2. Abstract
This paper will explore the different uses, as well as disposal methods of brine, which is
the byproduct of the processes of desalination or reverse osmosis. As we know, brine is a
corrosive byproduct which in many poor regions of the world, do not go through the proper
disposal procedures, causing numerous environmental problems. With that being said, one can
easily assume the damages it can have on not only the environment, but also everything that lives
in it. The purpose of this paper is to showcase a more sustainable and renewable way of utilizing
brine, while carefully displaying the different effects, negative and positive, that brine has on the
environment. In doing so, our hope is to convey the urgency and importance of protecting our
environment from the negative effects of brine, as well as to provide useful information to our
general audience.
3. Renewable Brine
Introduction:
Water is one of the most basic and most essential necessity in life. Some parts of the
world do not need to worry about availability, while other regions find alternative resources to
provide themselves with potable water. This is where desalination or reverse osmosis comes in.
Historically, desalination was popularly used during sailing voyages to provide sailing ships with
potable water. Today, it is a widely used method of providing water across the globe; especially
to regions which do not have access to lakes or rivers, and are suffering from water availability.
Desalination is the process in which salt minerals are forced out, mostly from seawater, through
the tiniest filtration procedures to provide freshwater. The freshwater goes through more
filtration processes to make sure that the water is safe for our everyday use, drinking and cooking
especially. One of the biggest advantages of desalination is that, not only can it provide potable
water, it can also be used to clean out contaminated water. On the contrary, after desalinating
seawater, we are left with fluid that contains extremely high contents of salt, which is known as
brine. The issue here is that poor regions of the world that use this method cannot afford proper
disposal procedures, so the brine goes straight back into the ocean, which is highly corrosive to
not only marine life, but to terrestrial life as well. As a solution, this paper will explore the
numerous ways in which brine can be utilized to benefit both the environment and the life that
resides within it. Some of the main highlights of this solution involves using brine as surface
water discharge, a deicing agent in cold regions, and possible agriculture uses of brine. Before
displaying these different solution, this paper will be sure to emphasize both the typical and the
proper ways of disposing brine.
Methodology: Disposal Through Efficient Discharge
4. The saddest truth about brine is that the easiest way to dispose of it is to just dump it back
into the ocean. Rich countries who use desalination do not have to worry about the harm that
brine can cause to their environment because either they can afford damage fees, or they are
properly equipped to store or dispose of the brine properly. On the other hand, although poor
countries gain potable water, they are forced to suffer the effects which brine can have on their
environment; environmental degradation through ocean acidification, which causes a ripple
effect on its surrounding ecosystem. One great example pertains to the desalination plant and
activity in the Middle East. “Brine disposal is a big problem in much of the Middle East. The
gulf, along with the Red and Mediterranean seas, are turning saltier because of desalination by-
products—and the region is the epicenter of desalination worldwide, with the United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman making up 45% of global
desalination capacity. This brine is typically twice as salty as seawater, and advanced
desalination plants still produce approximately two cubic meters of waste brine for every one
cubic meter of clean water,” (Gies, 2016). As a result, these regions do not only suffer from poor
levels of natural water circulation, but also the rapid losses of natural freshwater inputs from
natural freshwater bodies due to higher levels of salinity. To fix this problem, these regions are
now disposing the brine waste farther away from their shorelines. The issues and solutions of
these regions are still ongoing. Therefore, because these areas are well equipped with tools which
enable them proper disposal methods, we can only imagine the damages that poor countries face.
During our research, we were able to find great solutions to this problem. Although we
know that brine cannot easily be stored in storage units due to its corrosivity – also because
storage units which would be designed specifically to not only withstand the high content of salt,
but also be able to contain it may be quite expensive – there are numerous ways in which it can
5. be disposed of properly and mostly with little to no cost. Because brine is typically thrown back
into the ocean after desalination, our research has lead us to discover that these methods are not
only the easiest, but are also the most realistic and inexpensive ways as long as we know where
the brine is being disposed. The few methods which will be mentioned below pertain to how
brine can be used as surface water discharge.
The three main aspects of efficiently disposing brine as surface water discharge are
through mixtion, diffusion, and dilution. Mixing requires strong sea currents. This method
involves finding the right spot in the ocean that holds strong currents “to aid mixing the brine
with seawater,” (Reverse Osmosis Desalination, n.d.). Because brine holds large amounts of salt,
it has a much higher density than natural seawater. This fact gives it the tendency to sink down to
the ocean floor, which can cause the plume effect - “creating a very salty layer which can have
negative impacts on flora and the marine life and any related human activity,” (Reverse Osmosis
Desalination, n.d.). In this sense, this method of mixing does not necessarily increase the
contents of salt in the ocean, but simply distributes it evenly within a wide range of space, while
making sure that high contents of salt are not concentrated into one area. Diffusion is closely
similar to mixtion, but it does not require sea currents.
Diffusion involves dividing up the brine into smaller fluid amounts. These small amounts
get distributed into different parts of the ocean, mostly disposed in ocean regions which hold the
least amount of salt. In this way, we are mostly balancing the salt contents in different parts of
the ocean, while ensuring that these disposal areas do not exceed salt content levels which may
cause ocean acidification or the plume effect.
The last method, which is dilution, is simply finding out the levels of salt content in the
brine and balancing it out by adding amounts of natural freshwater from streams, or simply
6. disposing it within boundaries where river or actively flowing stream water meets the ocean.
