**4. Discussion**

Electrolysis is mainly used to desalinate half-saline groundwater. Electrolysis usually occurs because the salt is dissolved in water, which decomposes into

**71**

Egypt.

*Performance of Water Desalination and Modern Irrigation Systems for Improving Water…*

electrons (electrically charged particles) of sodium and chloride. Sodium ions carry a positive electrical charge and chloride ions carry a negative electrical charge. A wide chamber divided into several cells is used in electrolysis by means of thin plastic sheets called membranes. Two types of membranes are used, one of which allows only positive ions to pass through and the other passes only negative ions. There is a positive electrode in one of the terminal chambers and on the other end a

The freezing process depends on the established fact that ice crystals formed by salt water are saltfree. The most important disadvantages of this method are the problems caused by the transfer and purification of snow, and the most important advantages are reducing the deposition and corrosion as they are operating at

The process of desalination is divided into two ways: direct freezing and indirect freezing in order to reduce costs and accelerate the provision of a larger volume of water needed, with the increasing need to exploit new sources of water to bridge the huge gap between supply and demand, to meet the need for development, and to

The matter of how to settle the desalination industry in the Arab world, especially in Egypt, was a target for the 11th Conference on Water Desalination, hosted by Cairo for the first time under the patronage of the Prime Minister [20–23]. About 400 Arab and international experts in water field and the organization of the Ministry of Housing represented by the Holding Company for Water and Drainage,

In recent years, the need for desalination technology in many Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, has succeeded in developing policies and administrative and technical systems that have made a successful and distinctive experience. Other Arab countries have been stranded for various reasons, despite their maritime coasts, due to the difficulty of obtaining appropriate technology and

Mansour et al. [46], the conference's general secretary, stressed that water saving is one of the biggest challenges facing the Arab region, especially Egypt. It is suffering from a shortage of about 28 billion cubic meters annually, as well as rapid population growth, which requires additional new water resources, which led to the use of three new resources: desalination, reuse of wastewater, and groundwater. He added that it is necessary for all Arab countries to search for unconventional water resources under geographical determinants, including that most of the sources of rivers exist in non-Arab countries, as well as groundwater, as they are shared with other countries. He explained that the conference was prepared by a number of important international and Arab bodies, including Saudi Arabia, which produces about 1.60 billion cubic meters of water annually based on desalination technology and has considerable experience in this field, pointing out that the conference aims to benefit from these experiences for an institutional mechanism for cooperation with them and to promote the desalination industry in

Considering that millions of cubic meters of freshwater are being wasted annually around the world, World Bank experts have alerted to the scarcity of water day after day, and experts fear that the world will not be able to provide the necessary water. He pointed out that by 2050, the availability of water will not exceed 10% of

The conference, which was held under the slogan "Localization of the Desalination Industry in the Arab World", came under the attention of seawater as a source that can be exploited to obtain water through desalination processes to fill

high costs, and the absence of culture adequate appropriateness [24–26].

in addition to the Saudi Arabia government, attended the event.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87010*

negative electrode [19].

meet population growth.

part of the water gap.

relatively low temperatures [12–15].

### *Performance of Water Desalination and Modern Irrigation Systems for Improving Water… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87010*

electrons (electrically charged particles) of sodium and chloride. Sodium ions carry a positive electrical charge and chloride ions carry a negative electrical charge. A wide chamber divided into several cells is used in electrolysis by means of thin plastic sheets called membranes. Two types of membranes are used, one of which allows only positive ions to pass through and the other passes only negative ions. There is a positive electrode in one of the terminal chambers and on the other end a negative electrode [19].

The freezing process depends on the established fact that ice crystals formed by salt water are saltfree. The most important disadvantages of this method are the problems caused by the transfer and purification of snow, and the most important advantages are reducing the deposition and corrosion as they are operating at relatively low temperatures [12–15].

The process of desalination is divided into two ways: direct freezing and indirect freezing in order to reduce costs and accelerate the provision of a larger volume of water needed, with the increasing need to exploit new sources of water to bridge the huge gap between supply and demand, to meet the need for development, and to meet population growth.

The matter of how to settle the desalination industry in the Arab world, especially in Egypt, was a target for the 11th Conference on Water Desalination, hosted by Cairo for the first time under the patronage of the Prime Minister [20–23]. About 400 Arab and international experts in water field and the organization of the Ministry of Housing represented by the Holding Company for Water and Drainage, in addition to the Saudi Arabia government, attended the event.

The conference, which was held under the slogan "Localization of the Desalination Industry in the Arab World", came under the attention of seawater as a source that can be exploited to obtain water through desalination processes to fill part of the water gap.

In recent years, the need for desalination technology in many Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, has succeeded in developing policies and administrative and technical systems that have made a successful and distinctive experience. Other Arab countries have been stranded for various reasons, despite their maritime coasts, due to the difficulty of obtaining appropriate technology and high costs, and the absence of culture adequate appropriateness [24–26].

Mansour et al. [46], the conference's general secretary, stressed that water saving is one of the biggest challenges facing the Arab region, especially Egypt. It is suffering from a shortage of about 28 billion cubic meters annually, as well as rapid population growth, which requires additional new water resources, which led to the use of three new resources: desalination, reuse of wastewater, and groundwater. He added that it is necessary for all Arab countries to search for unconventional water resources under geographical determinants, including that most of the sources of rivers exist in non-Arab countries, as well as groundwater, as they are shared with other countries. He explained that the conference was prepared by a number of important international and Arab bodies, including Saudi Arabia, which produces about 1.60 billion cubic meters of water annually based on desalination technology and has considerable experience in this field, pointing out that the conference aims to benefit from these experiences for an institutional mechanism for cooperation with them and to promote the desalination industry in Egypt.

