, is often neglected.