Dilution is like the combination of both mixtion and diffusion. We are aware the method of
dilution is contrary to regions that do not have lakes, streams, or rivers, which is one of the
reasons why these methods are options that can be taken depending on the location. All the
disposal methods mentioned above are, for the most part, safe and efficient, but would not
disregard the fact that permits and/or other regulatory compliances would be highly required.
Methodology: Alternative Uses
In terms of alternative uses of brine, there are numerous possibilities that our
continuously advancing technological world can offer. One other method that brine can be useful
is as a deicing agent in cold regions during winter. It can be used as an effective and inexpensive
way to of melting frozen ice that accumulate on the roads. “Traditionally, road salt is used during
the winter months to suppress ice on roads. However, brine can be used for this purpose,” (7
Ways to Dispose of Brine Waste, 2017). This method not only ensures the safety of the people
driving by or even pedestrians from potential accidents, but also saves time in the process of
shoveling out all that snow on the road. For countries or regions of tropical climates, brine can be
of high value in such a way that contributes to their source of revenue; business of brine. As silly
as that sounds, it is certainly a great possibility. Because brine is highly corrosive, the idea of
storing it is out of the question. However, this does not mean that brine cannot be stored for a
short amount of time while being shipped to countries that want to use it as a deicing agent. This
might be seen as quite a hassle, but we strongly believe that the shipment expenses would be
worth saving the environment.
Other methods include brine as sewer water discharge, an irrigation tool for agricultural
purposes, and as a dust control agent (7 Ways to Dispose of Brine Waste, 2017). The most
7. common of these uses of brine consider the different climate conditions of different regions of
the world. With regards to tropical conditions, brine can be a useful tool as an irrigation method,
during dry and dusty seasons, especially during harsh times of drought. Similar to using brine as
a deicing agent, it can also be used as a tool to control heavy dust. It is not an immediate tool to
use because many different rules and regulations within different countries mostly see the
downfall of this process - mostly because of its chemical composition after the desalination
process - but it is one that can be and is commonly considered. “Brine has been used for
beneficial use as a dust suppressant and road stabilizer on unpaved secondary roads… Because
of the potential for contaminants from the brine to leach into surface or ground waters, the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has developed guidelines that must be followed
when spreading brine on unpaved roads,” (Department of Environmental Protection, 2011, p.
1). In other words, this process may seem easy, but its likelihood to bring about other potential
environmental defects will require quite a load of paperwork for permits and other regulatory
procedures. Nonetheless, it is also considered a common use of brine.
Discussion: Disadvantages
In terms of flaws, the cost to fund these desalination plants are very costly. Price can vary
depending on where the plant will be located, ranging from 300 million to 2.9 billion, and to
build one of these plants take more than just a handful of energy. Energy is all accounted for and
cost about one third to half the amount of producing the water. Prices change when it comes to
the energy as well. Another negative affect is when they collect large amounts of brine, making it
very hard to transport causing spills that negatively affects the soil not allowing vegetation or
growth. The salts in brine alter the chemical and physical properties of soils. Due to the high
amounts of soluble salts (predominately sodium chloride, NaCl), brine negatively impacts soils
8. in many ways. (Franzen, 2013.) Another biggest issue I have seen so far is the effect brine
disposable has on the marine life. The easiest way to get rid of brine flow is to dispose it through
a pipe into the ocean. Brine disposal has become a big issue in the middle east, Mediterranean
and red seas. Brine is making these places salinity levels ten times stronger and much denser
than seawater, causing the brine to sink to the sea floor affecting the flora (coral etc.), marine life
and even human activity.
Discussion: Advantages
Despite the few disadvantages, the positive aspects of desalination, if proper precaution is
taken, outweighs the negative things about it. Brine from desalination has helped many places
achieve the satisfaction of consuming and obtaining clean drinkable water. Desalination plants
make it possible to have water where natural water is not accessible. For example, many
Caribbean islands get their water through these desalination plants. In addition, this type of water
is high quality and reduces quite much of the pressure on the natural freshwater resources that
are currently under protection, (Ackerman, 2018). In this sense, we are not only making sure that
the naturally protected areas stay protected, but we are also ensuring that the natural habitats,
along with the species within those areas, especially endangered species, are out of harm’s way.
Conclusion:
Because of our ever so growing technological world, this fact enables us the numerous
possibilities for environmental innovations and creativity. Utilizing brine to benefit both the
environment and its living things, while finding creative ways to fix and work around the
negative implications of desalination (through brine) is one way we are able to put these
technological advances to efficient, effective, and positive use. Because whether it is finding
solutions to dealing with brine, or other environmental matters, it all boils down to the efforts of
9. working together, all matters considering good communication as key element, in order to
achieve goals such as these; goals that would benefit the environment, not just for the present,
but most importantly for the future - ensuring that the environment that we live in will still be
available to and in better conditions for our children, our children’s future children, and more
generations to come. When life gives you brine, do not stop finding creative ways to make better
use of it, because in the world that we live in today, possibilities are endless.
10. References
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Franzen, D. 2013. Managing saline soils in North Dakota. Pub. SF1087 (Rev.), North Dakota
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Ogle, D., and L. St. John. 2009. Plants for saline to sodic soil conditions: TN Plant Materials No.
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