{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T03:20:49Z","timestamp":1775532049821,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]],"date-time":"2024-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1722211200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/50021\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/50021\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Water"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The challenge of global water scarcity, exacerbated by population growth, pollution, and uneven resource distribution, demands innovative solutions. Seawater desalination, particularly Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination technology, offers a promising remedy due to its efficiency, economic attractiveness, and enduring durability. This study explores the potential of solar-powered desalination to replace grid-imported electricity as a cost-effective solution to water scarcity, emphasizing economic and environmental aspects. We delve into the economic viability of desalination by developing a model that considers desalination capacity, input electricity prices, and specific energy consumption. Applying this model to case studies in Portugal (Porto Santo Island in the Madeira Archipelago and Algarve in the southern mainland) demonstrates that integrating photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems to supply the electricity required in the desalination process can reduce the unit production costs of desalinated water by about 33%. The obtained unit production cost of desalinated water using solar PV input is lower than current water tariffs, underscoring the economic feasibility of this approach. The proposed solution is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contributing to Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/w16152140","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]],"date-time":"2024-07-29T07:54:03Z","timestamp":1722239643000},"page":"2140","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Solar-Powered Desalination as a Sustainable Long-Term Solution for the Water Scarcity Problem: Case Studies in Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Rita","family":"Apolin\u00e1rio","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3108-8880","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INESC-ID\/IST, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"UN (United Nations) (2024, January 17). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Available online: https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/2030agenda."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"545","DOI":"10.1002\/2016EF000518","article-title":"Water scarcity assessments in the past, present, and future","volume":"5","author":"Liu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Earth\u2019s Future"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1477-8947.1989.tb00348.x","article-title":"Macro-scale water scarcity requires micro-scale approaches: Aspects of vulnerability in semi-arid development","volume":"13","author":"Falkenmark","year":"1989","journal-title":"Nat. Resour. Forum"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Alcamo, J., Henrichs, T., and Rosch, T. (2024, January 17). World water in 2025: Global Modeling and Scenario Analysis for the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century. Kassel World Water Series Report 2. Available online: http:\/\/www.usf.uni-kassel.de\/usf\/archiv\/dokumente\/kwws\/kwws.2.pdf."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"World Bank Group (2024, January 17). Population, Total. Available online: https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/SP.POP.TOTL."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"World Bank Group (2024, January 17). Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources per Capita (Cubic Meters). Food and Agriculture Organization, AQUASTAT Data. Available online: https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/ER.H2O.INTR.PC."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Curto, D., Franzitta, V., and Guercio, A. (2021). A review of the water desalination technologies. Appl. Sci., 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/app11020670"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1007\/s40726-018-0085-9","article-title":"Desalination of water: A review","volume":"4","author":"Darre","year":"2018","journal-title":"Curr. Pollut. Rep."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2015.11.012","article-title":"Desalination and sustainability\u2014An appraisal and current perspective","volume":"89","author":"Gude","year":"2016","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"242","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pecs.2005.03.001","article-title":"Seawater desalination using renewable energy sources","volume":"31","author":"Kalogirou","year":"2005","journal-title":"Prog. Energy Combust. Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1343","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2018.12.076","article-title":"The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook","volume":"657","author":"Jones","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Al-Qaraghuli, A., and Kazmerski, L.L. (2012, January 13\u201317). Comparisons of technical and economic performance of the main desalination processes with and without renewable energy coupling. Proceedings of the World Renewable Energy Forum, WREF 2012, Including World Renewable Energy Congress XII and Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) Annual Conference, Denver, CO, USA."