Reader Response Draft 3

 

Water is a precious resource. This is especially true in Singapore where it lacks natural resources. To provide drinking water for its ever-growing population of 5.5 million, Singapore imports water from its neighbor country and adopts water desalination technology. In this essay we outline the design, technology and efficiency of Jurong Island plant.

 

“Desalination is a water treatment process which aims to convert seawater into portable water. It is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. sea water is desalinated to produce water suitable for human consumption.

Desalination processes are using either thermal methods such as distillation or membrane-based methods such as reverse osmosis. There are now about 21,000 desalination plants in operation around the globe. there is growth in desalination for agricultural use and highly populated areas such as Singapore or California.” (Wikipedia)

Thesis: Desalination plays a pivotal role in ensuring water availability, not only due to its energy efficiency but also its effectiveness in utilizing human resources.

 

“Equipped with the latest proven water technologies, the new Jurong Island plant can produce up to 30 million gallons, or 137,000 cubic metres of water daily, the equivalent of 55 Olympic-size swimming pools, said national water agency PUB. This amounts to up to 7 per cent of Singapore's daily water demand of about 430 million gallons. Unlike the nation's first four desalination plants, only two to three people are needed to man this highly automated plant, making it the most manpower-efficient. The plant's unique integration with Tuas Power's Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex makes it about 5 per cent more energy-efficient than conventional desalination plants, said Mr Heng. Mr Jiang Hanbin, president and chief executive of Tuas Power, said: "Leveraging the complex's existing infrastructure for seawater intake, the synergies between desalination plant and the complex have enabled operations to save approximately 5,000 megawatt-hours per year.” (Ang, 2022)

“The 3.7-hectare plant can produce up to 30 million gallons of fresh drinking water per day, equivalent to 55 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water or up to 7 per cent of Singapore’s daily water demand. “Another energy-saving aspect comes from how the power required for the new desalination plant is drawn from the embedded generator in the power plant, explained Tuas Power’s Mr Tan Chek Jiang, who is the plant manager for the Jurong Island Desalination Plant. This helps to save on network charges, thereby reducing the plant’s operating costs.” (Tang, 2022)

 

Counter argument for thesis: Desalination is energy demanding and maintenance cost is high.

 

“Due to its energy consumption, desalinating sea water is generally expensive.” (Wikipedia)

“Though seawater is limitless, extracting fresh water through desalination requires a lot of energy. Hence, desalination is relatively more expensive compared with other processes, said PUB's Mr Ong” (Ang, 2022)

“Big desalination plants do not come cheap. The capital cost of large-capacity plants typically runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars: not surprisingly, most plants built in recent years have been in wealthy countries like the UAE and Israel, or to supply big cities in Australia or the US. The latest desalination market report from Global Industry Analysts, a market research company, anticipates the global desalination market to grow by 9.8% annually from $15.2bn in 2022 to $22.5bn in 2026.” (Nick, 2023)

In summary, Jurong Island plant is more efficient compared to other plants as it is fully manned by only 2 people. Not only that, it is 5% more energy efficient as it integrates with Tembusu Multi-Utilities. Furthermore, the plant contributes to 7 per cent of Singapore’s daily water demand. However, desalination in general is very expensive and requires a huge sum of investment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination

Tang See Kit (17 April 2022). Singapore officially opens fifth desalination plant which is 5% more energy efficient https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-5th-desalination-plant-jurong-island-energy-efficient-2630546

Ang Qing (17 April 2022). S’pore’s fifth desalination plant opens on Jurong Island https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapores-fifth-desalination-plant-opens-on-jurong-island

Nick Ferris (17 January 2023). Can desalination save a drying world https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/can-desalination-save-a-drying-world/?cf-view