Patent ID: 8328996

Claim:
A process for improving thermal and energy efficiency of a desalination process, comprising: at least one power generation turbine generating electricity for a power grid, wherein said at least one power generation turbine has a heat source; coupling at least one distillation stage, of at least one desalinating train of a brine handling area, to said heat source for distilling product water from seawater to make potable water wherein said at least one power generation turbine, said handling area and said at least one desalinating train are located inland and above-ground; at least one substrata seawater table supply well pumping substrata seawater from a first non-inland location and below a fresh water aquifer and substrata barrier for processing by said at least one desalinating train, said at least one substrata seawater table supply well positioned underground and having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein said proximal end is operatively connected to said brine handling area and said distal end is positioned at said first non-inland location and below a fresh water aquifer and substrata barrier; at least one substrata seawater table discharge well re-injecting a brine effluent from said at least one desalinating train into the substrata seawater table supply well, said at least one substrata seawater table discharge well positioned underground and having a proximal end and a distal end, operatively connecting said proximal end to said brine handling area; positioning said distal end at a second non-inland location and below said fresh water aquifer and substrata barrier; re-injecting the brine effluent into said second non-inland location and below said fresh water aquifer and substrata barrier, spacing said first non-inland location of said at least one substrata seawater table supply well a distance from said second non-inland location of said at least one substrata seawater table discharge well such that the substrata seawater pumped by said at least one substrata seawater table supply well for processing does not include the brine effluent re-injected by said at least one substrata seawater table discharge well, and establishing an exchange of the substrata sea water from said first non-inland location to said second non-inland location, and thereby avoiding depletion, and providing a continued availability of seawater resources from said substrata sea water to make subsequent potable water.