Desalting of Saline Waters -- Applications to New Mexico
Abstract
Diminishing fresh water supplies in parts of New Mexico have sparked an interest in desalting of saline ground waters and oil field produced waters to supplement fresh water supplies. This paper briefly discusses desalination processes that have achieved commercial success around the world that might be used in New Mexico. These include multi-stage flash distillation, multiple effect distillation, vapor compression, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis. Other minor processes include freezing, membrane distillation, and solar humidification. Brackish water desalination typically costs between $1.00 and $2.40 per thousand gallons, and seawater desalination typically costs between $0.80 and $12.00 per 1,000 gal of fresh water. In New Mexico in 2001, 26,862,407,960 gal of oil and gas field produced water were pumped out of the ground. If desalted and treated to standards for human consumption or other purposes, this produced water would contribute to solving future water supply problems in New Mexico. However, the dissolved hydrocarbons in this water presently make desalination difficult. Research into solving desalination problems pertinent to New Mexico is ongoing and will undoubtedly see both successes and failures in the next decade or two.
Recommended Citation
T. M. Whitworth and R. Lee, "Desalting of Saline Waters -- Applications to New Mexico," New Mexico Geology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 16 - 20, New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, Feb 2003.
Department(s)
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Desalination; Groundwater Resource; Water Supply; New Mexico; North America; United States
Geographic Coverage
New Mexico
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0196-948X
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2003 New Mexico Bureau of Mines & Mineral Resources, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Feb 2003
