Showing papers on "Geothermal desalination published in 2014"
TL;DR: The features of hybrid FO systems are highlighted and the state-of-the-art applications in the water industry in a novel classification and based on the latest developments toward scaling up these systems are provided.
317 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an ad-sorption desalination (AD) and membrane distillation (MD) process can be driven by waste heat, geothermal or solar energy.
239 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of water desalination systems, whether operated by conventional energy or renewable energy, to convert saline water into fresh water is presented in this paper, where the advantages and disadvantages, including the economic and environmental aspects, of these systems are presented.
Abstract: Water is one of the earth's most abundant resources, covering about three-quarters of the planet's surface. Yet, there is an acute shortage of potable water in many countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East region. The reason for this apparent contradiction is, of course, that 97.5% of the earth's water is salt water in the oceans and only 2.5% is fresh water in ground water, lakes and rivers and this supplies most human and animal needs. Tackling the water scarcity problem must involve better and more economic ways of desalinating seawater. This article presents a comprehensive review of water desalination systems, whether operated by conventional energy or renewable energy, to convert saline water into fresh water. These systems comprise the thermal phase change and membrane processes, in addition to some alternative processes. Thermal processes include the multistage flash, multiple effects boiling and vapour compression, cogeneration and solar distillation, while the membrane processes include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis and membrane distillation. It also covers the integration into desalination systems of potential renewable energy resources, including solar energy, wind and geothermal energy. Such systems are increasingly attractive in the Middle East and Africa, areas suffering from shortages of fresh water but where solar energy is plentiful and where operational and maintenance costs are low. The advantages and disadvantages, including the economic and environmental aspects, of these desalination systems are presented.
194 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared different desalination technologies and compared their performance in terms of input and output water quality, amount of energy required, environmental impact and cost, and found that adsorption desalinization is a promising method for desalinating seawater due to its low running cost and low environmental impact as it uses waste energy resources.
176 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) in conjunction with RO, in a system called RO-PRO desalination, to reduce the energy requirement of seawater RO desalification.
167 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the use of electrodialysis to desalinate produced waters from shale formations in order to facilitate water reuse in subsequent hydraulic fracturing processes is proposed, where the authors focus on establishing the energy and equipment size required for the desalination of feed waters containing total dissolved solids of up to 192,000ppm.
141 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the technical and economic considerations of coupling a NuScale plant to a variety of different desalination technologies, including reverse osmosis, thermal distillation and hybrid plant configurations.
139 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an energy recovery Pelton turbine is integrated with the desalination plant, and the effects of the system components irreversibilities on the economics and cost of product water are parametrically studied through the thermoeconomic analysis.
121 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an integrated solar-driven desalination system that uses membrane distillation process to produce potable water was developed, which utilizes solar energy for its operation by combining solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal collectors.
119 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the recent approaches and limitations of both microbial desalination cell (MDC) and reverse osmosis (RO) technologies is presented to highlight the near-future application of MDC integration with RO operation.
Abstract: The combined negative effect of both fresh water shortage and energy depletion has encouraged the research to move forward to explore effective solutions for water desalination with less energy consumption. Reverse osmosis (RO), the most common technology for desalination today, uses much less energy than thermal processes. Several modifications and improvements have been made to RO during the last four decades in order to minimize energy consumption, and the process is now near thermodynamic limits. To further reduce energy requirements for desalination, other approaches are needed. A microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a recent technology that could be used as an alternative to RO. An MDC uses electrical current, produced by electrochemically active bacteria, to concurrently generate bioenergy, treat wastewater, and desalinate water. In an attempt to answer the question of whether this emerging technology has the ability to stand alone as an efficient replacement for RO, or it is best if used as an RO pre-treatment setup, this review addresses the recent approaches and limitations of both MDC and RO technologies in order to highlight the near-future application of MDC integration with RO operation.
119 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the integration of solar and geothermal energy in a novel poly-generation system producing simultaneously: electricity, thermal energy, cooling energy and fresh water was investigated, where the system was dynamically simulated by means of a zero-dimensional transient simulation model.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper showed that seawater desalination can increase the total water supply and is an important component in addressing water shortage issues in China, especially within Chinese coastal areas.
