1 Introduction
Once prosperous in the Middle East, Libya has faced severe deficiency and contamination as a consequence of military circumstances and water reserves inaccessibility, which can be observed in a few inhabited areas at the coastal line (Wheida and Verhoeven, 2006, pp. 295-309). This report will study the implementation of new technologies in Libya that will satisfy the needs of people living both in rural and semi-urban areas. Two techniques are:
• Biosand filtration
• Electrodeionisation
Both methods of water provision will be studied in this report, with a highlight on:
• Expenditure
• Environmental impact
2 Background
According to Trading Economics (2017), the GDP in Libya formed 50.98 billion US dollars and 7314.62 US dollars GDP per capita in 2017 (see Appendix 1). As a result of the conflict between the government and appointed parliament, a recession and poverty were created in 2011. It is appraised that GDP of a country lost 50% in comparison with its previous position level (The World Bank, 2017). Libya is found in the northern part of Africa, it expands in 1,759,540 square kilometres by the Mediterranean shore and is located between Tunisia and Egypt (World Atlas, 2015). This country has a considerable amount of versatile climate zones. The most dominative zones flow from the effects of the Mediterranean climate and the Sahara Desert (Metz, 1987). The natural environment in Libya is considered as one of the arid nations on the globe (see Appendix 2), in some territories, the amount of precipitation ranges from 140 mm to 550 mm a year, the period of time between October and March obtaining 86%-95% of overall periodical precipitation rate (Emgely, 1995, pp. 119-150). Water shortage in Libya accounts for 32% of people with sustainable access to improved water sanitation, and 64% of the population with access to water sources (The Guardian, n.d.). According to Metz (1987), around one-third of the total fertile soil remained uncultivated, and almost 1% of the fertile territory was irrigated.
Moreover, the water shortage crisis happened in Tripoli, where citizens have commenced drilling through cement to access underground sources of water after the plugs ran dry (Reuters, 2017). There are few sources of water reserves in Libya; freshwater resources (conventional) containing underground reserves that account 97.3% of Libya’s water reservoir, and water reserves containing treated seawater and processed sewage water which represents 2.7% (Wheida and Verhoeven, 2004, pp. 89-97). The underground water has collected through "The Great Man-Made River" a system of pipes that provide water to the Sahara in Libya, from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. Currently, Libya is facing aggravation balance of soil, vegetation and water which drives to the devastation of an organic potential of soil, a decline in living standards and growth of desert landforms (Odingo, 1990, pp. 7-44).
3 Presentation of options
3.1 Biosand filtration
Since it is inconvenient for residents of Libya to receive conventional water supplies as they are located underground, biosand filtration method may assist of gathering safe water by eliminating turbidity, iron, pathogens, and manganese from contaminated water (Cawst, 2009). This technology is easy to maintain and can be built everywhere because of freely accessible materials (see Appendix 3). Elimination process of suspended sediments and pathogens which occur in the biofilm stratum and within soil layer triggers automatic trapping, absorption, predation and nuclear destruction (McFall-Ngai, 2007, p. 153; Eawag and Sandec, 2008; Cawst, 2009). Installation of biosand filters charges no extra items to purchase in the further exploitation period, and operating expenses are minor. Besides, biosand filtration process extracts not only bacteria, germs, parasitic worms, but also is operative contrary to viruses (see Appendix 4). Health impact analyses evaluate a 30%-40% decrease in dysentery among all age bracket, comprising children under the age of five (Sobsey and Stauber, 2008, pp. 4261–4267)
3.2 Electrodeionisation (EDI)
Water desalination process has become a modern source of fresh water collection method worldwide. Electrodeionisation (EDI) is considered to be one of the broadly used technologies in the extraction of ions out of liquids and characterised by its quality, efficiency, and cost. This machine merges ion exchange and membrane filtration by removal of ions using conventional ion exchange resin. Elimination process of ablution phase which decreases the amount of supplement of reactants occurs by a steady recovery of the resin which is triggered by electric power (Souilah et al., 2004, pp. 49-54). A significant benefit of the EDI method incorporates constant performance, durable product speciality, and the aptitude to generate superior quality water without the necessity of chemical recovery (Hernon et al., 1994, pp. 9-11). EDI excludes the regular restoration demand of ion exchange resin as the natural benefits are accomplished by evading the conduction and treatment of acerbic and acrid reagents brought to the site (Lenntech, n.d.)
4 Comparison of options
Both EDI and biosand filtration processes have taken a multiscale area into water desalination technique. Biosand filtration method can be constructed from domestically available supplies which are environmentally friendly and hold a benefit to local enterprises to reduce the cost for people to afford it. In contrast, the EDI method requires more complexed materials to be used in construction which are not appropriate for the current basket of consumer goods in Libya. On the contrary, the biosand filter takes 20 to 30 days for the natural layer to expand and desalinate the water (Dangol and Spuhler, 2010). However, it takes hours for EDI to be installed and start generating water of superior quality (Lenntech, n.d.). Also, the land capacity acquired by these machines has a significant difference. While the biosand filter is hard to move or transport because of mass, EDI needs a limited area to function and can be reinstalled to a variety of places in further exploitation period. Regarding chemical regeneration, biosand filter may be under a risk of re-contamination as result of lack of residuary protection.
In contrast, EDI eliminates a chance of bacteria reproduction by fusion with inverse osmosis treatment which extracts over 99.9% of ions from the liquids (Lenntech, n.d.). From the perspective of the elimination process of dissolved mineral composites, biosand filter inferiors to EDI by lack of working efficiency and quality of water. With an emphasis on the cost of maintenance, the biosand filter requires minor operation expenses with high freshwater flow performance, on the other hand, EDI requires constant refinement processing before functioning and need the power to generate freshwater flow.
5 Conclusions and recommendation
The water shortage issues in Libya is aggravated by increasing population, its ruling arid landscapes, and desert environment. Water sector administration has been unsatisfactory and water expansion schemes incapable of concealing Libya’s water shortage. Poor financial outcomes, trading restrictions and the hesitant of new water agreements have led to financial debts. This report discussed two methods of water provision in Libya. Which are:
• Biosand filtration
• Electrodeionisation
Taking into consideration the location of Libya and its natural condition, these methods were tested with an emphasis on environmental impact and cost-effectiveness which are discussed in the previous chapter. In Libya, a majority of the population struggles to purchase their public expenses and daily needs. As a result, the biosand filter is the best appropriate option to operate in this region, as this method:
• Consumes no power energy
• Removes cloudiness and pathogens in the water
• Can be constructed manually
• Generate high-flow of freshwater
• Cost-effective for local people to afford