Water Challenges and Solutions for Brazil and South America - ACS

Chapter 5

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Water Challenges and Solutions for Brazil and South America Gisele O. da Rocha,1,2,3 Jeancarlo P. dos Anjos,1 and Jailson B. de Andrade*,1,2,3 1Institute

of Chemistry, Universidade Federal da Bahia – UFBA, Av. Barão de Geremoabo 147, 40170-290, Salvador-BA, Brazil 2INCT for Energy and Environment, Av. Barão de Geremoabo S/N, 40170-115, Salvador-BA, Brazil 3Centro Interdisciplinar de Energia e Ambiente – CIEnAm - UFBA, Av. Barão de Geremoabo S/N, 40170-115, Salvador-BA, Brazil *E-mail: [email protected].

Although the earth is considered to be well served in terms of bodies of water, freshwater constitutes only 3 % of the total. However, freshwater is unevenly and temporally distributed across the planet or is located in places that are difficult to access. South America is relatively well-endowed with freshwater, although millions of people suffer from restrictions on potable water and proper sanitation systems because of long periods of drought as well as a lack of adequate infrastructure and proper governance. In analyzing the human use of water, it is estimated that 60-80 % is used in agricultural irrigation in developing countries such as those of South America. With regards to the energy matrix, South America has one of the greenest energy mix if the large contributions of hydropower, wind power and biofuels are taken into account. Therefore, the water demand required and produced for power generation by using different sources is discussed throughout this chapter, with a focus on the water-energy nexus in South America.

© 2015 American Chemical Society In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Introduction Even though there are approximately 1,386,000,000 km3 of water on Earth, when considering all the source types and all the physical states of this water, 97 % is saline water. Of the remaining 3% that is freshwater, about 99.7 % is trapped in ice caps or found in the ground, which requires energy to be made available (1, 2). The actual, readily available amount of freshwater (4,158,000 km3) is unevenly distributed across the planet. Nowadays, there are 43 countries across the world that face low to severe water stress (a total of 700 million people) because of more frequent and longer drought periods, and others are suffering from intense floods because of climate change (2–4). This number will be even higher by 2025. By 2025, approximately 60% of the global population may suffer from physical water scarcity (2, 5). Freshwater is a very valuable and unique natural and renewable resource for humankind. The world’s civilization as we know it today depends on clean, welldistributed and readily available freshwater sources. However, sufficient energy for supporting every aspect of modern life is also highly necessary for reaching a pleasant quality of life. Water and energy are the two fundamental resources for mankind that are completely cross-linked, because it is necessary to spend considerable amounts of water for energy production, and energy is also required for water consumption (2). In fact, human use of freshwater reserves over the last 50 years has tripled (4). Considering the population projections by the United Nations, the world population will exceed 9.5 billion people by 2050 (6). A complete rethinking and a change of paradigms about water use towards energy efficiency and water security will likely be necessary to avoid the collapse of water and energy resources, and even to guarantee basic necessities for the next generations. South America (SA) is located in the Southern Hemisphere and comprises 13 countries that are distributed over 17.8 million km2 (7). In 2013, South America had a population of 406.5 million inhabitants and 4.37 trillion US dollars in GDP (8). SA is relatively well-endowed with freshwater, although its water bodies are spatially and temporally distributed in an uneven fashion, and millions of people suffer from restrictions on potable water and proper sanitation systems because of a lack of adequate infrastructure and proper governance (9). The actual average total for renewable water resources in South America is 19.5 billion km3 y-1, with a range from 99 million km3 y-1 (for Suriname) to 8647 million km3 y-1 (for Brazil) (7). Although Brazil possesses nearly 44.3 % of the total renewable water resources of South America, some places, such as the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, which are the most industrialized and populated areas, have experienced severe water restrictions in the last ten years. However, the Amazonian Region, which possesses less than 20 % of the Brazilian population, has plenty of water and has been suffering recent flood events. Accordingly, there are reports of water scarcity in Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia (10–13).

