Abstract
Optimal plant operation of brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination is studied in this chapter. A system-level mathematical model, which explicitly accounts for pump characteristic curves, pressure drops along each pressure vessel, and local water fluxes, is developed and validated by data collected in a desalination plant in Chino, California. A constrained nonlinear optimization is formulated and solved for two RO trains with different service times. It is demonstrated that a 10% reduction in energy consumption can be achieved while maintaining the same permeate flow rate by adjusting operating conditions as suggested by the model. Furthermore, an opportunity for significant savings in disposal cost is identified due to a reduction in brine volume. For multiple RO trains with different service times, the overall energy consumption may be reduced by optimally allocating the permeate rates. A unified model is developed to explain the similarities and differences between BWRO and seawater RO (SWRO).
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