Considering that millions of cubic meters of freshwater are being wasted annually around the world, World Bank experts have alerted to the scarcity of water day after day, and experts fear that the world will not be able to provide the necessary water. He pointed out that by 2050, the availability of water will not exceed 10% of

*Irrigation - Water Productivity and Operation, Sustainability and Climate Change*

**3.4 Use of salt-loving plants as feed for animals**

irrigation [54].

feed substitutes [54, 55].

considered alone only influenced the total US No. 1 and over 340 g tuber weight categories. Potato cultivars were very different in their performance under drip

Halophyte plants are known to be a traditional source of animal feed, although some of the problems that accompany it include high concentrations of salts, low energy content, and low animal palatability compared with traditional fodder. For the cultivation of halophytes to be economically viable, their performance should be higher or at least equal to the traditional feed. Many studies have shown that, given the lack of adequate animal feeds, especially in desert conditions, certain varieties have been successfully cultivated and can be used as

It is important to keep in mind that if halophytes are used as feed, animals may need to increase the consumption of drinking water, and feed consumption per unit may increase in animal weight as a result of increased metal content in halophytes. The carcass fed to the ingredients of a diet containing halophytes is equal to that fed on traditional feeds. One of the most common halophytes studied and used is a Salicornia cultivar. The results of the University of Arizona on sheep showed that Salicornia (seeds and market) can be used, as well as the cut as an alternative to the processed barley or the cotton seed. Salicornia is cultivated to produce oil and straw seeds. Oil can be extracted from the seed age. Organic materials that are free of salts can be used in animal feed. Oil can also be used as a high energy source in animal feed, especially poultry. Mansour et al. [44] found that subsurface drip irrigation systems may increase water use efficiency due to reduced soil and plant surface evaporation and because only the root zone or the partial root zone is irrigated as opposed to sprinkler irrigation where the entire field area is wetted. Besides this physiological dimension, several studies have been conducted for development of irrigation systems for salinity management with drip irrigation using saline water [32]. According to [20], the DI permits a uniform and frequent application of water and a direct feeding of the plant at the root zone level, leading to an increase of yield and saving water [36]. According to [47], DI improves tomato yield and reduces leaf burn (browning). However, this system may result in localized accumulation of salts at the soil surface [72] due to increased evaporation. According to [39], salt accumulates on the soil surface before migrating and reaches the root zone when DI irrigation is used. Subsurface drip irrigation has been developed to improve salinity management and water use efficiency. According to [54], SDI decreases the accumulation of salts at the root zone level of plants, producing an improved yield and

Electrolysis is mainly used to desalinate half-saline groundwater. Electrolysis

usually occurs because the salt is dissolved in water, which decomposes into

The accumulated experience shows that seawater irrigation depends on the efficiency of the irrigation system used, and as a result of the low efficiency of irrigation uses large amounts of seawater not to allow the depletion of water until it reaches the wilt point between the irrigation because in this case the concentration of salt will be very high in the region. The soil moisture should be kept close to the field capacity at any time. This means that the efficiency of each soil should be as high as possible.

**70**

fruit quality.

**4. Discussion**

the available water a century ago (i.e., since 1950, most Arab countries are among the most arid regions of the earth, 15 countries are the poorest in water, and the Arab citizen will receive only 700 m3 or about 80% of the water poverty limit, a thousand cubic meters per year). Zuhair stated that the desalination industry is one of the main industries in the Arab world, especially when there are 115 countries with desalination plants, but because the cost of this technology is expensive, this should stimulate us to continue scientific research to develop scientific solutions to reduce this cost.

Mansour et al. [40] state that if we take a closer look at a country with water shortages, such as Egypt, it will produce about 93 million cubic meters of desalinated water, which corresponds to the population of 93 million people in Egypt. One cubic meter per person per year, the steady increase in population far outweighs the increase in water production. "The settlement is still a controversial term," Fawzan said. "There are countries that have achieved a high degree of production, and other countries have gone a long way in scientific research," he said. "The resettlement of technology is still a dream that we are waiting for."

Abdul Majeed Al Awadhi, former Head of the Electricity and Water Authority in the Kingdom of Bahrain, talked about the desalination industry in the Gulf countries, pointing out that it reached about 70% of the water production in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Bahrain and 40% in Saudi Arabia and Oman with an average of 60%. He explained that with the increasing demand for water, desalinated water is expected to become the main source in all Arab countries. He pointed out that the higher the desalination plants, the lower the cost, which currently ranges between one dollar and two dollars per cubic meter, and that there is a large gap between cost and revenue, which amounts to half a dollar per cubic meter. It is necessary to reduce this gap and provide a greater role for the private sector in this regard, according to his description. All desalination methods require large amounts of energy, and power generation is expensive whether it is generated by electric methods, by burning fuel, or by nuclear power plants.

Desalination may help mainly dry areas on the coasts but give little hope to overcome the scarcity of fresh water in cities that lie offshore or on mountains. Bringing water to these cities can be more expensive than desalination [15, 16].

The high cost of desalinating water is not important in places where only sea water is available. More than 200 water desalination plants have been established in the world, most notably in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, California, Greenland, and some countries in South America. Some of these plants are small; many of which serve military centers in isolated places or serve as wells for desert diggers, island resorts, and industrial plants [17, 18].

The world's desalination plants produce more than 3.8 billion liters of fresh water per day. This production meets a fraction of the world's freshwater needs. A large water desalination plant, such as the one in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, has been designed to produce 950 million liters of fresh water per day. One of the most pressing dilemmas for humans is how to provide for the world's food and clothing needs, and the consequent provision of adequate natural resources, especially land and water, and thus provide adequate nutrition for the growing numbers of tropical and subtropical populations within the next 30 years [3].