72 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Water Use The water cycle begins with the production or extraction of water from different natural sources, such as groundwater, aquifers, lakes, rivers, and oceans. After this process, freshwater usually requires treatment to remove suspended solids and microorganisms in addition to the removal of some undesired organic compounds, dissolved gases or dissolved ions (only in the case of groundwater). Thus, treated water can be used in different ways by many consumers in residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas. However, treated water may be contaminated during its use in different sectors, which may then require proper treatment before it is discharged or reused. The level of water pollution differs with the sector and type of application, as do the treatment requirements (14). When considering water use, three different and important sectors should be taken into account, namely agriculture, industry and residential areas. The water demand in South America in relation to all the Americas (North America, Central America and Caribbean and South America) by sector is found in Figure 1. The total water withdrawal in South America was 130, 22 and 42 km3 y-1 for the agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors, respectively (Figure 1) (15). This distribution represented approximately 32 %, 8 %, and 31 % for the agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors, respectively, in South America in relation to the total withdrawals within the three Americas. The water use expression as the percentage of total renewable water resources (TRWR) is a good indicator of the pressure on water resources. The pressure on water resources is considered to be high when the value is above 25 %. Therefore, the use of industrial water is especially important in Brazil (18 %), Chile (11 %), El Salvador (20 %), Guatemala (17 %), and Venezuela (7 %). Contamination from domestic and industrial wastewater, mining residues and diffuse agricultural pollution (pesticides, fertilizers, etc), is a regional problem, with special emphasis on areas that are suffering from major water resource pressures (15). Water is essential to the residential sector, and the World Health Organization defined the average water requirement for human survival as close to 0.0025 m3 per capita per day (16, 17). However, residential water use rates in South American countries are far beyond the minimum required for basic human survival, and treated water wastage rates may be contributing to these high indices (14). Brazilian cities such as São Paulo and Brasilia consume average amounts that are larger than those of some Brazilian states (for instance, Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais) and other capitals in South America, such as Bogota (Colombia) and Santiago (Chile) (Figure 2). On average, approximately 2 to 3 % of global energy consumption is used to pump and treat water for urban residents and industries. However, in some countries, it is estimated that approximately 10-30 % of pumped water is likely lost through leaks (18).



Figure 1. Water withdrawal by different sectors for South America in relation to the Americas. Data from Ref. (15).

Figure 2. Average residential water use (m3 per capita/day) in some South American locations. Reproduced/adapted with permission from Ref. (14). Copyright (2012) from Elsevier. In addition to its use in agricultural, industrial and domestic areas, freshwater has a diversified use in the power generation sector. However, it is important to gauge the use of water in this sector because thermal power plants use large amounts of water for cooling, and significant amounts of water can be lost in the process by evaporation (19). Power plants also use significant amounts of land area and would therefore interfere with the existing water flow in these locations (20). 74 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


In considering the use of water for human activities, it is estimated that 60-80 % is used in agricultural irrigation in the developing countries of South America (21, 22). Thus, irrigation is an important component of food security because irrigated agriculture contributes 40 % of all produced food (15). Agriculture has become increasingly specialized in some countries, such as Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, in response to global political and economic pressures to meet the expanding demands of the food sector. However, skilled agricultural systems may result in cumulative negative effects to the environment through the following factors: (i) water contamination with excess nutrients, pesticides, and pathogens, (ii) sinking groundwater levels from high demand and competition from a variety of stakeholders, including specialized crop production, (iii) rising greenhouse gas concentrations from soils depleted of inorganic matter, (iv) dysfunctional soils that have become exhausted from excessive tillage, salt accumulation, and pesticide inputs, and (v) the loss of family farms and rural infrastructure (23, 24). Because of the scarcity of drinking water and its waste by different sectors (agricultural, industrial, and domestic), some alternatives have been adopted to meet the demand brought on by global population growth. Thus, desalination processes have been used to obtain freshwater from salt water. During these processes, saline water is heated to vaporization, causing freshwater to evaporate, leaving behind a highly concentrated saline solution called brine. Desalination is performed by using thermal processes, such as multi-stage flash (MSF) and multi-effect distillation (MED), or electrically driven processes, such as reverse osmosis (RO). However, these processes are still costly because they require more stringent processing steps to remove ions that are present at higher concentrations than those of water drawn from wells, rivers or other water bodies. Desalination also brings another problem, namely high amounts of brine, which does not have any direct use and may accumulate in the environment. Even so, it is estimated that water desalination will reach up to 15 million m3 freshwater per day in some countries by 2030 (14, 22, 25).

Energy Generation in South America The energy matrix from South America will be discussed here by considering two primary divisions, that is (i) the power sector, which describes electricity production that is performed in different ways, as represented by hydropower, wind power, nuclear power, and thermoelectric power (which uses natural gas, oil, coal, or biofuels); and (ii) the transportation sector, which describes energy generation from renewable and non-renewable liquid fuels, such as fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal) and biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel). In comparison with other continents, South America has one of the greenest energy matrices if the high share of renewable energy derived from hydropower plants, wind power, and biofuels is considered.



