Coordinated operation of wind farm and water desalination plant in energy and auxiliary services market

Abstract Seawater desalination is a drought-proof water supply for coastal cities, but widespread development of desalination plants in the U.S. has been limited by both cost and the complexity of permitting processes designed to minimize environmental impact. This work estimates the value of accelerating the permitting timeline without changing environmental or social standards. On average, faster permitting reduces the frequency of desalination plant construction and operation, the overall costs of robust water system operation, the environmental impacts of drought-tolerant water supplies due to shorter duration of plant operation. Expedited permitting allows fundamental changes in how water infrastructure is deployed, facilitating a transition from anticipatory construction and continuous operation of seawater desalination capacity as a redundant drought buffer to just-in-time (i.e. adaptive) deployment of seawater desalination capacity when critical drought thresholds are crossed. We demonstrate the value of expedited desalination permitting in enabling adaptive planning and reducing water system costs using a simple case study in Santa Barbara, CA. We discuss additional forms of adaptive water infrastructure planning as enabled by faster permitting and address their challenges and opportunities. Lastly, we identify synergies between innovation in adaptive planning, innovation in expedited permitting practices, and innovation in water technology.

The global water crisis, intensified by climate change and population growth, underscores the critical need for sustainable water production. Desalination is a pivotal solution, but its energy-intensive nature demands a transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. However, the inherent intermittency of solar and wind power poses a fundamental challenge to the stable operation of desalination plants. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of a specifically tailored solution: hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) that synergistically combine batteries and hydrogen fuel cells (FC). Moving beyond a general description of hybridization, this study delves into the strategic complementarity of this pairing, where the high-power density and rapid response of lithium-ion batteries manage short-term fluctuations, while the high-energy density and steady output of fuel cells ensure long-duration, stable baseload power. This operational synergy is crucial for maintaining consistent pressure in processes like reverse osmosis (RO), thereby reducing membrane stress and improving system uptime. A central focus of this review is the critical role of advanced energy management systems (EMS). We synthesize findings on how intelligent control strategies, from fuzzy logic to metaheuristic optimization algorithms, are essential for managing the power split between components. These sophisticated EMS strategies do not merely ensure reliability, they actively optimize the system to minimize hydrogen consumption, reduce operational costs, and extend the lifespan of the hybrid energy storage components. The analysis confirms that a lithium-ion battery-fuel cell HESS, governed by an advanced EMS, effectively mitigates renewable intermittency to significantly enhance freshwater yield and overall system reliability. By integrating component-specific hybridization with smart control, this review establishes a framework for researchers and engineers to achieve significant levels of energy efficiency, economic viability, and sustainability in renewable-powered desalination.

During the operation of desalination plants of various principles, negative environmental impacts occur, firstly due to emissions of combustion products formed as a result of burning primary fuel required for the energy supply of the desalination process, and secondly due to emissions of concentrate, which is a solution of salts and minerals. Addressing the environmental problems associated with the operation of desalination plants is an urgent task. One possible solution is the development of energy-efficient installations in which brine is evaporated to a dry residue state, representing a commercially viable product. Since thermal desalination plants require heat removal for condensation of water vapor and supply of higher-potential thermal energy for the evaporation process, integrating heat transformers into the thermal schemes of desalination plants is promising. The authors have developed a thermal scheme of a gas-contact desalination plant, integrated with a steam compression heat transformer (HT). The influence of the working agent type on the performance indicators of the HT within the desalination plant was studied, and various HT energy carriers were analyzed. The highest transformation coefficient with the lowest compressor energy consumption is achieved when operating with the R600a working agent. Key performance indicators of the HT were calculated for different bubbling and drying temperatures of the steam-air mixture. The distribution of the working agent flow between the HT condensers was determined. It was established that the most efficient operating mode of the plant occurs at a heat lift height of 15°C. The developed technical solution for isobutane-based HT is effective at seawater salinity not exceeding 20 g/l.

