Energy and carbon footprints for the planned Aqaba Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project (AAWDCP): hydropower opportunities

ABSTRACT

The Figure shows that energy and carbon footprints, energy recovered and GHGs emissions saved for the AAWDCP increase with increasing flow.

The results demonstrate that the Aqaba Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project (AAWDCP) pipeline is hydraulically sufficient for flow rates of 100 and 200 MCM/yr; however, at 300 MCM/yr, negative pressure is expected to develop shortly before the breaking pressure tank (BPT) and downstream, indicating the need for additional pumping. At full project capacity (300 MCM/yr), the specific energy required for pumping is 5.28 kWh/m3, which increases to 8.91 kWh/m3 when desalination is included. The corresponding specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are 3.87 kg CO2e/m3 for pumping and 6.54 kg CO2e/m3 for desalination and pumping for the worst-case scenario. The results indicated that only 1.35% of the energy required for pumping can be recovered, for the flow of 300 MCM/yr while 39.97% of the energy required for desalination can be recovered from the brine by using a turbine. Energy and carbon footprints are sensitive to fuel type, combustion engine efficiency, pumping efficiency, and pipeline aging. Given the high energy and carbon footprints of the project, the integration of renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind, should be explored to bring them to acceptable levels.