Power Sector The power sector is represented by a complex network of power plants for electricity generation and thousands of kilometers of transmission lines for energy distribution per millions of people. The gross domestic product (GDP), electricity prices, population growth, proportion of the population with access to the electricity supply, and standards of living are factors that influence the continuous growth of the electricity demand (26). The power plant type will be chosen on the basis of the types of available resources in a given country and on affordable operational costs. In the Latin America region, electrical energy is primarily produced by hydropower (given the high availability of freshwater), thermal power plants (which run with fossil fuels or biofuels), wind power, and nuclear power. Although other forms of energy generation, such as geothermal power, solar photovoltaics (solar PV), marine, and concentrated solar power are potentially favorable for the region, they do not have significant current use, nor are they projected to have significant use by 2035, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3. Estimates of Electricity generation (TWh) for Latin America, according to the New Policies Scenario from EIA. The values on top of each bar are the totals for electricity generation (TWh) for the given years. Data taken from Ref. (26). 76 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Figure 3 shows the gradual increment of electricity generation (in TWh) in the Latin America region from 1990 to 2035 according to the New Policies Scenario (NPS) from the Energy Information Agency (26). The total electricity generation from 1990 (489 TWh) to 2011 (1109 TWh) has increased more than twice because of the economic growth experienced by Latin American countries. Projections to 2035 (2045 TWh) show that this amount would duplicate again. This projection shows the demand for electric energy production in the region to meet by 2035 to guarantee economic and social growth. These points show the urgent need for planning by Latin American leaders and policymakers. In Figure 4, the negligible share from geothermal power, solar photovoltaics (solar PV), marine, and concentrated solar power are also shown, and all of them together will only account for approximately 3 % of the electric energy mix in 2035. The major contributors will be hydropower plants, oil/natural gas/coal from thermopower plants as well as nuclear power. Each of the major forms of electricity production will be discussed with regards to their economic, social, and environmental impacts as well as the water-energy nexus for South American societies. Fossil fuels and biofuels will we discussed in terms of energy production through liquid fuels in the transportation sector.

Figure 4. Electricity generation shares among different types of energy sources for 2011 and 2035 in Latin America, according to the New Policies Scenario from the EIA. Data taken from Ref. (26).

Hydropower In a global context, hydropower is a significant source of electricity. Hydroelectricity is an alternative source of electricity that employs the hydraulic potential of a certain portion of a river by building a dam. It is a proven, mature, predicable, low-carbon emitter and cost-competitive technology, and it relies on a renewable energy source (2, 27, 28). Hydropower is a very efficient technology for energy production because approximately 96 % of water movement inside turbines is converted into electric energy (27). Electricity generation in South America comes mostly from hydropower stations. In all South American countries, electricity comes primarily from large plants, which feed national electricity grids. In spite of its widespread use, there 77 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


are many adverse impacts from installing large hydropower stations that should not be neglected. This subject includes complex issues with both social and environmental impacts. The expropriation of large urban and rural areas could be regarded as a negative social impact, which would move a large number of people to new areas and causes great distress and tension in the affected population. From an environmental point of view, the disruption of sediment transportation, fish migration, downstream flows and estuaries, and a lack of environmental integrity in the affected aquatic system can be observed (2, 27, 29). Both social and environmental concerns tend to be exacerbated over time. Another alternative for obtaining the advantages of hydroelectricity as well as minimizing its disadvantages is to replace large-scale setups with small-scale hydroelectric power. Small-scale hydropower stations seem to be sources of clean and renewable energy, which would please many ecologists and environmental activists, and these stations would not provoke the same social issues (29, 30). Additionally, small, decentralized hydropower stations would be good alternatives for the electrification of small towns, small villages, and remote and rural areas that are not connected to the primary electrical grids. However, they have not been developed to their full potential. South American electricity is a centralized system that is primarily derived from large hydropower stations, as in Paraguay (96 %), Brazil (87 %), Venezuela (70 %), and Colombia (75-76 %) (30). Nevertheless, some countries such as Peru, Argentina and Brazil also had installed capacities of 69.4, 15, and 21 MW from small hydropower stations in 2013 (30). However, these stations contribute a small amount of the total electricity produced by hydropower stations in their respective countries. Hydroelectricity has been noted for having a large water footprint from a global average standpoint (31); the larger the reservoir, the higher the water loss via evaporation. Until recently, there have been no comprehensive estimates about the water footprints of hydropower plants (HPP). The water budget for hydropower plants is still unclear. However, Mekonnen and Hoekstra (32) have calculated the water footprint from 35 hydropower plants (HPP) around the world (with 15 HPP from South America) (Table 1), and the average blue water footprint of the selected HPP is 59.3 Gm3 yr-1. However, this number may vary greatly from one place to another, as noted in Table 1, according to the reservoir surface and climate characteristics. When considering the amount of stored water in hydropower reservoirs, this amount would also be regarded as a huge amount of stored energy. When one reservoir loses a certain amount of water by evaporation and the water vapor migrates to distant regions, energy is also being lost. The amount of water, and also the embodied quantity of energy in the water, can be transported from a water-rich to a water-poor region that would then become enriched in both water and energy or vice-versa. This water/energy availability or scarcity would likely be exacerbated over time because of climate changes, as evidenced by IPCC reports and their scenario projections to 2050 or 2100 (3, 27). In theory, this movement of energy and water could reach transboundary regions and could even raise ethical and diplomatic issues when considering geopolitically stressed places, or when one freshwater reservoir is shared by two or more countries and at least one of them uses more freshwater or pollutes it more than others. 78 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

