Showing papers on "Geothermal desalination published in 2004"

Hybrid fuel cell/desalination systems and method for use

Abstract: A hybrid system including a fuel cell and a desalination system, such as, for example, a reverse osmosis (RO) system or a thermal desalination process such as a multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation system. The fuel cell generates electricity and thermal energy exhaust which can be used to power and/or increase the energy efficiency of desalination systems. The hybrid system provides improved overall system efficiencies, generally exceeding the typical efficiencies of either fuel-cell power plants or traditional desalination plants. In reverse osmosis systems, for example, heating the salinous water feed with the thermal energy exhaust not only increases the potable water production, but also decreases the relative energy consumption of the desalination system.

Seawater desalination costs cut through power plant co-location

Abstract: Historically, the two key barriers for the wider implementation of seawater desalination have been the costs of water production and the environmental impact of the plant concentrate. An innovative approach for improving the economics of seawater desalination and at the same time reducing its impact on the environment is the co-location of membrane desalination plants with existing coastal power generation stations. In the following article Nikolay Voutchkov describes in detail the co-location concept.

Waste heat problems and solutions in geothermal energy

Abstract: Abstract All heat-power conversion systems produce waste heat, which can attain significant portions. This applies to geothermal power generation too; the waste heat fraction depends on the conversion technology. The more of the waste heat that can be utilized for some useful purpose (and consequently requiring less heat to be rejected), the better economy can be achieved, besides benign environmental effects. The best solution to avoid discharge to the atmosphere or to the hydrosphere is cascaded use. This consist of a chain of applications with stepwise decreasing temperatures, for example, from industrial uses through balneology down to fish farming. Constraints given by environmental legislation can lead to beneficiary solutions like in the case of warm tunnel waters in the Swiss Alps: these would need cooling ponds/towers before being permissible for discharge into local rivers. It is described by several specific examples how the tunnel waters can be used instead.

Evolutionary developments of thermal desalination plants in the arab gulf region 1

Abstract: The majority of large scale desalination plants in the Arab Gulf Region (AGR) employ thermal desalination processes. Around 2345 MIGD of desalinated water that accounts for 77% of the total water production in the AGR, was produced by thermal desalination processes in 2002. Due to its simplicity, reliability and huge capacity, the multistage flash (MSF) distillation process was the most dominant and frequently used process. It produced 94% of the total production of thermal desalination processes in the Gulf region. The multi-effect distillation (MED) coupled with thermal vapor compression (TVC) accounted for 6%. The basic evolutionary developments which were introduced in the MSF process during the last four decades such as successful scale and corrosion control techniques and increase of distiller production capacity will be reviewed. The outstanding design and operating features of MED/TVC desalination plants that are responsible for their recent market emergence and competition to the MSF desalination plants will also be reported. Thermal desalination plants are normally associated with power generation cycles. The evolutionary developments of the power/water cogeneration cycles will be discussed at length. Salient features of conventional power water cogeneration cycles in which the MSF distillation plant operates in association with either extraction or condensing or back pressure steam turbines, or in association with combined gas /vapor power generation cycles, will be reviewed. Characteristics of hybrid desalination processes

Solar heat power generation and desalination system

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a solar heat power generation and desalination system enabling effective use of solar heat, capable of efficiently arranging each equipment constituting a power generation cycle, realizing downsizing of the system and cost reduction while securing sufficient power generation and desalination efficiency. SOLUTION: Temperature of raw water for desalination introduced to an evaporator 32 in a desalination process is increased by a solar heat collecting device 10. Working fluid in the power generation cycle is heated and evaporated by raw water for desalination which has not been led to the evaporator 32, and the desalination process and the power generation cycle are simultaneously operated by energy obtained by solar heat. Accordingly, solar heat can be used for power generation and desalination to efficiently obtain electric power and fresh water at low costs. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

A nuclear desalination complex with a VK-300 boiling type reactor facility

Abstract: RDIPE has developed a detailed design of an enhanced safety nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) with a VK-300 boiling water reactor for combined heat and power generation. The thermal power of the reactor is 750 MW. The maximum electrical power in the condensation mode is 250 MWe. The maximum heat generation capacity of 400 Gcal/h is reached at 150 MWe. This report describes, in brief, the basic technical concepts for the VK-300 NSSS and the power unit, with an emphasis on enhanced safety and good economic performance. With relatively small power, good technical and economic performance of the VK-300 reactor that is a base for the desalination complex is attained through: reduced capital costs of the nuclear plant construction thanks to technical approaches ensuring maximum simplicity of the reactor design and the NSSS layout; a single-circuit power unit configuration (reactor-turbine) excluding expensive equipment with a lot of metal, less pipelines and valves; reduced construction costs of the basic buildings thanks to reduced construction volumes due to rational arrangement concepts; higher reliability of equipment and reduced maintenance and repair costs; longer reactor design service life of up to 60 years; selection of the best reactor and desalination equipment interface pattern. The report considers the potential application of the VK-300 reactor as a source of energy for distillation desalination units. The heat from the reactor is transferred to the desalination unit via an intermediate circuit. Comparison is made between variants of the reactor integration with desalination units of the following types: multi-stage flash (MSF technology); multi-effect distillation horizontal-tube film units of the DOU GTPA type (MED technology). The NDC capacity with the VK-300 reactor, in terms of distillate, will be more than 200,000 m³/day, with the simultaneous output of electric power from the turbine generator buses of around 150 MWe. The variants of the desalination technologies applied are compared, based on economic estimates performed. Acceptable values of the distillate cost have been obtained.