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2006.12.009","article-title":"State-of-the-art of reverse osmosis desalination","volume":"216","author":"Fritzmann","year":"2007","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2004.06.170","article-title":"Wind and solar powered seawater desalination applied solutions for the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf countries","volume":"168","author":"Lindemann","year":"2004","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2011.04.041","article-title":"Wind energy technologies integrated with desalination systems: Review and state-of-the-art","volume":"277","author":"Ma","year":"2011","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2017.03.038","article-title":"Theoretical analysis and auxiliary experiment of the optimization of energy recovery efficiency of a rotary energy recovery device","volume":"415","author":"Wu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dawoud, M.A., Sallam, G.R., Abdelrahman, M.A., and Emam, M. (2024). The Performance and Feasibility of Solar-Powered Desalination for Brackish Groundwater in Egypt. Sustainability, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/su16041630"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"712","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1200488","article-title":"The future of seawater desalination: Energy, technology, and the environment","volume":"333","author":"Elimelech","year":"2011","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Ritchie, H., Roser, M., and Rosado, P. (2024, January 17). Energy Mix. Our World in Data. Available online: https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/energy-mix."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1155","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apenergy.2014.03.033","article-title":"Renewable energy-driven innovative energy-efficient desalination technologies","volume":"136","author":"Ghaffour","year":"2014","journal-title":"Appl. Energy"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2749","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2018.09.363","article-title":"Technology review and data analysis for cost assessment of water treatment systems","volume":"651","author":"Bhojwani","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1029\/2004WR003749","article-title":"Evaluating the costs of desalination and water transport","volume":"41","author":"Zhou","year":"2005","journal-title":"Water Resour. Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"141528","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.141528","article-title":"Environmental impact of desalination technologies: A review","volume":"748","author":"Elsaid","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"146585","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2021.146585","article-title":"Desalination and environment: A critical analysis of impacts, mitigation strategies, and greener desalination technologies","volume":"780","author":"Ihsanullah","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Kress, N. (2019). Marine Impacts of Seawater Desalination: Science, Management, and Policy, Elsevier."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/S1871-2711(09)00202-5","article-title":"Chapter 2 Global desalination situation","volume":"2","author":"Lattemann","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sustain. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0011-9164(97)00002-7","article-title":"Environmental impacts of seawater distillation and reverse osmosis processes","volume":"108","author":"Morton","year":"1997","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2010.12.036","article-title":"A review of reverse osmosis membrane materials for desalination\u2014Development to date and future potential","volume":"370","author":"Lee","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133545","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2019.07.351","article-title":"Desalination brine disposal methods and treatment technologies\u2014A review","volume":"693","author":"Panagopoulos","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2015.04.029","article-title":"Pre-treatment with nanofiltration (NF) in seawater desalination\u2014Preliminary integrated membrane tests in Urla, Turkey","volume":"369","author":"Kaya","year":"2015","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2013.09.021","article-title":"Investigation on high NF permeate recovery and scaling potential prediction in NF\u2013SWRO integrated membrane operation","volume":"330","author":"Song","year":"2013","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2015.01.023","article-title":"Improvement of overall water recovery by increasing RNF with recirculation in a NF\u2013RO integrated membrane process for seawater desalination","volume":"361","author":"Song","year":"2015","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"502","DOI":"10.1089\/ees.2012.0348","article-title":"Critical review of desalination concentrate management, treatment and beneficial use","volume":"30","author":"Xu","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Eng. Sci."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1216","DOI":"10.1002\/aic.15109","article-title":"Osmotic power production from seawater brine by hollow fiber membrane modules: Net power output and optimum operating conditions","volume":"62","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"AIChE J."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2006.05.048","article-title":"Forward osmosis: Principles, applications, and recent developments","volume":"281","author":"Cath","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2010.12.019","article-title":"Forward osmosis processes: Yesterday, today and tomorrow","volume":"287","author":"Chung","year":"2012","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1038\/s41565-019-0617-5","article-title":"A new type of artificial water channels","volume":"15","author":"Noy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. Nanotechnol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2017.12.044","article-title":"Electrodialysis for water desalination: A critical assessment of recent developments on process fundamentals, models and applications","volume":"434","author":"Campione","year":"2018","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2007.01.103","article-title":"Sea water desalination using electrodialysis","volume":"221","author":"Sadrzadeh","year":"2008","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coche.2019.06.006","article-title":"Progress and outlook for capacitive deionization technology","volume":"25","author":"Landon","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Chem. Eng."