ABSTRACT Variable tariffs for the price of electricity are typically used to encourage consumption at times when there is less demand. Considering these tariffs, optimising the operation of the consuming equipment can result in significant economic benefits. In this work, a digital twin of a reverse osmosis desalination plant is designed and implemented to forecast the permeated water flowrate and electricity consumed, depending on the main operational parameter: the desalination pressure. The models relating these variables are fitted based on data measured from the process and are periodically updated. These models are utilised to optimise the plant's operation by relying on genetic algorithms based on the variable electricity tariff and using the pressure for each hour of the day to minimise the electricity cost. The proposed approach was tested by considering different permeated water production levels. Finally, an analysis was carried out by comparing the cost, during an entire month, when using a fixed operating pressure and when using the proposed digital twin-based optimisation. The resulting outcomes justify the convenience of optimising the desalination plant operation.

Desalination plant operation is symbolizing the solution for water scarcity situations worldwide with efficiency and sustainability. Even so, conventional inspection maintained in such infrastructures has been intensive on workforce, time-consuming and always has posed environmental and safety risks. An AIassisted IoT-enabled UAV inspection framework is proposed in this paper that is set to transform monitoring and predictive maintenance of desalination plants. This is a systematic framework that uses advanced robotics, computer vision, and machine learning to achieve autonomous UAVs for real-time anomaly detection and infrastructure inspection, as well as monitoring the environment. The main features are detection of leaks with thermal imaging, mapping of the site 3D using LiDAR for structural assessment, and the use of IoT-enabled sensors for operational parameters (salinity, temperature, etc.). From the data collected through UAVs, it would create a digital twin of the plant for detailed simulation and predictive analytics. By analyzing historic and real-time data, machine learning algorithms can predict equipment failures and optimize maintenance scheduling. It reduces inspection time, enhances operational safety, lowers maintenance costs, and assures environmental sustainability with respect to brine and chemicals leakages. The framework here provides strong potential for integration into desalination plants with integrated AI, integrated robotics and integrated UAV technologies, thus cracking open the door on bright new and smart, safe and sustainable water production systems.

<p indent="0mm">As the world’s population continues to grow and industry develops, the global demand for fresh water continues to increase, leading to global fresh water shortages. Desalination technology is one of the important means to solve global water shortages. The causes of global water shortages include but are not limited to: global population growth, climate change and excessive water use. In recent years, many desalination plants have been built in water-scarce areas to increase available water resources. Global desalination capacity has exceeded 100 million cubic meters per day. However, the rapid expansion of the desalination industry has also exposed many new problems, such as uneven technological development in various regions and low construction and operation efficiency. Regarding the future of seawater desalination, IDRA proposed that “reverse osmosis is moving towards a digital and standardized world” as one of the key development directions. In particular, the standardization of seawater desalination has gained significant attention as a pathway toward smarter desalination practices. The development and implementation of standards not only regulate and guide the desalination market and industry but also drive technological advancements. Furthermore, international standards in seawater desalination can foster innovation and the application of new technologies, processes, equipment, and materials while enhancing communication and cooperation among international organizations. This paper provides a systematic review of the seawater desalination industry and its technological advancements, highlighting its transition toward large-scale, eco-friendly, and standardized solutions. Since international standards for seawater desalination are primarily set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), this study focuses on the development and application of ISO standards in this field. The relevant ISO standards have been categorized into three groups: desalination-specific ISO standards, generic technology ISO standards, and process-applied ISO standards. In 2015, ISO established the Seawater Desalination Working Group (ISO/TC8/SC13/WG3) under the Ships and Marine Technology Committee/Marine Technology Subcommittee. To date, ISO/TC8/SC13/WG3 has published two desalination-specific ISO standards related to Reverse Osmosis (RO) product water and basic desalination vocabulary. Additionally, membrane desalination technologies such as RO, ultrafiltration (UF), and nanofiltration (NF) are applicable to other water treatment plants. As a result, generic technology ISO standards related to membrane filtration technologies can guide the design and evaluation of membrane-based seawater desalination. Moreover, seawater desalination engineering is a multidisciplinary integration system. Process-applied ISO standards help coordinate various aspects, including engineering management, operations, equipment, testing, and quality control, ensuring the efficient construction and operation of standardized desalination plants. Since all ISO standards are developed under the guidance of Technical Committees (TCs), this study conducts a comprehensive review of TCs relevant to seawater desalination, aligned with the desalination process flow, to provide deeper insights into the standards’ content and applications. Finally, this paper explores and proposes future prospects for developing and revising ISO standards in seawater desalination. The study aims to identify applicable ISO standards that facilitate regulatory desalination management, promote the sustainable development of desalination industries, enhance engineering efficiency, and drive technological innovation. Additionally, we encourage experts and stakeholders in the seawater desalination sector to actively participate in ISO/TC8/SC13/WG3 to contribute to drafting desalination standards, accelerating the standardization process, and fostering high-quality development in the industry.

