Saudi Arabia: A Freshwater Miracle in the Desert A Comparison with China's Desalination Industry

Saudi Arabia: A Freshwater Miracle in the Desert A Comparison with China's Desalination IndustrySaudi Arabia, a nation renowned for its deserts and oil reserves, possesses an incredible capacity for freshwater supply. Across its vast expanse of desert, abundant water resources nourish farmlands, gardens, and city streetsa testament to its massive desalination industry

Saudi Arabia: A Freshwater Miracle in the Desert A Comparison with China's Desalination Industry

Saudi Arabia, a nation renowned for its deserts and oil reserves, possesses an incredible capacity for freshwater supply. Across its vast expanse of desert, abundant water resources nourish farmlands, gardens, and city streetsa testament to its massive desalination industry. At its peak, Saudi Arabia's annual desalination output accounted for 30% of the global total, placing its technology and scale at the forefront worldwide. But how did Saudi Arabia achieve this? And how does its flourishing desalination industry compare to China's burgeoning sector? This article delves into the Saudi Arabian desalination miracle and compares it to the Chinese experience.

Saudi Arabia: A Freshwater Empire in the Desert

95% of Saudi Arabia is desert, characterized by a hot, dry climate and extreme water scarcity. However, thanks to its abundant oil resources and advanced desalination technology, Saudi Arabia has successfully overcome its water challenges. The phrase "water is as precious as oil" is no mere figure of speech in Saudi Arabia, where gasoline is cheaper than bottled water. This is directly linked to Saudi Arabia's nearly century-long history of desalination development.

Exploration of desalination technology began in Saudi Arabia in the late 1920s. However, the high cost of early technologies prevented large-scale adoption. It wasn't until the late 1970s, with the soaring international oil prices significantly boosting its economic strength, that the construction of large-scale desalination plants rapidly progressed.

In 1978, the first modern desalination plant was built in Jeddah on the Red Sea, marking the beginning of the rapid development of its desalination industry. By the early 1990s, Saudi Arabia boasted 29 desalination plants along the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coasts, producing over 1.8 million tons of freshwater daily29% of the global total at the time.

By 2011, Saudi Arabia's daily desalination output exceeded 3.3 million tons, accounting for 46% of the nation's drinking water. Today, Saudi Arabia operates nearly 40 large-scale desalination plants, producing a staggering 6.8 million tons of freshwater dailyone-tenth of the global total, and supplying 70% of the nation's drinking water. This freshwater is distributed across the country through a 5,000-kilometer pipeline network, providing a reliable water supply for the population and industrial production.

Saudi Arabia primarily utilizes multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) for desalination. This method involves heating seawater to 150C and then depressurizing it in flash evaporators to create steam, which is then condensed into freshwater. The freshwater subsequently undergoes nine purification processes to remove impurities, bitterness, and seawater odor, making it potable. Some plants also utilize the concentrated brine to produce industrial salt, showcasing resource integration.

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is the world's largest desalination company, and its massive capacity fundamentally resolves the drinking water needs of the Saudi Arabian population and partially addresses industrial water demands, powerfully supporting the country's socio-economic development.

To further reduce desalination costs, Saudi Arabia is actively exploring renewable energy applications. Last year, construction began on the first solar-powered desalination plant in Sharjah, which is expected to reduce freshwater production costs to $0.34 per cubic meter and produce 600,000 cubic meters of freshwater daily. Its completion will further enhance Saudi Arabia's freshwater supply capacity, with projected daily desalination output exceeding 7.5 million tons.

China: The Rise of the Desalination Industry

Compared to Saudi Arabia, China's desalination industry started later. In 1985, China's first desalination project was completed on Yongxing Island in the Xisha Islands, producing 200 tons of freshwater daily, primarily for the garrison's needs. Since then, China has mastered reverse osmosis and low-temperature multi-effect distillation desalination technologies, resolving the localization of core equipment and key materials, and developing system integration and engineering capabilities.

After 2010, China's desalination industry entered a period of rapid growth. By the end of 2017, 136 desalination projects had been completed nationwide, with a total capacity of 1.2 million tons/day. By the end of last year, China's daily desalination capacity reached 2.52 million tons, a doubling of its capacity.

China's desalination projects are mainly located in coastal areas, particularly in cities and islands facing severe water shortages. Northern regions primarily focus on large-scale industrial desalination for water-intensive industries like power and steel in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Southern regions, including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan, mainly focus on domestic desalination projects with capacities ranging from hundreds to thousands of tons daily. Zhejiang Province leads the nation in desalination capacity, with a daily output exceeding 800,000 tons, nearly one-third of the national total.

Due to relatively abundant water resources in China's coastal areas, the demand for desalination is weaker compared to Saudi Arabia, resulting in a lower daily desalination output.

Comparing Saudi Arabia and China: Technology, Scale, and Demand

Both Saudi Arabia and China have achieved remarkable success in desalination, but differences exist in technology, scale, and demand. Saudi Arabia possesses stronger economic power and a longer development history, leading in global desalination technology and scale, primarily using MSF with a focus on large-scale industrial applications. China, while achieving technological self-reliance, has a comparatively smaller scale and broader applications, encompassing both industrial and domestic sectors. Furthermore, the relatively abundant water resources in China's coastal regions lead to lower desalination demand.

In conclusion, Saudi Arabia's success provides valuable lessons for other water-scarce regions, while China continues to improve its desalination technology and scale, actively contributing to solving water scarcity issues. The experiences and development paths of both countries offer beneficial references for global water resource management.

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