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2015.01.045","article-title":"Low pressure multi-stage RO system developed in \u201cMega-Ton Water System\u201d for large-scaled SWRO plant","volume":"368","author":"Kishizawa","year":"2015","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114126","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2019.114126","article-title":"An integrated fertilizer driven forward osmosis-renewables powered membrane distillation system for brackish water desalination: A combined experimental and theoretical approach","volume":"471","author":"Suwaileh","year":"2019","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"659","DOI":"10.1039\/C7EW00069C","article-title":"Saving energy with an optimized two-stage reverse osmosis system","volume":"3","author":"Wei","year":"2017","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) (2024, January 17). Desalination Technologies and Economics: CAPEX, OPEX & Technological Game Changers to Come. Technical Report., Available online: https:\/\/kh.aquaenergyexpo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Desalination-technologies-and-economics-capex-and-opex.pdf."},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"Bischof, B., Mariano, A.J., and Ryan, E.H. (2024, January 17). The Portugal Current System. Available online: https:\/\/oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu\/atlantic\/portugal.html."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Global Solar Atlas (2024, January 17). Photovoltaic Power Potential (PVOUT). Available online: https:\/\/globalsolaratlas.info\/global-pv-potential-study."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Pereira, N., and Dessaliniza\u00e7\u00e3o de \u00e1gua do mar em Portugal: 42 anos de Hist\u00f3ria (2024, January 17). \u00c1guas e Res\u00edduos da Madeira (ARM). Available online: https:\/\/www.aprh.pt\/16ca\/docs\/22marco_NunoPereira.pdf."},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"\u00c1guas e Res\u00edduos da Madeira (ARM) (2024, January 17). Central Dessalinizadora do Porto Santo. Available online: https:\/\/arm.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/CDPS40_Brochura_vjan23.pdf."},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"World Resources Institute (WRI) (2024, January 17). Aqueduct\u2014Water Risk Atlas. Available online: https:\/\/www.wri.org\/data\/aqueduct-water-risk-atlas."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"Portal Ambiente Online (2024, January 17). \u00c1guas do Algarve submete Estudo de Impacto Ambiental para Construir Dessalinizadora 2023. Available online: https:\/\/www.ambienteonline.pt\/noticias\/aguas-do-algarve-submete-estudo-de-impacto-ambiental-para-construir-dessalinizadora."},{"key":"ref_51","unstructured":"Castro, R. (2022). Electricity Production from Renewable, Springer International Publishing."},{"key":"ref_52","unstructured":"IRENA (2024, January 17). Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022. Technical Report 2023., Available online: https:\/\/www.irena.org\/Publications\/2023\/Aug\/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2022."},{"key":"ref_53","unstructured":"IRENA (2024, January 17). World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023: 1.5 \u00b0C Pathway. Technical Report. Available online: https:\/\/www.irena.org\/Publications\/2023\/Jun\/World-Energy-Transitions-Outlook-2023."},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"Exchange Rates UK (2024, January 17). US Dollar to EURO Spot Exchange Rates for 2022. Available online: https:\/\/www.exchangerates.org.uk\/USD-EUR-spot-exchange-rates-history-2022.html."},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira (2024, January 17). Tarifas de Venda a Clientes Finais em MT na Regi\u00e3o Aut\u00f3noma da Madeira em 2023. Available online: https:\/\/www.eem.pt\/media\/1070800\/tarifario_mt_2023-1julho.pdf."},{"key":"ref_56","unstructured":"EDP-SU (2024, January 17). Tarifas M\u00e9dia Tens\u00e3o. Available online: https:\/\/sueletricidade.pt\/pt-pt\/page\/2276\/tarifas-media-tensao."},{"key":"ref_57","unstructured":"\u00c1guas e Res\u00edduos da Madeira (ARM) (2024, January 17). Anexo II\u2014Tarifas a Aplicar pela Presta\u00e7\u00e3o dos Servi\u00e7os de Distribui\u00e7\u00e3o de \u00e1gua, Saneamento de \u00e1guas Residuais e Recolha de Res\u00edduos S\u00f3lidos na ilha do Porto Santo. Available online: https:\/\/arm.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/FINAL-BAIXA_2022_resumo-publicacao-NET_TARIFARIO-BAIXA_2020_TARIFA_A-PARTIR-DE-1-de-janeiro-de-2022.pdf."},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"IRENA (2024, January 17). Battery Storage for Renewables: Market Status and Technology Outlook. Technical Report. Available online: https:\/\/www.irena.org\/publications\/2015\/Jan\/Battery-Storage-for-Renewables-Market-Status-and-Technology-Outlook."},{"key":"ref_59","unstructured":"Ag\u00eancia Portuguesa do Ambiente (2024, July 10). Fator de Emiss\u00e3o da Eletricidade. Available online: https:\/\/www.apambiente.pt\/sites\/default\/files\/_Clima\/Inventarios\/20230427\/FE_GEE_Eletricidade2023rev3.pdf."},{"key":"ref_60","unstructured":"EUROSTAT (2024, January 17). Electricity Prices by Type of User. Available online: https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/eurostat\/databrowser\/view\/ten00117\/default\/table."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2014.10.039","article-title":"State-of-the-art of reverse osmosis desalination pretreatment","volume":"356","author":"Henthorne","year":"2015","journal-title":"Desalination"}],"container-title":["Water"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4441\/16\/15\/2140\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T15:25:38Z","timestamp":1760109938000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4441\/16\/15\/2140"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]]},"references-count":61,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8]]}},"alternative-id":["w16152140"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/w16152140","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-4441"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-4441","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,29]]}}}