National programmes and activities for nuclear desalination in Indonesia

The annual population and industrial growth of Indonesia (1.57 and 7%, respectively), which are unevenly distributed, cause some damage to the environment and the hydrological cycle. The need for potable water for industry and households, as well as use of hydropower, are increasing. Many provinces with a high population such as West Java, Central Java and East Java, as well as the eastern parts of the country with low levels of rainfall such as Sumatra Island, Kalimantan and Lombok, suffer from serious water shortages, especially in the dry season (March-August). One industrial project for increasing the economic value of natural resources is to produce methanol from natural gas containing CO2 at Natuna but this process would require large amounts of high purity water per day. Another concept is to develop agriculture and its associated industries in the eastern parts of the country such as West Nusatenggara, East Nusatenggara and East Timor, as well as fisheries in Maluku. Water demands can be divided into four categories: category A: direct potable water, category B: raw drinking water, category C: fisheries water, and category D: agricultural (irrigation), city (household) and industrial waters, and use of hydropower. Indonesia has many types of water resources such as rivers, lakes and dams, rainfall and groundwater. However, according to the balance of water demand and supply, some areas have a negative value in the dry season. The ways of improving the water supply include construction of dams to store water during the rainy season and sea water desalination. Almost half the country suffers from water shortages in the dry season; these will increase by the year 2015. Most of these areas are surrounded by the sea, therefore sea water desalination is considered to be a suitable method for overcoming the deficit in water. On the basis of its geographical location and the number of people living in isolated areas of the country, a small nuclear power plant with a long term fuel cycle is considered to be an appropriate source of electricity and energy for desalination. (author)