TL;DR: In this paper, a consortium consisting of ConocoPhillips Global Water Sustainability Center, Qatar University, and Qatar Electricity & Water Company was formed to evaluate the application of Membrane Distillation (MD) for the desalination of concentrated brines from thermal plants.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the impact of desalination in a combination with pump storage that utilizes the produced brine on the penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources in an energy system.
TL;DR: In this article, a short review of desalination in Greece is made, which summarizes the current status in southeastern Greece (e.g., Aegean islands and Crete), and investigates the possibility of producing desalinated water from brackish water.
Abstract: Beyond doubt, desalination is growing rapidly worldwide. However, there are still obstacles to its wider implementation and acceptance such as: (a) high costs and energy use for fresh water production; (b) environmental impacts from concentrate disposal; (c) a complex, convoluted and time-consuming project permitting process; and (d) limited public understanding of the role, importance, benefits and environmental challenges of desalination. In this paper, a short review of desalination in Greece is being made. Data on the cost of desalination shows a decrease in the future and the potential of water desalination in Greece. The paper summarizes the current status in southeastern Greece (e.g., Aegean islands and Crete), and investigates the possibility of production of desalinated water from brackish water.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the relationship between energy and desalinated water and its evolution in the islands over the past 50 years, examining the trends in energy efficiency and the technological changes in the desalination systems, which also explains the predominance of reverse osmosis plants in the current scenario.
Abstract: Faced with the challenge of meeting high water and energy demands with no conventional energy resources and a lack of potable water, the Canary Islands have been using desalination plants for nearly 50 years. The first desalination plant in Europe was installed in 1964 in Lanzarote. Today, desalination capacity in the islands stands at over 600,000 m3/d (covering 55% of water demand). Powering the plants consumes nearly 12% of total electricity demand at a cost of over 200 million Euros yearly. Though desalination continues to be the main way of meeting water demand, its major drawback is the strong dependence on conventional energy. The islands have always looked for reducing the energy consumption in desalination processes. This paper describes the relationship between energy and desalinated water and its evolution in the islands over the past 50 years, examining the trends in energy efficiency and the technological changes in the desalination systems, which also explains the predominance of reverse osmosis plants in the current scenario. A series of case studies describe various challenging desalination projects (including operating data) that have been installed in the Canary Islands.
TL;DR: Forward Osmosis (FO) has been established as a promising solution for treatment and desalination of complex industrial streams, and especially for O&G exploration and production wastewaters as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Treatment and reuse of oil and gas (O&G) production wastewater in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner is critical for sustainable industrial development and for meeting stringent regulations. High salinity, free and emulsified hydrocarbons, silts and clays released from producing formations, and process additives common in O&G drilling wastewater render many conventional treatment technologies ineffective. Forward osmosis (FO) has been established as a promising solution for treatment and desalination of complex industrial streams, and especially for O&G exploration and production wastewaters. FO has achieved up to 85% water recovery from O&G wastewaters and can concentrate feed streams to greater than 150,000 mg/L total dissolved solids. FO can be operated as a stand-alone technology with minimal pretreatment of the feed or can be coupled with other advanced processes such as reverse osmosis (RO). FO minimizes O&G wastewater disposal and can produce clean water for beneficial reuse. Recent developments in membrane fabrication, system configurations, and draw solutions are briefly reviewed. Expanded Summary
TL;DR: Dutta et al. as mentioned in this paper analyzed the system dynamics of a 4-bed single-stage silica-gel plus water based adaption system, which is an emerging process of thermal desalination cum refrigeration capable of utilizing low grade heat easily obtainable from even nonconcentrating type solar collectors.
TL;DR: In this article, the potentials and problems faced by current seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) industries and essential study areas are discussed in this review for the benefit of desalination industry.
