Limassol hosts desalination conference

"Desalination for the Environment, Clean Water and Energy conference and exhibition" begins Tuesday in Limassol with the participation of more than 300 delegates from around the world and 30 exhibitors.

The opening session will be addressed by Cyprus Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Petros Xenophontos.

The delegates from around the globe will be discussing water supply and the environmental issues that affect all, as well as Cyprus. Thirty exhibitors who will be displaying their latest technology in desalination.

During the first day of the conference, the WATER-MINING project curated a special workshop about “Circular Desalination: Value Chains & Sustainability”. An afternoon panel was due to be attended by representatives of the Ministries for Energy and Agriculture, as well as the Water Development Department, the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, the Cyprus Institute and the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation.

The conference topics in panel discussions and workshops will cover issues such as economics of desalination and hydrogen production, water challenge of green hydrogen production, policy and market development, storage and infrastructure, water, energy and emissions management, water security, desalination for water reuse and agriculture and digitalization in desalination.

The conference, organized by EDS, European Desalination Society, will overview the most recent developments in desalination technology, its cost and extent of application, including socio-economic and environmental issues. It will bring together research scientists, decision makers, managers, design engineers and operators from water companies, industries, government departments, consulting firms, research institutes and universities.

The place of industry, research and government decision making in this booming market will also be addressed.

EDS is a Europe-wide organization for individual and corporate members including universities, companies, research institutes, government agencies and all concerned with and interested in desalination and membrane technologies for water.

This conference on Desalination for the Environment will be devoted to advances towards providing fresh water for all, at affordable cost and at economical energy requirements.

According to a press release, Monday's seminar was curated by WATER-MINING. The project focuses on research and innovation, and develops energy-efficient technologies for treating wastewater from urban and industrial areas and from desalination, whilst promoting the extraction of valuable products from the residues generated during the process.

The project, coordinated by the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, brings together public and private partners from countries across Europe. The entity involved from Cyprus is the Larnaca Sewage and Drainage Board, while the project also includes pilot projects from Spain, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

“Society is a key focal point” in connecting the economy and environment, said the organizer of the workshop Dimitris Xevgevnos, who is an Assistant Professor at the Technology, Policy and Management Faculty of TU Delft.

As is noted in the press release, Cyprus is the most water scarce country in Europe, with a 50% to 80% dependency on desalination technologies for providing freshwater depending on the year. The country faces the challenge of achieving greater energy independence from traditional fossil fuels that continue to power desalination plants in Cyprus.

These issues are particularly urgent since the Mediterranean region is facing significant water scarcity and the highest temperature rises due to the climate change, it was also added.

Presenting the project, Arnoldas Milukas, Head of Unit for Biodiversity, circular economy and environment at the European Research Executive Agency, said that "WATER-MINING is investing resources to involve end-users in fine-tuning circular water solutions including brine recovery management for commercialization".

Close to 200 million people in the Mediterranean region are already affected by water stress, and this number will increase due to population growth, incremental urbanization, and ongoing climate change, the press release points out, adding that demand for water in the Mediterranean is expected to increase by 50% by 2050, while the available water resources are expected to decrease by 10-30%.