Coupling aspects of an MSF desalination plant and loss of electrical power generation of a nuclear power plant: case study

Abstract: Thermal desalination technologies are very energy intensive. The utilisation of nuclear energy for seawater desalination provides a safe, feasible and economic solution for the production of very good quality water. The Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) desalination plant of the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project (NDDP) of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, is coupled with a nuclear power plant on the south east coast of India to share the common facilities and steam. The MSF desalination plant is under construction. This paper describes a case study of the coupling aspects of the MSF desalination plant with the existing nuclear power plant and gives an estimate of the loss of electrical power generation due to extraction of steam. Loss of electrical power is also compared with the Desalination Economic Evaluation Program (DEEP) of the IAEA.

Cogeneration of Electricity and Potable Water Using The International Reactor Innovative And Secure (IRIS) Design

Abstract: The worldwide demand for potable water has been steadily growing and is projected to accelerate, driven by a continued population growth and industrialization of emerging countries. This growth is reflected in a recent market survey by the World Resources Institute, which shows a doubling in the installed capacity of seawater desalination plants every ten years. The production of desalinated water is energy intensive, requiring approximately 3-6 kWh/m3 of produced desalted water. At current U.S. water use rates, a dedicated 1000 MW power plant for every one million people would be required to meet our water needs with desalted water. Nuclear energy plants are attractive for large scale desalination application. The thermal energy produced in a nuclear plant can provide both electricity and desalted water without the production of greenhouse gases. A particularly attractive option for nuclear desalination is to couple a desalination plant with an advanced, modular, passively safe reactor design. The use of small-to-medium sized nuclear power plants allows for countries with smaller electrical grid needs and infrastructure to add new electrical and water capacity in more appropriate increments and allows countries to consider siting plants at a broader number of distributed locations. To meet these needs, a modified version of the International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS) nuclear power plant design has been developed for the cogeneration of electricity and desalted water. The modular, passively safe features of IRIS make it especially well adapted for this application. Furthermore, several design features of the IRIS reactor will ensure a safe and reliable source of energy and water even for countries with limited nuclear power experience and infrastructure. The IRIS-D design utilizes low-quality steam extracted from the low-pressure turbine to boil seawater in a multi-effect distillation desalination plant. The desalination plant is based on the horizontal tube film evaporation design used successfully with the BN-350 nuclear plant in Aktau, Kazakhstan. Parametric studies have been performed to optimize the balance of plant design. Also, an economic analysis has been performed, which shows that IRIS-D should be able to provide electricity and clean water at highly competitive costs.

Present and future activities of nuclear desalination in Japan

Abstract: Seawater desalination plants have been installed at several nuclear power plants in Japan in order to satisfy the regulations for nuclear plant installation. This has been done where there is a limited source of water due to the geological conditions. These desalination plants are being operated to ensure supplemental water by using thermal or electrical energy from the nuclear power plant. The desalination plant is not operated continuously during the year because the major function of the plant is to ensure the supply of supplemental water for the nuclear power plant. Regarding maintenance of the desalination plant, some piping was exchanged due to corrosion by high temperature seawater, however, the desalination plants are being operated without any trouble as of today. Recently, the development of innovative and/or small reactor designs, that emphasise safety features, has been promoted in Japan to use for seawater desalination and for installation in developing countries. An advanced RO system with lower energy consumption technology is also being developed. Furthermore, some Japanese industries and universities are now very interested in nuclear desalination.

