Environmental and Economic Assessment of Membrane Capacitive Deionization (MCDI) and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO) for Sustainable Irrigation in the Mediterranean Region

Marwa Ben Saad, Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz, Sun-Hea Hong, Carla Scagnetti, Ulrich Hellriegel, Jan Hoinkis and Makram Anane ()
Additional contact information
Marwa Ben Saad: Wastewater and Environment Laboratory, Water Researches and Technologies Center, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman BP 273, Tunisia
Edgardo E. Cañas Kurz: Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Sun-Hea Hong: Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Nobelstra. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Carla Scagnetti: Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Nobelstra. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Ulrich Hellriegel: Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Jan Hoinkis: Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany
Makram Anane: Wastewater and Environment Laboratory, Water Researches and Technologies Center, Borj Cedria Technopark, Soliman BP 273, Tunisia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Ensuring the sustainability of a product or a system requires a thorough evaluation of its environmental and socioeconomic impacts. In this context, one of the objectives of the EU-PRIMA SmaCuMed project is to evaluate the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of the Smart Cube system. The Smart Cube was developed for the PV-powered desalination of brackish groundwater with membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) and low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO); it additionally uses smart sensors for controlled irrigation in remote agricultural areas in Morocco, as an example for the North African region. Based on the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment approach, this paper aims to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the Smart Cube, using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyses for environmental evaluation. Various scenarios have been defined for both environmental and economic assessments. Based on 1 m 3 of produced desalinated water, the LCC results showed that, when using the desalination technologies directly connected to the grid, the prices are lower than those obtained when it was supplied by the PV system. This is only due to the very low energy prices from the Moroccan grid (EUR 0.10/kWh). The LCC results showed that LPRO is a more cost-effective option for producing desalinated water, with a lower total cost compared to MCDI. However, LCA results indicated that LPRO has a higher environmental impact compared to MCDI. If higher water production capacity is a priority, MCDI connected to PV is the best choice, with lower carbon emission but higher overall water costs.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; life cycle costing; sustainability; desalination; CO 2eq (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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