Brine disposal from inland desalination plants research needs assessment

Desalination plants are being widely used in the inland areas of many countries to supply water for domestic purposes. When these areas are far from the shorelines of salt-water bodies, the opportunity to dispose of the reject brine (also known as concentrate, reject water, or wastewater) back into these water bodies no longer exists. In such instances, the use of evaporation ponds is very significant, both economically and environmentally. Other alternatives for brine disposal may also be very effective in some instances. Under certain conditions, brine from desalination plants can have useful applications. Potentials for such applications are addressed in this paper along with a critical review of current innovative concepts for the disposal of reject brine from inland desalination plants. This paper will also assess the present status of disposal mechanisms of brine from desalination plants and outline future research areas that could be pursued for effective, economical, and environmentally sound means for brine disposal from such plants.