0000000000528848

AUTHOR

Joachim Koschikowski

Membrane distillation: Solar and waste heat driven demonstration plants for desalination

Abstract The development of small to medium size, autonomous and robust desalination units is needed to establish an independent water supply in remote areas. This is the motivation for research on alternative desalination processes. Membrane distillation (MD) seems to meet the specific requirements very well. This work is focused on experimental studies on full scale demonstration systems, utilizing a parallel multi MD-module setup. Three different plant concepts are introduced, one of them is waste heat driven and two of them are powered by solar thermal collectors. Design parameters and system design are presented. After the analysis of plant operation a comparison among the plants as we…

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Economic Benefits of Waste Pickling Solution Valorization

An integrated hybrid membrane process, composed of a diffusion dialysis (DD), a membrane distillation (MD) and a reactive precipitation unit (CSTR), is proposed as a promising solution for the valorization and onsite recycling of pickling waste streams. An economic analysis was performed aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of the developed process with a NPV of about EUR 40,000 and a DPBP of 4 years. The investment and operating costs, as well as the avoided costs and the benefits for the company operating the plant, were analyzed with an extensive cost tracking exercise and through face-to-face contact with manufacturers and sector leaders. A mathematical model was implemented using the …

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CFD simulation of a membrane distillation module channel

The interest towards the use of membrane distillation (MD) processes for seawater desalination has been rising recently due to the ease of coupling MD with waste and/or solar thermal energy. Notwithstanding the flexibility of the process and its potential for further developments in membrane performances, one of the main drawbacks is the thermal efficiency reduction caused by temperature polarization. Because of such phenomenon, only a small amount of the driving force potentially available for the separation process, i.e. the temperature difference between evaporating and condensing fluids, is actually used for the separation. In order to reduce temperature polarization a study on the effe…

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An integrated approach for the HCl and metals recovery from waste pickling solutions: pilot plant and design operations

Abstract Continuous regeneration of industrial pickling solutions and recovery of valuable materials are implemented in a pilot-scale plant including diffusion dialysis (DD), where HCl is recovered, membrane distillation (MD), where HCl is concentrated, and reactive precipitation (CSTR), where metal ions are recovered in different forms. The integration of the three processes allows to minimize waste streams generation and to accomplish a closed-loop process, thus increasing the environmental sustainability and economic impact of the galvanizing industry. Process reliability was proved through the operation of a demonstrator in the real industrial environment of the Tecnozinco SrL hot-dip g…

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AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR THE HCl AND METALS RECOVERY FROM WASTE PICKLING SOLUTIONS: PILOT PLANT DESIGN AND OPERATIONS

Pickling is one of the key steps in the hot-dip galvanizing process, where HCl solutions are largely used to remove metal oxides from metallic surfaces, thus generating spent waste liquors containing high concentrations of metals and acid. Disposal of the industrial pickling waste dramatically affects the hot-dip galvanizing industry economics and environmental footprint. Thus, reducing strong acid waste disposal is one of the most beneficial steps to enhance the process sustainability. Moreover, the continuous regeneration of pickling solutions enhances pickling rate and process performance, also minimizing industrial wastewater disposal and chemicals consumption promoting the circular use…

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