Abstract: Seawater desalination has significantly developed towards membrane technology than phase change process during last decade. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) in general is the most familiar process due to higher water recovery and lower energy consumption compared to other available desalination processes. Despite major advancements in SWRO technology, desalination industry is still facing significant amount of practical issues. Therefore, the potentials and problems faced by current SWRO industries and essential study areas are discussed in this review for the benefit of desalination industry. It is important to consider all the following five components in SWRO process i.e. (1) intake (2) pre-treatment (3) high pressure pumping (4) membrane separation (performance of membranes and brine disposal) and (5) product quality. Development of higher corrosion resistant piping materials or coating materials, valves, and pumps is believed to be in higher research demand. Furthermore, brine management, that includes brine disposal and resource recovery need further attention. Pre-treatment sludge management and reduced cleaning in place flush volume will reduce the capital costs associated with evaporation ponds and the maintenance costs associated with disposal and transportation reducing the unit cost of water.
TL;DR: In this paper, a new combined cogeneration system for producing electrical power and pure water is proposed and analyzed from the viewpoints of thermodynamics and economics, which consists of a Kalina cycle, a LiBr/H2O heat transformer and a water purification system.
Abstract: A new combined cogeneration system for producing electrical power and pure water is proposed and analyzed from the viewpoints of thermodynamics and economics. The system uses geothermal energy as a heat source and consists of a Kalina cycle, a LiBr/H2O heat transformer and a water purification system. A parametric study is carried out in order to investigate the effects on system performance of the turbine inlet pressure and the evaporator exit temperature. For the proposed system, the first and second law efficiencies are found to be in the ranges of 16%–18.2% and 61.9%–69.1%, respectively. For a geothermal water stream with a mass flow rate of 89 kg/s and a temperature of 124 °C, the maximum production rate for pure water is found to be 0.367 kg/s.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that it is possible to reach process temperatures over 100°C, through the use of solar ponds and heat transformers, in order to produce desalinated water.
TL;DR: In this paper, an exergo-environmental analysis of a reverse osmosis desalination plant in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) has been performed using real plant operation data.
TL;DR: In this paper, two types of energy recovery devices are generally considered in the brackish water RO desalination, turbocharger and isobaric energy recovery device are considered.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed one of the most promising technologies, humidification-dehumidification (HDH) desalination powered by solar energy, and investigated different types of HDH cycle design and its constituents (humidifier, solar heaters, and dehumidifiers) have been investigated.
Abstract: Water and energy are two of the most important topics on the international environment and development agenda. The social and economic health of the modern world depends on sustainable supply of both energy and water. Many areas worldwide that suffer from fresh water shortage are increasingly dependent on desalination as a highly reliable and nonconventional source of fresh water. So, desalination market has greatly expanded in recent decades and expected to continue in the coming years. In the developing world, water scarcity led to the pressing need to develop inexpensive, decentralized small-scale desalination technologies that use renewable resources of energy. This study reviews one of the most promising of these technologies, humidification–dehumidification (HDH) desalination powered by solar energy. The different types of HDH cycle design and its constituents (humidifier, solar heaters, and dehumidifiers) have been investigated. The review also includes water sources, demand, availability o...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated a Jordanian energy scenario with two different desalination technologies; reverse osmosis (RO) driven by electricity and multi stage flash (MSF) desalification driven by Cogeneration of Heat and Power (CHP).
Abstract: Climate change mitigation calls for energy systems minimising end-use demands, optimising the fuel efficiency of conversion systems, increasing the use of renewable energy sources and exploiting synergies wherever possible. In parallel, global fresh water resources are strained due to amongst others population and wealth increase and competitive water uses from agriculture and industry is causing many nations to turn to desalination technologies. This article investigates a Jordanian energy scenario with two different desalination technologies; reverse osmosis (RO) driven by electricity and Multi Stage Flash (MSF) desalination driven by Cogeneration of Heat and Power (CHP). The two systems impact the energy systems in different ways due to the technologies’ particular characteristics. The systems are analyses in the energy systems analysis model EnergyPLAN to determine the impacts on energy system performance. Results indicate that RO and MSF are similar in fuel use. While there is no use of waste heat from condensing mode plants, efficiencies for CHP and MSF are not sufficiently good to results in lower fuel usage than RO. The Jordanian energy system is somewhat inflexible giving cause to Critical Excess Electricity Production (CEEP) even at relatively modest wind power penetrations. Here RO assists the energy system in decreasing CEEP – and even more if water storage is applied.
