Progress of adsorption cycle and its hybrids with conventional multi-effect desalination processes

Abstract

AbstractThe water energy environment nexus is an important issue in today’s development of desalination for potable water production. Engineers and scientists in desalination are striving not only for more energy efficient technology, they are concern with the environment impact in terms of CO2 emissions and discharge of chemical laden brine into the sea. The complexity of available technologies dictates engineers and scientists to be aware of the environmental impact from both fundamental sciences and technology processes. The thermodynamics limit for desalination is known to have an energy consumption of 0·78 to 1·09 kWhe per m3, but practical desalination processes are operated at several folds higher than the thermodynamic limit due to irreversible losses incurred in removing dissolved salts. Although recent advances in membrane technology has an energetic benchmark of 3·5–5 kWhe m−3 or about 14·5 kWh_pe (primary energy) per m3, the high water production rates and protection of membranes have resulted...