Hydropower plant

79


Table 1. Water Footprint of Electricity for Selected Hydropower Plants in South America*

*

Reservoir area (ha)

Country

Installed capacity (MW)

Evaporation (mm yr-1)

Water footprint (m3 GJ-1)

Chivor

Colombia

1200

1008

1607

1.7

El Chocon

Argentina

81600

1200

2089

131

Estreito

Brazil

45600

1050

2285

70.6

Guri

Venezuela

426000

10300

2787

71.7

Itaipu

Brazil-Paraguay

135000

14000

1808

7.6

Itumbiara

Brazil

76000

2082

2239

52.5

Jaguari

Brazil

7001

460

1782

14.4

Marimbondo

Brazil

43800

1400

2330

38.3

Pehuenche

Chile

200

500

1884

0.4

Playas

Colombia

1100

204

1663

3.6

San Carlos

Colombia

300

1145

1726

0.3

São Simão

Brazil

67400

1635

2229

40.8

Sobradinho

Brazil

421400

1050

2841

399

Tucurui

Brazil

243000

8400

2378

49.5

Yacyreta

Argentina-Paraguay

172000

2700

1907

79.6

Reproduced/adapted with permission from Ref. (32). Copyright (2012) European Geosciences Union, from Mesfin M. Mekonnen and Arjen Y. Hoekstra.

In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


The volume of stored water energy has been declining in relation to the overall size of South America in the last 30 years (26). Projections from the Energy International Agency (EIA) in its New Policy Scenario (NPS) on Latin America for hydropower-based electricity generation ranges from 715 TWh in 2011 to 1186 TWh in 2035. The electrical capacity is projected to be 258 GW in 2035 compared with 143 GW in 2011 (26). However, it is unknown if Latin America will fulfill these projections by 2035 because this region of the world is suffering from restrictions on water, which is unequally available throughout the region. In addition, climate changes may contribute to a dramatic reduction in the water supply of this region. Therefore, HPP is subject to freshwater availability and might suffer some drawbacks in the next 20-30 years. Although Brazil is very famous for having plenty of freshwater, this water is primarily located in the Amazon (where less than 20 % of the Brazilian population lives). In the southern, southeastern and northeastern regions of Brazil (where more than 80 % of the Brazilian population lives), there is much less water available, and there are even some places that are facing water scarcity from climate changes. The São Paulo metropolitan area, which is the most populated and industrialized region in Brazil, has been experiencing water scarcity in recent times from an abnormal decline in water levels in the Cantareira basin, from insufficient rainfall (2). There have also been reports of water scarcity in Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia, at least since 2000 (10–13). Those regions are likely facing long drought periods, and they eventually may not have an adequate energy supply. To prevent suffering from energy shortages and to depend less on climatic conditions that directly affect electric energy from hydroelectrics, each country uses other energy resources, depending on their own characteristics. For example, Colombia and Peru, which are the only South American countries with coal reserves, use coal for energy generation via thermopower plants. Bolivia possesses good reserves of natural gas and also uses this resource in thermopower stations. Despite having the biggest freshwater reserves in the continent, Brazil has also used a small amount of electricity as generated by either biodiesel, fossil diesel or burning natural gas in thermopower stations. The share from hydropower and other forms of electric energy generation for South America from now until 2035 and thereafter will depend on the abundance of the water supply. When this resource is abundant, hydropower is the most competitive and affordable form of electricity generation. Wind Power The use of wind energy implies that the kinetic energy of moving air will be converted into useful energy, such as electricity. As a result, the ease and the benefits of using wind to supply electricity are highly dependent on local wind conditions as well as the ability of wind turbines to reliably extract energy over a wide range of typical wind speeds (27). The global generating capacity of electrical energy from wind power was 318 GW by the end of 2013 (33). New Policies Scenario (NPS) projections from EIA estimates that the wind power-generating capacity of electricity will be 1130 GW in 2035 (26). 80 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