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the current solar thermal desalination research activities with systems production in the range of 10-150 liter/day for remote or arid regions is presented.
Abstract: This paper reviews the current solar thermal desalination research activities with systems production in the range of 10–150 liter/day for remote or arid regions. A comparative study between different sustainable efforts in such solar thermal desalination systems as well as economics has been done. Throughout the review, the results indicated that most of the reviewed systems are in research stage and have not clear economical feasibility such as the price per cubic meter of water which may stimulates the decision-maker to direct these studies into the actual commercial applications. Also, the review showed that although many developed systems have several novel and valuable features, more efforts are required to further investigate more efficient, economical, and applicable solar thermal energy-driven desalination systems. Small production systems as solar stills and HDH can be used if fresh water demand is low and the land are available at low cost. The economical analyses carried out so far hav...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a geographically-resolved performance and economic method that estimates the energy requirements and profitability of an integrated wind-powered reverse osmosis facility treating brackish groundwater.
Abstract: Growing populations and periodic drought conditions have exacerbated water stress in many areas worldwide. In response, some municipalities have considered desalination of saline water as a freshwater supply. Unfortunately, desalination requires a sizeable energy investment. However, renewable energy technologies can be paired with desalination to mitigate concern over the environmental impacts of increased energy use. At the same time, desalination can be operated in an intermittent way to match the variable availability of renewable resources. Integrating wind power and brackish groundwater desalination generates a high-value product (drinking water) from low-value resources (saline water and wind power without storage). This paper presents a geographically-resolved performance and economic method that estimates the energy requirements and profitability of an integrated wind-powered reverse osmosis facility treating brackish groundwater. It is based on a model that incorporates prevailing natural and market conditions such as average wind speeds, total dissolved solids content, brackish well depth, desalination treatment capacity, capital and operation costs of wind and desalination facilities, brine disposal costs, and electricity and water prices into its calculation. The model is illustrated using conditions in Texas (where there are counties with significant co-location of wind
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented an experimental comparison between two small-scale sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) units equipped with different energy recovery devices in order to lower the specific energy consumption.
Abstract: Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination constitutes a successful technology for covering local fresh water supply shortage in many areas of the world and especially in isolated areas such as islands and coastal regions. SWRO units can be combined with renewable energy (RE) technologies such as photovoltaic and wind generators. Small-scale SWRO units combined with energy recovery devices can decrease drastically the energy consumption of the SWRO units. Furthermore, it is proven that the operation of a desalination unit in part-load conditions can result in lower specific energy consumption compared to continuous full-load operation. This paper presents an experimental comparison between two small-scale SWRO units equipped with different energy recovery devices in order to lower the specific energy consumption. The first SWRO unit consists of a hydraulic energy recovery device of the Clark pump type which plays also the role of the high-pressure pump in a conventional reverse osmosis unit. Th...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed various technologies under investigation to desalinate saline water through humidification dehumidification (HD) of air and using solar thermal energy, and a particular emphasis was put on the various types of solar water heaters as well as the various designs of solar air heaters.
TL;DR: In this paper, a hybrid arrangement of counterflow electrodialysis (ED) with reverse osmosis is presented to concentrate a saline feed at 120 ppt. The system is considered from the perspective of efficiency, membrane productivity and the levelised cost of water, with emphasis on the optimisation of current density.
Abstract: The demand is rising for desalination technologies to treat highly saline brines arising from hydraulic fracturing processes and inland desalination. Interest is growing in the use of electrical desalination technologies for this application. The hybridization of electrodialysis (ED) with reverse osmosis (RO) allows high salinities (beyond the range of RO alone) to be reached while avoiding the operation of ED with a low conductivity diluate stream. Such hybrid systems have been experimentally investigated for concentrates from brackish and seawater desalination. However, progress is required in the modelling and optimization of hybrid systems at higher concentrations. A novel hybrid arrangement of counterflow ED systems with reverse osmosis is presented to concentrate a saline feed at 120 ppt. The system is considered from the perspective of efficiency, membrane productivity and the levelised cost of water, with emphasis on the optimisation of current density. In contrast to brackish ED systems, ...