Water desalination as a possible opportunity for the GT- and H2-MHR

Abstract: There is growing concern that many areas of the world are suffering ongoing and increasing water shortages. Much of this concern is manifested in the United Nation's World Water Assessment Programme, the results of which were published in the spring of 2003. Other researchers have corroborated the findings of this work. However, while the UN has characterized water availability as a 'crisis', this view would seem to be excessive. Nevertheless, many parts of the world, particularly in developing nations inclusive of the middle east, are experiencing severe water stress and some of these have embarked on large-scale seawater desalination projects. The current work explores, in a preliminary way, the application of high temperature helium cooled reactors in either an electricity or a hydrogen production mode for desalination. Three desalination technologies are discussed: reverse osmosis (RO) and thermal processes using either Multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) or Multi-effect distillation (MED). For the latter, it is found that the waste heat rejected from a high temperature reactor comes in power levels and temperatures reasonably well suited for desalination. An economic comparison was made using the best available data and scaling to compare the processes. What was found that reverse osmosis and thermal distillationmore » possess comparable costs within the error bars of the analysis but that the former generally resulted in slightly lower costs. Thus the choice between them can be made with other criteria such as feed salinity and product quality. It was also found that desalinated water co-produced with either electricity (RO and MED) or hydrogen (MED) are expected to cost about the same. Since hydrogen and desalinated water can be produced off the grid, this co-production architecture appears attractive for the early deployment of high temperature helium cooled reactors. (authors)« less

IRIS Reactor a Suitable Option to Provide Energy and Water Desalination for the Mexican Northwest Region

Abstract: The Northwest region of Mexico has a deficit of potable water, along this necessity is the region growth, which requires of additional energy capacity. The IRIS reactor offers a very suitable source of energy given its modular size of 300 MWe and it can be coupled with a desalination plant to provide the potable water for human consumption, agriculture and industry. The present paper assess the water and energy requirements for the Northwest region of Mexico and how the deployment of the IRIS reactor can satisfy those necessities. The possible sites for deployment of Nuclear Reactors are considered given the seismic constraints and the closeness of the sea for external cooling. And in the other hand, the size of the desalination plant and the type of desalination process are assessed accordingly with the water deficit of the region.

Geothermal heat pumps technologies and development

Abstract: Geothermal Heat Pumps, or Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), are systems combining a heat pump with a ground heat exchanger (closed loop systems), or fed by ground water from a well (open loop systems). They use the earth as a heat source when operating in heating mode, with a fluid ( usually water or a water-antifreeze-mixture) as the media transferring the heat from the earth to the evaporator of the heat pump, utilising that way geothermal energy. In cooling mode, they use the earth as a heat sink. With BHE geothermal heat pumps can offer both heating and cooling at virtually any location, with great flexibility to meet any demands. More than 25 years of R&D focusing on BHE in Europe resulted in a well-established concept of sustainability for this technology, as well as sound design and installation criteria. Recent developments are the Thermal Response Test, which allows in situdetermination of ground thermal properties for design purposes, and thermally enhanced grouting materials to reduce borehole thermal resistance. Despite the use of geothermal heat pumps for over 50 years now (first in USA), market penetration of this technology, is still at its infancy, with fossil fuels dominating the market of heating of buildings and air-to-air heat pumps dominating the market of cooling of buildings. In some countries, namely Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France and USA, already larger numbers of geothermal heat pumps are operational. In these countries meanwhile installation guidelines, quality control and contractor certification becomes a major issue.

Environmental impact and cost analysis of desalination systems

Abstract: This study aims at studying the environmental effects of desalination byproducts and the cost analysis of desalination systems. Focus was made on the two widespread techniques of seawater desalination; the Multistage Flash (MSF) System and Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. These two technologies of thermal and membrane desalination have a substantial history and their industry is well established. MSF systems induce thermal pollution to its surrounding environment compared with the

Integrated Membrane Process and Related Equipment for Brackish Water Treatment

Abstract: To develop more efficient technologies to treat brackish water so that it can be used in daily-life and industries, an integrated membrane process was presented and tested The process consisted of microfiltration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis processes, with a capability of water treatment of 500?L/h All units in the process were controlled by a PLC system, while the on-line cleaning of the ultrafilter was realized by using an energy reservoir The desalination tests with the brackish water of different saline contents show that the desalination efficiency and the water recovery can attain to 96% and 65%, respectively, and the desalinated water meets quite well the requirement of the national standard of China for drinking water

Use of Geothermal Energy for Cooling

Abstract: This is a thesis on using geothermal heat as an energy source for refrigeration systems. Various refrigeration cycles using heat energy are generally reviewed, with a special focus on absorption refrigeration systems. Thermodynamic models are presented for two prevalent kinds of absorption systems. These models are used for simulating the systems and performing analysis of their relationships between internal parameters of the system and their influence on the COP. Various comparisons of the systems in consideration are made, for instance with regard to sensitivity of COP and costs. The work is wrapped up with a case study of a shrimp processing plant.

Nuclear desalination complexes based on PWR and gas cooled reactors

Abstract: This report is prepared based on the results of activities performed in Russia on the development of energy desalination complexes (EDCs) with different reactor plants. The activities were aimed at the development of conceptual designs for EDCs and evaluation of the EDC from a technical-economic point of view, commercial attractiveness and economic efficiency based on reactor plants such as KLT-40S and GT-MHR coupled to distillation, reverse osmosis and hybrid desalination plants.