After hydropower, wind is the largest producer of renewable power in Latin America. Electricity generation from wind power in Latin America was 4 TWh in 2011 and it will be 103 TWh in 2035, according to the NPS. Thus, the wind power electrical capacity, which was 2 GW in 2011, will be 29 GW in 2035 (26). In the South American region, Brazil, Chile and Argentina are the primary countries that are investing in wind farms. At the end of 2013, the production capacities were 3.399 MW, 355 MW, and 217 MW for Brazil, Chile and Argentina, respectively. In the rest of South America, wind power is very small and incipient, with a total of 143 MW for Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela altogether (34). Brazil leads the wind power sector in Latin America by far because of its more extensive experience in using this technology, its favorable areas close to the Atlantic coastline with strong winds (7 m s-1 wind velocity), and governmental commitment in recent years (35). In 2014, Brazil had 128 wind farms onshore. Wind power use in Chile remains modest but is increasing quickly. At the end of 2010, its installed capacity was 172 MW; however, this capacity had risen to 355 MW by the end of 2013. In August 2014, Chile inaugurated its largest wind farm, called El Arrayan, which is located on a coastal hillside 400 km north from the capital of Santiago. This farm consists of 50 giant turbines with an installed capacity of 115 MW and is going to feed part of the electricity grid for the copper mining industry (36). Argentina is the South American country with the highest wind power potential because it has plenty of sites distributed around its territory (75 % of the total area) that receive strong winds (7-9 m s-1 wind velocity) as well as a high level of technology and experience in the wind power industry, with one homegrown wind turbine manufacturer. However, at 217 MW of installed capacity, Argentina is far below its wind power potential (27, 35). The use of wind energy is gaining importance because of its environmental benefits and possible contributions to the provision of domestic energy. Wind energy is convenient when the water footprint is considered, because wind power’s direct water consumption is essentially negligible. The life cycle of water consumption by wind power (both direct and indirect consumption) is 0.64 L kWh-1 (2, 37). In comparison with thermo-power stations, which burn coal, natural gas or diesel for energy production and emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG), which contribute to the intensification of climate changes, wind power emits very low levels of GHG (8-20 g CO2/kWh) and would help with climate change mitigation. Therefore, the more wind power is used, the less fossil fuels are used for energy generation. Additionally, the energy used and the GHG emissions produced in the direct manufacture, transport, installation, operation and decommissioning of wind turbines is small, if accounting for the energy generated and the emissions avoided during the lifespan of wind farms (and their costs are recovered after 3.4-8.5 months of wind farm function) (27). Wind power has been gaining significant progress since 2009 and exhibits versatility because it can be adjusted to have more benefits from turbine movements beyond electricity generation. During the production of electric energy, the wind power turbine movement could also be used for pumping freshwater from difficult access locations to cause desalinization, providing 81 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


the necessary energy for water to pass through membrane systems (27). Thus, wind power would be valuable to help areas with freshwater restrictions and to improve energy and water interdependence. However, interruptions in wind power should also be considered, together with the necessary investment in R&D to make it a mature technology. For these reasons, wind power requires additional backup reserves of energy from other sources, which are usually non-renewable, high-carbon emitters (2, 38).

