Water-energy nexus is an emerging issue that receives considerable
attention in the world in general and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries in particular. The GCC countries depend mainly on energy generated
from fossil fuels to produce drinking water. Yet, the amount of water-related
energy use in Bahrain remains unexplored. This study aims to quantify the
amount of energy used in the water supply cycle for the first time in Bahrain
using quantitative methods. A bottom-up approach for data collection was
adopted where data for the three main stages of the water supply in Bahrain:
water production, water transmission, and water distribution were collected.
Results show that the water production stage consumes about 97% of the total
energy consumption in the water supply sector, followed by water transmission
(2.9%) and water distribution (0.1%). Comparisons conducted with best practices
in the world show that water desalination plants in Bahrain consume relatively
high amounts of energy to produce water based on the desalination technology
used. This study calls for focusing on the production stage in achieving energy
efficiency since it is the largest consumer and where losses are occurring based
on the benchmarking. This study also recommends investigating the share of
electricity and thermal energy consumed in the water supply cycle in Bahrain in
addition to the wastewater treatment sector. This is imperative to provide a
holistic overview of the water-related energy use in Bahrain.
References
[1]
Hardy, L., Garrido, A. and Juana, L. (2012) Evaluation of Spain’s Water-Energy Nexus. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 28, 151-170.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2012.642240
[2]
ESCWA (2017) Developing the Capacity of ESCWA Member Countries to Address the Water and Energy Nexus for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Water-Energy Nexus Operational Toolkit—Resource Efficiency Module. UN, Beirut.
[3]
Napoli, C. and Garcia-Tellez, B. (2016) A Framework for Understanding Energy for Water. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 32, 339-361.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1122579
[4]
Al-Mutrafi, H., Al-Zubari, W., El-Sadek, A. and Gelil, I.A. (2018) Assessment of the Water-Energy Nexus in the Municipal Water Sector in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Computational Water, Energy, and Environmental Engineering, 07, 1-26.
https://doi.org/10.4236/cweee.2018.71001
[5]
Granit, J., Jägerskog, A., Lindström, A., Björklund, G., Bullock, A., Löfgren, R., et al. (2012) Regional Options for Addressing the Water, Energy and Food Nexus in Central Asia and the Aral Sea Basin. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 28, 419-432. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2012.684307
[6]
Scott, C.A., Pierce, S.A., Pasqualetti, M.J., Jones, A.L., Montz, B.E. and Hoover, J.H. (2011) Policy and Institutional Dimensions of the Water-Energy Nexus. Energy Policy, 39, 6622-6630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.08.013
[7]
Raluy, R.G., Serra, L., Uche, J. and Valero, A. (2004) Life-Cycle Assessment of Desalination Technologies Integrated with Energy Production Systems. Desalination, 167, 445-458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2004.06.160
[8]
Khawaji, A.D., Kutubkhanah, I.K. and Wie, J.-M. (2008) Advances in Seawater Desalination Technologies. Desalination, 221, 47-69.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.01.067
[9]
Raluy, G., Serra, L. and Uche, J. (2006) Life Cycle Assessment of MSF, MED and RO Desalination Technologies. Energy, 31, 2361-2372.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2006.02.005
[10]
Siddiqi, A. and Anadon, L.D. (2011) The Water-Energy Nexus in Middle East and North Africa. Energy Policy, 39, 4529-4540.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.04.023
[11]
Guyer, J. (2012) Introduction to Pumping Stations for Water Supply Systems.
https://www.sswm.info/sites/default/files/reference_attachments/GUYER%202012%20 Introduction%20to%20Pumping%20Stations%20for%20Water%20Supply%20Systems.pdf
[12]
Sarbu, I. and Borza, I. (1998) Energetic Optimization of Water Pumping in Distribution Systems. Periodica Polytechnica Mechanical Engineering, 42, 141-152.
[13]
Vieira, F. and Ramos, H.M. (2009) Optimization of Operational Planning for Wind/Hydro Hybrid Water Supply Systems. Renewable Energy, 34, 928-936.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2008.05.031
[14]
Al-Zubari, W. (2014) The Costs of Municipal Water Supply in Bahrain. Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.
[15]
Al-Zubari, W., Al-Turbak, A., Zahid, W., Al-Ruwis, K., Al-Tkhais, A., Al-Muataz, I., et al. (2017) An Overview of the GCC Unified Water Strategy (2016-2035). Desalination and Water Treatment, 81, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.20864
[16]
IEA (2017) Key World Energy Statistics. IEA, Paris.
[17]
Copeland, C. and Carter, N. (2017) Energy-Water Nexus: The Water Sector’s Energy Use. Congressional Research Service.
[18]
EWA (2017) Sitra Power and Water Station.
http://www.ewa.bh/en/Media/Publications/Publication/sitra%20-%20booklet.pdf
[19]
EWA (2017) Ras Abu JarJur BWRO Desalination Plant.
http://www.ewa.bh/en/Media/Publications/Publication/abu%20jerjoor-booklet.pdf
[20]
HPC (2009) Hidd Power Company. http://hpc.com.bh/default.asp
[21]
Shahzad, M.W., Burhan, M., Ang, L. and Ng, K.C. (2017) Energy-Water-Environment Nexus Underpinning Future Desalination Sustainability. Desalination, 413, 52-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.03.009
[22]
Najafi, B., Shirazi, A., Aminyavari, M., Rinaldi, F. and Taylor, R.A. (2014) Exergetic, Economic and Environmental Analyses and Multi-Objective Optimization of an SOFC-Gas Turbine Hybrid Cycle Coupled with an MSF Desalination System. Desalination, 334, 46-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2013.11.039
[23]
Safarian, S. and Aramoun, F. (2015) Energy and Exergy Assessments of Modified Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). Energy Reports, 1, 1-7.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2014.10.003
[24]
López Paniagua, I., Rodríguez Martín, J., González Fernandez, C., Jiménez Alvaro, á. and Nieto Carlier, R. (2013) A New Simple Method for Estimating Exergy Destruction in Heat Exchangers. Entropy, 15, 474-489.
https://doi.org/10.3390/e15020474
