Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination‐Based Renewable Energy: Classifications, Challenges, Methods of Driving, and Future Prospects

Novel Tri Hybrid Desalination Plants

Experimental comparison of the performance of two reverse osmosis desalination units equipped with different energy recovery devices

Chapter 2 - Water Desalination by (Nonsolar) Renewable Energy-Powered RO Systems

The effect of energy recovery device and feed flow rate on the energy efficiency of reverse osmosis process

Renewable energy systems for water desalination applications: A comprehensive review

An optimal design approach of gas hydrate and reverse osmosis hybrid system for seawater desalination

Life cycle cost of a hybrid forward osmosis – low pressure reverse osmosis system for seawater desalination and wastewater recovery

Mixing phenomena in an isobaric energy recovery device (ERD) of a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination system are investigated experimentally and numerically using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The ERD, which recovers energy from high-pressure brine discharged from RO membranes, is one of the most important mechanical devices in a SWRO desalination system. In this ERD, seawater is introduced into a vertical chamber from the top, and then high-pressure brine is introduced into the chamber from the bottom. The high-pressure brine pressurizes the seawater through direct liquid-to-liquid contact, transferring high-pressure energy of the brine to the seawater. This enables a sharp reduction in the electric energy consumption, typically 50%, of high-pressure pumps used to elevate seawater pressure for RO membranes. The energy recovery efficiency of the present ERD is over 98%, which is extremely high compared to a conventional turbine-type energy recovery device, such as a Pelton turbine, which has a system energy recovery efficiency of 60 to 80%. The possible weakness of the present ERD is the amount of mixing between brine and seawater around the direct contact surface, because mixing phenomena increase the salinity of seawater supplied to RO membranes. A higher pressure is required to keep the same amount of permeate from the membrane, which results in an energy loss in the system. To minimize mixing, a set of unique flow distributors was invented and placed at both ends of the pressure exchange chamber, which stabilizes the contact surfaces and suppresses excessive mixing. Mixing phenomena in the pressure-exchange chamber are investigated experimentally in detail with PIV and numerically with CFD, and the effectiveness of the flow distributors is clarified.

Optimization of sustainable seawater desalination: Modeling renewable energy integration and energy storage concepts

Thermodynamic analysis of a solar thermal facilitated membrane seawater desalination process

It is well known that reverse osmosis (RO) is the leading desalination technology. As an energy intensive technology, the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) to power RO systems is a attractive option. A strategy to take advantage of all the available energy of an off-grid renewable system is to work with the RO system under variable operating conditions. This implies additional challenges in terms of water production and permeate quality, among others. Boron rejection is one of the main concerns in seawater RO (SWRO) systems. The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance and boron rejection of a single-stage SWRO system with 7 membrane elements per pressure vessel under variable operating conditions. The initial permeability coefficients of two SWRO membranes (TM820L-440 and TM820S-400) were calculated from experimental data of a full-scale SWRO desalination plant. These coefficients and the characteristics of the membranes were introduced in a simulation algorithm to estimate the behavior of the SWRO system. The results show that, compared with the TM820S-400 membrane, the TM820L-440 performed better in terms of boron rejection in the form of boric acid, but worse in terms of water production. When RES-powered SWRO systems are designed to work under variable operating conditions, consideration needs to be given to the safe operation window in terms of boron concentration in the permeate and to variation of the permeability coefficient of the membranes.

Theoretical performance prediction of a reverse osmosis desalination membrane element under variable operating conditions

Performance analysis of hybrid system of multi effect distillation and reverse osmosis for seawater desalination via modelling and simulation

Energy and environmental issues of seawater reverse osmosis desalination considering boron rejection: A comprehensive review and a case study of exergy analysis

Institute of African research and studies, Cairo University