Palestinian engineer invents desalination technology to meet water demand in Gaza

A Palestinian engineer Diaa Abu Assi has pioneered a system which can turn seawater potable and could be helpful to meet water shortage in Gaza.

With the depleting groundwater resources being a major concern for Gaza in Palestine, the coastal territory might need to solely depend on filtered water from the Mediterranean in future.

Developed over a span of 18 months, the machine pumps water from the sea at high speed through large iron pipes. The extracted water then passes through filters made of nano-material to eliminate its saline content.

The desalinated water is then retreated with minerals which were removed during the desalination process.

Filter used during the process contains small microscopic pores (nanotechnology) which can block chlorine and sodium ions in the seawater while allowing water molecules to pass through, thereby bringing down the salinity in seawater to drinkable level.

Abu Assi told AFP: "In five years, there will be no drinkable water in Gaza.

"The idea is to save Gaza from the disaster that awaits it in the next five years by using the one resource we do have – seawater."

The initiative has been funded by the Islamic University in Gaza, which is connected to the enclave’s rulers Hamas. It has also received support from another Omani research organisation.

Gaza is presently home to 1.8 million Palestinians is expected to add another 500,000 people in the next five years.

The residents currently consume 180 million m3 of water every year, 50% of which is used for agriculture and industry.

According to the United Nations, Gaza’s growing population will need around 260 million m3 of water per year.

UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) director of operations in Gaza Robert Turner said that the territory might become "uninhabitable" as its groundwater resources deplete over years.

The territory over-extracts groundwater from its coastal aquifer for supplies and 97% of the derived supplies have been contaminated due to over-extraction and sewage.

Technology innovated by Abu Assi is likely to treat around 1,000 litres a day. Assi and his partner Ala al-Hindi expect to increase the treatment capacity of the system in future.

The partners are planning to raise $300m for developing a water treatment plant with greater capacity.

Gaza water authority official Munzer Shublaq informed that nearly four times the permissible amount of water is being extracted from the aquifer to meet the growing water demands in the region

UN has warned the aquifer to turn unusable by next year.