Nuclear Energy Nuclear power is a type of heavily concentrated energy. For instance, the energy density of reactor-grade uranium is 3.7 x 106 MJ kg-1 in comparison with 55.6, 45.8, and 21.5 MJ kg-1 for natural gas, diesel, and coal, respectively (2). Supporters of nuclear power would note that it is a promising solution to meet increasing energy demands by providing cheap and reliable energy as well as helping to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate climate changes. A complete and well-organized nuclear fuel cycle system would help in transitioning the global energy system from non-renewable to renewable and sustainable power generation (39). However, there are many negative aspects of nuclear power. Concerns about hazards, nuclear accidents, the depletion of uranium reserves, and unfavorable economic aspects have effectively slowed down the growth of nuclear energy in many western countries since the 1980s. However, nuclear power remains important and has somewhat expanded in some countries such as the USA, China, Russia, and India (40). If nuclear power has a favorable carbon footprint, according to Schneider et al. (41) and also as recently reviewed by da Rocha et al. (2), the same cannot be said about its water and land uses. The steps in the nuclear fuel cycle that are considered for these estimates are (for water use, land use) as follows: uranium extraction (6.3 x 10 6 L, 362 m2), conversion (1.1 x 10 6 L, 8.7 m2), enrichment (3.1 x 10 4 L, 6.17 m2), fuel fabrication (1.68 x 10 4 L, 0.63 m2), and depleted uranium management (1.1 x 10 4 L, 9.1 m2) per ton of uranium. This activity requires 7.46 x 106 L water use and 387 m2 land use per ton of uranium (41). Therefore, nuclear-based electricity uses of water and land can be easily observed, and they should be taken into account when planning a new nuclear plant. The global nuclear electricity yield was 2359 TWh from 31 countries and Taiwan in 2013 (42), and the NPS projection of nuclear power with regard to electric energy production through 2035 is 4294 TWh, with a 12 % share of the energy mix. Indeed, nuclear power is a very important form of energy generation in the USA and the EU because their nuclear electricity production in 2013 was 790.2 TWh and 847.5 TWh, respectively. In South America, there are three nuclear power plants in Argentina and two others in Brazil, which has a third one under construction (42–44). Argentina and Brazil are the only South American countries with operational nuclear reactors. In 2013, the total nuclear electric energy produced was 19.5 TWh. The projection from the EIA in the NPS for 2035 for the electricity generated from nuclear power in Latin America is 53 TWh, which is 2.7 times higher than the 2013 level (26). 82 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Although the nuclear power program in Brazil is being phased out, Argentina has just finished negotiations with China for the construction of two new nuclear power plants (in February 2015). In 2014, Bolivia announced its intention to start a nuclear program and contacted France for help with viability studies and also to acquire the associated know-how (45–47). Chile, which is subject to tsunamis and earthquakes just like Japan, abandoned its then-serious considerations of nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Venezuela and Uruguay also abandoned their nuclear power plans. At this moment, nuclear power plays only a small role in the electric energy mix of Brazil, with a share of only 3 % (43). The current generation capacity comes from two nuclear power reactors, namely Angra I (640 MW, operational in 1985) and Angra II (1.35 GW, operational in 2000), which have been operating at Angra dos Reis, a region close to Rio de Janeiro (2). The preliminary work on a third reactor known as Angra III (1.35 GW) has been ongoing since 1980, but it was suspended after the Chernobyl disaster (in 1986) and re-started only in 2010. The construction of Angra III was then delayed again after the 2011 Fukushima accident (26). Nuclear-based electricity in Argentina supplies approximately 10 % of its electric energy. The power generation capacity comes from three nuclear reactors, namely Atucha 1/Peron (335 MWe, operational in 1974) and Atucha 2/Kirchner (692 MWe, operational in June 2014), both of which are 100 km away from Buenos Aires, along with Embalse (600 MWe, operational in 1983) in Cordoba, which produces 1927 MWe. Argentina has already announced the construction of its two next nuclear reactors by the China National Nuclear Corporation (44). Transportation Sector The transportation sector is fueled by fossil fuels and biofuels. With respect to fossil fuels, the primary energy sources are oil, coal, and natural gas from conventional and unconventional sources. Biofuels generate energy from biodiesel and ethanol. Fossil Fuels Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are generally regarded as non-renewable fossil fuels. They have been widely used by humankind for energy production. The energy density for natural gas is 55.6 MJ kg-1, and it is 45.8, 45, 44.2, and 21.5 MJ kg-1 for diesel, gasoline, crude oil, and coal, respectively (2). These fuels are used for energy production in buildings, industries and in the transportation sector. At the end of 2013, the Americas (which includes North, Central and South Americas as well as the Caribbean) had one-third of the known worldwide reserves of crude oil (536 billion barrels), and one-tenth of known natural gas reserves (688 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)) as well as immense recoverable resources of oil and gas, including tight oil and shale gas reservoirs. In 2012, the Americas produced 29 % of the world’s liquid fuel supply, at almost 26 million barrels per day (bbl/d), and they consumed one-third of the world’s liquid fuels, at close to 30 million 83 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