This study examines the potential of implementing a systematic approach to piloting desalination plants, with the objective of evaluating energy improvements in water desalination processes. The introduction of new reverse osmosis membranes is imperative at the small-scale level. The findings can be extrapolated to inform the operation of large-scale desalination plants. The objective of this approach is to achieve the optimal water quality standard at the lowest possible cost. In this manner, pilot tests are being conducted prior to the determination of whether to alter the reverse osmosis membranes, as this represents a substantial investment. The objective of these tests is to minimise the risk of making an erroneous decision and to ensure optimal results in terms of energy consumption, operating costs and reduction of environmental impact, while complying with the requisite water quality standards. In this instance, the Pareto analysis is utilised to ascertain the two or three most significant causes whose treatment affects more than 80 % of the potential energy savings to be implemented. This article introduces a novel approach to studying a total of 180 desalination plants at the territorial level in the Canaries.

One of the global issues of our time is the shortage of freshwater resources. Desalination of marine and brackish waters is a promising solution to this problem. The most common desalination technologies are thermal (distillation) and baromembrane (reverse osmosis and nanofiltration) processes. When designing demineralization stations with reverse osmosis units, it is necessary to consider a number of limitations associated with higher requirements for pretreatment of water entering the unit. The use of thermal desalination plants makes it possible to obtain fresh water of higher quality, and less stringent requirements are imposed on the preliminary preparation of water for this type of unit. However, during the operation of desalination plants of this type, scale forms on the heating surfaces, which negatively affects the efficiency of the unit. Scale is formed less intensively in the units with contact vapors, since in this case the evaporation process occurs in volume. Thus, the development of thermal scheme of such unit and the study of their operation is relevant. The tasks have been solved using the methods of experimental studies of heat and mass transfer processes, mathematical processing of experimental data, and balance calculations of power plants. A thermal scheme of a thermal desalination plant with a contact evaporator with compression of a vapor-air mixture has been developed. Thermal and material balance has been compiled, on the basis of which energy costs have been determined to obtain m3 of fresh water. The authors have proved the determining influence of the temperature of desalinated water in the bubbling zone on the productivity of desalination plants with a contact evaporator. An amendment has been obtained that allows the initial salinity of water and brine to be considered when calculating the operating cycle of the unit. As a result of the analysis of the results obtained, it is found that an increase in the water temperature in the bubbling zone allows us to increase the productivity of the unit, and an increase of the drying temperature of the vapor-air mixture leads to a decrease of the energy consumption of the desalination plant. The introduction of an amendment considering the salinity of the source water and brine makes it possible to increase the accuracy of calculating air humidification up to 15 %.

