Chemical engineer Thokozani Majozi was part of a team who built a model of a new wind-powered reverse osmosis desalination system. These use energy from the leftover salty water to power the plant. The team found that this model could work well in very windy coastal resorts. Water systems like this are resilient to climate change. Water agencies are currently lobbying the G20, led this year by South Africa, to dedicate much more finance to setting these up.
How could desalination help Egypt?
Egypt’s per capita share of renewable fresh water from the Nile and rain water has been falling for decades. The country is currently below the water poverty threshold of 1,000 cubic metres per person per year. This is only about half the water they need for health and wellbeing.
Climate change is making the situation worse. It disrupts rainfall patterns and intensifies droughts, making traditional water sources less reliable.
Desalination offers a promising solution. By removing salts and impurities from seawater, desalination can provide a steady supply of clean water for drinking, agriculture and industry. For example, Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Desalination Plant 3A supplies drinkable water to 1.6 million people per day.
Desalination is very effective when reverse osmosis is used. Reverse osmosis uses pressure to force seawater through a semi-permeable membrane. This removes all dissolved salts, contaminants, and impurities like dirt and microplastic from the water.