bbl/d. In the same year, the Americas produced and consumed approximately 31 % of the world’s natural gas use, at 37 Tcf, and they accounted for 20% of the global natural gas trade in imports and exports, both at 6 Tcf. More than 80 % of natural gas imports and exports in the Americas were transported via pipeline to neighboring countries, and the remainder was traded within the region as liquefied natural gas (LNG) (48). Latin America has the second-largest conventional oil reserves outside the Middle East. However, this region’s natural gas and coal reserves are not as large. Indeed, fossil fuels are not equally distributed in Latin America. Oil and gas reserves are concentrated in Venezuela (both) and Bolivia (natural gas only), and most coal reserves are located in Colombia and Peru. For this reason, coal-fired thermoelectric plants generate nearly 40 % of the total electricity in the latter countries. Chile, which does not possess large amounts of coal, oil or natural gas, imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Asia, principally after Bolivia stopped natural gas exports (as well as for other South American countries, such as Brazil, Argentina and Peru). Unlike the rest of the countries in South America, diesel and other hydrocarbon fuel derivatives in Brazil are only used in the transportation sector (49). South America and the Caribbean have approximately 126 billion barrels of oil resources, approximately 44% of which are offshore from Brazil (50). Brazil is the world’s leader in oil exploration in deep and ultra-deep waters and has one of the largest Pre-Salt proven reserves. Unconventional oil and gas from shale wells have been mentioned in Brazil as well as in Argentina (which has the second largest shale gas reserve in the world, only after China) (2, 51). Figure 5 shows the total primary energy demand (TPED) (in megatons of oil equivalent, or Mtoe) in Latin America from 1990 with projections until 2035, according to the NPS from the Energy International Agency (26). The TPED shows an increasing trend in the region from 1990 (331 Mtoe) to 2035 (941 Mtoe), which represents an increase of 610 Mtoe (or approximately 3 times) between the two periods. In Figure 6, the TPED share is shown (%) between 2011 and 2035 in the energy matrix in Latin America among nuclear power, fossil fuels, and renewables. Shale gas is released from impermeable rocks through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This process requires large amounts of water and also produces huge amounts of wastewater from fracking fluids, which raises major concerns in relation to ecosystem and human health hazards. Water is the primary component of fracking fluids (95 %). Most of the remaining 5 % consists of sand or other proppants as well as biocides, gelling agents, scale inhibitors and lubricants. These toxic chemicals are used to hold open the fractures that are initiated by high pressure injections of water into the rock and to make shale gas extraction possible (52, 53). In a recently published review by da Rocha et al. (2) (and references therein), some estimates of the water footprint of fossil fuel exploitation are reported. Shale gas extraction demands 50-100 times more water than the extraction of conventional natural gas. For instance, the drilling step for Marcellus shale requires 296 thousand liters of water, and the fracking step requires 140,600 thousand liters of water per well. Surprisingly, although shale gas consumes more water than conventional gas, it consumes less water than coal. For comparison 84 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


purposes, coal extraction consumes 11-53 L water per MWh (L MWh-1), and shale gas extraction consumes 29.4 L MWh-1. Instead, the water requirement for conventional natural gas extraction is negligible.

Figure 5. Total primary energy demand (Mtoe) between 1990 and 2035 for Latin America, according to New Policies Scenarios from the Energy International Agency. Data taken from Ref. (26).

Figure 6. Total primary energy demand share (%) for Latin America in 2011 and 2035, according to New Policies Scenarios from the Energy International Agency. Data taken from Ref. (26). The water demand for traditional oil production is 28-73 L GJ-1, the demand for enhanced oil recovery is 75-9,065 L GJ-1, and the demand for oil sands is 70-1,800 L GJ-1. The water requirements for on-site consumptive water use by shale oil production are 629-703 L of water per barrel for surface production, and 159-322 L of water per barrel for in situ production (1, 2, 54). 85 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Biomass An important argument in favor of biofuel production is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, in comparison with fossil fuels (55). Renewable fuels primarily originate from agricultural products such as sugar cane, maize, vegetable oils, and forest biomass, among others. The primary biofuels produced are biodiesel and ethanol, which can be used alone or mixed with fossil fuels (56). South America possesses a diverse set of renewable energy sources, which can contribute significantly to the future demand in the global energy supply (57). Figure 7 shows that South and Central America have a prominent position in the global production of biodiesel, coming right after Europe. The primary biofuel producer in South America is Brazil, which has used biofuel since the 1970s when the oil crisis was the basis for the creation of the proalcohol program. The emergence of this program allowed for targeted sugarcane production to obtain energy. This initiative has allowed the use of sugarcane juice for producing sugar and ethanol in the same industrial plant. Other countries that stand out in terms of biofuel production in South America are Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela (58–60). Figure 8 shows that the production of the primary raw materials used in the production of biodiesel (soybean) and ethanol (sugarcane) is concentrated in the Americas, between the years 2005 and 2013. South America plays an important role in the production of raw materials for biodiesel production. A total of 839,270,836 tons of sugarcane and 145,853,460 tons of soybeans were produced by this continent in 2013. Of this total, the largest producers of sugarcane for that year were Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, corresponding to 88 %, 4.1 % and 2.8 % of the total production, respectively. Similarly, the largest soybean producers were Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, corresponding to 56 %, 34 % and 6.2 %, respectively (61). It is estimated that these numbers will tend to increase significantly in the coming years through government incentives for biofuel production in South America.

Figure 7. Contributions to the production of biodiesel in 2010. Reproduced/adapted with permission from Ref. (59). Copyright (2015) from Elsevier. 86 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


Figure 8. Distribution of sugarcane and soybean production by continent, between the years 2005 and 2013. Data taken from Ref. (61).

