TEHRAN – An Iranian knowledge-based company has acquired the technical knowledge to produce new generation of solar desalination systems (MED/MVC-ZLD), IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture.

Current water desalinating systems are highly energy-consuming; systems using solar energy are one of the low-cost ways to produce fresh water.

Tropical areas and those affected by water scarcity usually have high solar energy potential, which makes it more efficient to use solar energy for the treatment of saline water.

There is no domestic producer of solar desalination systems in the country and there are no other manufacturers in the world except for a few companies in Germany and the United States.

Iran is an arid and semiarid country with scarce and sensitive water resources and the increasing demand for water has led to an alarming decrease in annual per capita renewable water resources. Due to the fact that available water resources are unevenly distributed in terms of both time and space, water resources in many areas are under pressure.

The reasons behind the present shortage of water for urban and domestic uses are the uneven distribution of water across the country, the expansion of population centers as well as developments in unsustainable agricultural and industrial activities.

Iran has an average annual precipitation of about 250 mm; less than one-third of the world average.

Mohammad Reza Goldansaz, a researcher in the field of water resources, said in June 2019 that an annual amount of 50 billion cubic meters of groundwater resources are withdrawn to supply agricultural, industrial as well as drinking water in Iran.

In the past few years, water transfer projects have been proposed by the government to ensure water supplies for the provinces of Semnan and Sistan-Baluchestan suffering from severe water shortages, which needs efficient water desalination systems.

FB/MG