Search results for " Brine"

Circular approach for the valorisation of industrial waste heat and industrial effluents

2021

Performance analysis of the first Reverse Electrodialysis prototype plant operating with natural brackish water and salt pond brine

2014

Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) has gained a strong interest among the salinity gradient energy technologies during the last years. Recently, notable improvements have been reached in terms of membranes and stack performances using artificial solutions. However, the use of real saline solutions strongly affects the process performance, requiring additional R&D efforts for a successful scale-up of such technology. This work focuses on the experimental campaign performed on the first RED prototype plant fed with real brackish water and saltworks brine. The plant is located within the Ettore e Infersa saltworks in Marsala (TP, South of Italy). It is the final accomplishment of the REAPower proje…

Towards sustainable production of minerals and chemicals through seawater brine treatment using Eutectic freeze crystallization and Electrodialysis w…

2022

European policy encourages the adoption of sustainable systems that promote the efficient use and recovery of minerals and chemicals. In this respect, desalination brines do contain a dramatic amount of valuable minerals and can be valorized through appropriate treatments rather than releasing them into the environment. This paper proposes an innovative brine recovery system for obtaining high purity chemicals through the integration of Eutectic Freeze Crystallization (EFC) and Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membrane (EDBM) technologies. Two separate laboratory-scale experimental campaigns were carried out to validate the potential integration of the two processes. Mirabilite (Na2SO4∙10H2O) h…

A simulation tool for analysis and design of reverse electrodialysis using concentrated brines

2015

Abstract Reverse electrodialysis (SGP-RE or RED) represents a viable technology for the conversion of the salinity gradient power into electric power. A comprehensive model is proposed for the RED process using sea or brackish water and concentrated brine as feed solutions. The goals were (i) reliably describing the physical phenomena involved in the process and (ii) providing information for optimal equipment design. For such purposes, the model has been developed at two different scales of description: a lower scale for the repeating unit of the system (cell pair), and a higher scale for the entire equipment (stack). The model was implemented in a process simulator, validated against orig…

Valorisation of SWRO brines in a remote island through a circular approach: Techno-economic analysis and perspectives

2022

Nowadays, small remote islands rely heavily on desalination technologies to overcome freshwater scarcity. Unfortunately, these technologies are accompanied by the production of brines which can affect the receiving water bodies i.e., the aquatic ecosystem. Yet, it is extremely appealing how such brines constitute an abundant source of valuable raw materials (such as magnesium). In this work, a novel hybrid system is introduced to capture the value of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) brines produced in the minor Sicilian island of Pantelleria. The “Minimal Liquid Discharge” (MLD) process consists of: (i) Nanofiltration NF (separation of bivalent from monovalent ions), (ii) Mg Reactive Crystal…

Influence of Operational Strategies for the Recovery of Magnesium Hydroxide from Brines at a Pilot Scale

2022

The continuous depletion of minerals caused by land mining and the increase in their demand have pushed the development of novel sustainable technological processes for mineral recovery from unconventional sources. In this context, magnesium (Mg) has gained considerable attention for its peculiar properties and high relevance of its compounds, such as magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. In the present work, the influence of several operating conditions on the Mg(OH)2 precipitation process was thoroughly investigated by adopting a novel multiple feed-plug flow reactor. The influence of (i) initial Mg2+ concentrations in the feed stream; (ii) brine and alkaline flow rates; and (iii) the product rec…

Performance of the first reverse electrodialysis pilot plant for power production from saline waters and concentrated brines

2016

Abstract This work reports experimental data collected for the first time on a full-scale RED pilot plant operated with natural streams in a real environment. The plant – located in the South of Italy – represents the final accomplishment of the REAPower project ( www.reapower.eu ). A RED unit equipped with almost 50 m2 of IEMs (125 cell pairs, 44x44 cm2) was tested, using both artificial and natural feed solutions, these latter corresponding to brackish water (≈0.03 M NaClequivalent) and saturated brine (4–5 M NaClequivalent). A power output up to around 40 W (i.e. 1.6 W/m2 of cell pair) was reached using natural solutions, while an increase of 60% was observed when testing the system with…

Investigation on magnesium hydroxide recovery from real bitterns

2022

Desalination effluents and the establishment of the non-indigenous skeleton shrimp Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890 in the south -eastern Mediterrane…

2019

A decade long monitoring programme has revealed a flourishing population of the non-indigenous skeleton shrimp Paracaprella pusilla in the vicinity of outfalls of desalination plants off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The first specimens were collected in 2010, thus predating all previously published records of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. A decade-long disturbance regime related to the construction and operation of the plants may have had a critical role in driving the population growth. University of Palermo FFR 2018

Effective magnesium recovery via seawater brines mining

In the last couple of decades, a rising interest has been focused on the research of novel and unconventional sources for mining minerals, such as industrial waste brines. As an example, brines are produced by desalination plants and discharged directly, or after being treated, into receiving water bodies possibly causing environmental concerns and renouncing the possibility to recover minerals [1,2]. Within this framework, the Water Mining WU-H2020 project aims at implementing an advanced Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) demo systems for the extraction of minerals and valuables products from industrial waste brines through a circular approach. The ZLD demo plant consists of: (i) Nano Filtration…