Some authors criticize biofuels because of their need for large amounts of water for feedstock production, and this need could cause large-scale water scarcity (62–64). In Brazil, which is the largest sugarcane producer in South America, the total water consumption by ethanol production is primarily distributed over the industrial process, such as sugar cane washing (5,330 L), extracting/grinding (400 L), juice concentration (30 L), electrical power generation (70 L), fermentation (4,000 L), distilling (4,000 L) and others (800 L), when considering the total water consumption for each stage per metric ton of sugar cane (1). In biodiesel production from soybean oil, it is estimated that approximately 14 and 321 L of water are used per liter of resulting fuel. This estimate is the average consumption, when considering different steps of biodiesel production, such as 0.5 L water with allocation, 120 L with crop irrigation, 11 L with farm inputs, 0.05 L with biodiesel plant construction, 1 L with biodiesel production and 1.3 L with distribution and marketing (65). To ensure the increased production of raw materials that are used in the production of biofuels, South American countries have made intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers to protect crops against pest attacks and ensure successful harvests (Table 2) (66). Given the large amount of pesticides and fertilizers that have been used in different fields, the increasing contamination of various water sources close to the production regions becomes worrisome because it could bring harm to human health and the environment (67–69). In addition to the problems caused by the excessive use of fertilizers, the intensive use of pesticides on areas close to rivers and lakes is one of the primary problems that cause the contamination of water resources. Pesticides that are applied to crops can persist in the soil for several years, and they may reach the surface water and groundwater. Thus, drinking water can be an important form of human exposure to contamination from pesticides that are transported and dissolved in water (68, 69). 87 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

Table 2. Production of the Primary Raw Materials for Biofuel Production (Biodiesel and Ethanol) and the Amounts of Pesticides and Fertilizers Used in Some South American Countries. Data taken from Ref. (61). Country

Sugarcanea

Soybeansa

Fertilizersb, c


(tons)

Pesticidesb, d

(tons/1000 ha)

Argentina

23,700,000

49,306,201

38.25

not available

Bolivia

8,065,889

2,347,282

7.8

8.10

Brazil

739,267,042

81,699,787

80.59

not available

Colombia

34,876,332

85,442

215.56

14.50

Paraguay

5,544,797

9,086,000

55.74

not available

Peru

10,992,240

2,709

69.31

3.49

Data production for the year 2013; Data on the consumption in 2010; Nitrogen + phosphate fertilizers; d Active ingredient use in arable land and permanent crops.

a

b

c

Figure 9. Estimated production of vehicles in South America and light vehicle sales in South American countries by 2019. Reproduced/adapted with permission from Ref. (71) CARCON Automotive. Studies on the impact of biofuel production on water quality have shown that this activity leads to the eutrophication (increased concentration of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus) of water bodies. Eutrophication can cause excessive plant growth and the decay of aquatic systems, leading to an increase in phytoplankton, decreased dissolved oxygen, increased turbidity, a loss of 88 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.


biodiversity, a reduction in commercially important fishes, and other undesirable ecological effects (70). Thus, the production of raw materials (sugar cane and soybeans) for biofuel production has shown significant growth in recent years because of the increased sales of ethanol and biodiesel, which are encouraged by a significant increase in the South American fleet. Projections indicate an increase in the production and sale of vehicles in the coming years to countries such as Brazil and Argentina, which are important players in the biofuel production scenario in South America (Figure 9) (71). Considering the alternatives to fossil fuels, it is necessary to understand not only the costs and impacts of carbon emissions but also their potential impacts on land use, natural resources and other environmental impacts for which the production of alternative (bio)fuels may result in the pollution of water resources (65) as well as in air pollution when biofuel is burned.

Conclusions South America is a region of the globe with a diversified energy matrix and good reserves of freshwater. However, because this water is not equally available throughout the continent, many places face water scarcity. Additionally, many South American countries have suffered from intense droughts since 2000. This scarcity directly impacts not only well-being but also the power generation of the population. The worsening of the population’s well-being includes restrictions on drinking water, improper sanitation or water treatment processes as well as insufficient water for any activities needed by a given person to survive. In turn, restrictions on power generation could bring economic restrictions to the continuous development of the region. The primary challenges for South America regarding the water-energy nexus are as follows: • •

•

•

• •

the development of sufficient infrastructure (which is missing in parts of South America); political and economic stability (which some countries do not possess in the moment because they are developing countries or are suffering from recent corruption scandals); large domestic and international investments for the development or improved production of (conventional and unconventional) fossil fuels and biofuels; anticipated planning of alternative actions by the governments to suppress possible drawbacks in water availability and energy production from climate changes; governmental planning for the next 30-40 years for the water-energy nexus through food security and environmental sustainability; and finding a convenient balance regarding the contribution of biofuels and fossil fuels to the energy mix to meet energy demands, population growth, and international environmental agreements, such as the Copenhagen Accord and the Kyoto Protocol. 89 In Water Challenges and Solutions on a Global Scale; Loganathan, et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2015.

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Water Challenges and Solutions for Brazil and South America - ACS

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