Vibrio neptunius-ULV11 cell-free supernatant as a promising antifouling approach in reverse osmosis systems

A comprehensive evaluation of the temporal and spatial fouling characteristics of RO membranes in a full-scale seawater desalination plant

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

In this work, the design and initial demonstration of the KATERINA II detection system for rapid mapping of radionuclides in areas near to seashore is presented. A new development has been realized by integrating a GPS module in KATERINA II detection system and synchronizing its data with the acquired spectra in real-time. The new system may be used in a backpack, for areas with low activity concentration, or can be installed in an unmanned vehicle, for observing and mapping the source(s) of radioactivity, e.g. at the seashore, in areas with high contamination. A quantitative solution is provided for natural and artificial radionuclides, taking into account the characteristics of the detector, the parameters of measurement geometry and a mean beach sand/sediment composition. This paper reports field results for site characterization issues through automated analysis of gamma-ray spectra including low-level and low-energy γ-emitters. Perspectives of the future application of the system in a worldwide basis are related to radionuclides mapping and the assessment of dose rates in seashore areas that may be contaminated due to the operation of nuclear power plants, desalination plants and NORM industries, and/or due to the decommissioning of nuclear installations.

Brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination of groundwater is believed to be a sustainable method of providing municipal utilities with a high-quality supply in regions where freshwater sources are stressed and not sustainable. A key aspect of water management is the ability to evaluate an aquifer containing brackish water to ascertain future pumping-induced water quality changes and their impacts on the facility operation and economics. The city of Hialeah, Florida, has operated a BWRO facility for the last 9 years. The facility has a maximum design capacity of about 88,000 m3/d but is currently operating at about 33,000 m3/d. The facility was designed to treat water with a TDS of up to 10,000 mg/L. A detailed hydrogeologic investigation, including groundwater solute-transport modeling, suggested that the salinity of the source water would remain under 10,000 mg/L of TDS during the 30-year life expectancy of the facility. However, after 9 years of operation, it was found that the rate of salinity increase was much higher than predicted (27.5%), at the low rate of 33,000 m3/d. If the faculty was operated at the maximum capacity, the ability of the plant to treat the source water might be between 5 and 10 years. The conceptual model used to guide the solute transport modeling was not accurate for this site because it did not incorporate the apparent enhanced leakance through the basal confining unit below the aquifer. The greater leakance was likely caused by undetected, irregularly distributed fracturing of the underlying confining dolostones. The facility will require a major redesign to upgrade the process to be able to treat seawater at a TDS significantly above 10,000 mg/L in the future, should that occur. While the change will be costly, with a high capital cost to change the process, increased energy consumption, and overall higher water treatment cost, it is still more sustainable and has less environmental impact compared to other alternatives (e.g., treating tidal sources of seawater). The use of electricity from nuclear or solar generation could mitigate the environmental impacts of higher power consumption.

Handling the variability and uncertainty associated with integrating large capacities of renewable energy sources (RES) into the power grid is a challenge that is increasingly influencing the power systems operation. At the same time, the growing need for desalinated water in arid areas increases the importance of suitable energy sources for sustainable operation of water desalination plants. However, as power and water system operators have traditionally operated their systems in isolation, there is a lack of understanding of the interdependence and interactions between these two systems. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a risk-based two-stage stochastic co-optimization framework that coordinates the operation of a renewable-rich power system with the operation of grid-connected reverse-osmosis water desalination plants (RO-WDP) to minimize their combined operational costs while increasing the utilization of RES. From the power system operation standpoint, the RO-WDPs are considered as controllable demand, and the proposed model integrates the energy flexibility of RO-WDPs in the day-ahead power system operation. The proposed model considers the operational constraints of both power and water desalination systems, thus co-optimizing their operation without compromising the reliable supply of power and water to end-users, while taking into account the uncertainty of the demands and RES. Simulation results demonstrate the benefits of the proposed coordination on enhancing the power system efficiency, facilitating RES integration, and minimizing the combined operational costs of both systems while minimizing their operating risk using conditional value at risk.

Coordinating the day-ahead operation scheduling for demand response and water desalination plants in smart grid

The authors, engineers of the Consulting Company Increa, have significant and valuable experience in the design of marine installations (intake and outfall pipelines and intake structures) for desalination plants (Pita, 2014 and Pita, 2019). Increa’s engineers have been designing marine pipelines and structures for multiple plants throughout the world and in various different operating environments. This paper describes some of the problems that can be experienced during the operation of desalination plants and the way these can be prevented during the design stage. Proper design of marine installations should consider the most probable situations that can occur. In addition to normal operation, designers should consider accidental situations and the risks associated with these should also be evaluated and mitigated.

