Installation of the Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis System Coupled with Solar Power for Drinking Water Production in Ben Tre, Vietnam Considering Water Usage and Cost

Abstract

Recently, the unbalanced water demand and supply have been occurred globally due to the climate change, industrialization, and population increase. The water shortage problem became much severe in the developing countries because the low-stage of infrastructure might result in frequent limitation of water and transportation of water. Therefore, sustainable water supplying option is the key for the boosting the local economy. The Mekong Delta area produce most of the products in agriculture and fishery in Vietnam. However, due to low income and vast area, the infrastructure for water supply has been limited in the Mekong Delta area. Moreover, due to reduced Mekong-river flow by the dam construction in upper reaches, increased seawater level by the global warming, and increased unexpected drought and flooding by the climate change, the water supply in the Mekong delta is becoming hard. Therefore, sustainable water supplying option was required. In this study, the reverse osmosis-based desalination process could use undrinkable saline water as the feed water coupled with photovoltaic panel was suggested. In order to install the decentralized and off-grid type water production plant in the proper place in the Mekong Delta, the KIST, VKIST, and central and local governments in Vietnam collaborated. The RO plant could be successfully installed by the help of the partners and the operational conditions have been monitored. If the water providing option could be separated according to the purposes such as drinking usage and other water usage, the more technical options could be applied for the water production.