This paper investigates the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in the operation of the Gold Coast Desalination Plant (GCDP) to optimise reverse osmosis (RO) membrane efficiency, reduce energy consumption, emissions, and operational costs. The study focuses on using historical and current RO operational data to train and utilise an AI algorithm that generates daily operational setpoints. These setpoints, namely RO Recovery (%) and Permeate Flow (m3/h), directly impact pump power consumption and energy requirements. The collaboration between Veolia and a cleantech start-up involves multiple phases, including system review, performance tests, and iterative optimisation. Three (3) performance tests were conducted at GCDP, revealing unique challenges and findings. Performance Test 1 demonstrated energy savings despite rapidly increasing cartridge filters differential pressure (dP) in the test period. Performance Test 2 encountered underperformance of an energy recovery device (ERD), resulting in increased feed pressure and with it, power consumption. Performance Test 3 highlighted the impact of fluctuating feedwater temperature on energy consumption. Overall, the AI model showcased its ability to recommend setpoints within operational limits and achieve required permeate flow with reduced energy, even under unfavourable conditions. The initiative at GCDP resulted in an estimated 1.1% energy reduction, corresponding to approximately 0.023 kWh/m3 and the potential to save up to 1044 MWh of energy and 762 tonnes of CO2-e per annum. The study suggests further exploring AI and ML applications to optimise treatment plant operations, including varying permeate flow setpoints and improving data transfer and setpoint implementation methods. These advancements hold promise for enhanced energy efficiency and cost reduction in desalination plants worldwide.

Seawater desalination water intake site selection has an important impact on the investment, water production cost, stable operation, and safety of seawater desalination plants. Site selection is affected by many factors, such as the natural geography, ecological environment, and social economy of coastal zones; some constraints can be directly identified as unsuitable areas for these construction projects. For the shallow water intake method of seawater desalination, this study selects suitability evaluation indicators for seawater desalination water intake site selection from the three influencing factors of basic geography, water environment, and industrial development and constructs a suitability evaluation model based on the multifactor spatial overlay analysis of the Geographic Information System platform. This model carries out a quantitative suitability evaluation of the seawater desalination water intake site selection and realizes the suitable spatial zoning for spatially selecting the water intake, thus forming a scientific, quantitative, and spatial suitability evaluation system for this process. The evaluation method was applied in the Rongcheng city offshore area of China and analyzed. The evaluation results showed that the suitable areas for seawater desalination water intake site selection comprised 304.8 square kilometers, which were mainly distributed in the offshore areas in northern Rongcheng city and near the coastline areas of its central and southern regions. The unsuitable areas covered 292.4 square kilometers, mainly distributed in the marine ecological red line areas and the coastal aquaculture areas of Rongcheng city. The evaluation results met the site selection needs of the seawater desalination water intake project in Rongcheng city. This study improves upon the existing method of seawater desalination intake site selection at the theoretical and technical levels and provides a scientific basis for the location selection and planning for water intake in large spatial ranges of coastal waters.

ABSTRACT Climate disruptions threaten water systems and undermine economic growth in urban areas. Stakeholder perspectives for desalination and water reuse are not well known in Texas (USA) although utilities are implementing these water augmentation technologies for municipal and industrial purposes. We use a water portfolio-informed deployment of Q-methodology to identify three social perspectives: Diversification is Key, Conservation Before Desalination, and Private Sector Can Do It. We expected to find strongly supportive and opposed social perspectives, but found nuanced and contingent support for desalination and water reuse. Social perspectives were aware of the financial and political costs of desalination and reuse and did not want desalination and water reuse to reduce the importance of protecting currently sources of potable water in Texas. Cross-cutting themes include the predominance of desalination as the policy-relevant water supply alternative and concerns for human capital at levels ranging from desalination plant operators to legal experts.