Search results for " osmosis"
showing 7 items of 37 documents
Modelling and cost analysis of hybrid systems for seawater desalination: Electromembrane pre-treatments for Reverse Osmosis
2019
Abstract The need to reduce energy consumption in seawater Reverse Osmosis (RO) process has pushed research towards the development of new hybrid systems in which, for example, other membrane processes can be used to pre-treat seawater. Electrodialysis (ED) and Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) can act as a pre-desalting step before seawater enters the RO unit, thus leading to an important energy saving in RO. In this work, two coupled models are proposed for the RED-RO and ED-RO systems. Each process model was validated. Then a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the effect of the integration on the overall process cost saving. The analysis was performed by changing ED or RED voltage …
Modelling hybrid systems for seawater desalination: electromembrane processes (RED, ARED and ED) coupled with RO
2018
The need to reduce energy consumption in seawater reverse osmosis processes has pushed research towards the development of new hybrid systems in which, for example, other membrane processes can be used to pre-treat seawater. Electrodialysis and reverse electrodialysis can act as a dilution step before seawater enters the RO unit, thus leading to an important energy saving in RO. In this work, two coupled models are proposed for the RED-RO and ED-RO system. Each process model was validated before being used for a sensitivity analysis in which the effect of the integration on the cost saving in the overall process was assessed. The analysis was performed by changing (R)ED voltage and RO press…
Coupling sustainable energy with membrane distillation processes for seawater desalination
2010
Desalination technologies nowadays is a very interesting and emerging alternative to conventional water sources; their high energy consumption, however, generates some problems in adopting them, especially in remote areas where electric grid is not available and fuel transportation is not always sustainable. In this paper a short overview of possible couplings between the membrane distillation technology for desalination and the use of sustainable thermal energy sources is presented. Two case studies of ongoing research projects at Universita di Palermo are also presented.
Regeneration units for thermolytic salts applications in water & power production: State of the art, experimental and modelling assessment
2021
Abstract Thermolytic solutions are often proposed as high salinity or “draw” stream to generate a chemical potential driving force in Salinity Gradient Power (SGP) and Forward Osmosis (FO) technologies. Depleted “draw” solutions exiting the process can be regenerated by a thermal process powered at very-low grade heat, which is able to decompose the salt into gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide, which can be stripped and then reabsorbed in the draw solution, restoring its initial concentration. In this work, two different experimental prototypes for the regeneration of ammonium bicarbonate aqueous solution were designed, built and tested. The effect of several operating parameters on the reg…
Membrane distillation heat transfer enhancement by CFD analysis of internal module geometry
2011
Module geometry optimisation can be a crucial matter in all separation processes using selective or hydrophobic membranes, e.g. reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD). In fact the choice of suitable channel shape and size can dramatically affect the performance of the process. With reference to the membrane distillation process, temperature polarization phenomena and pres¬sure drops along the channels largely affect the process efficiency (i.e. the efficient use of temperature driving force for the passage of vapour through the membrane) as well as pressure distribution, module mechanical resistance and pumping costs. Several works have been presented so far in literature on th…
Salt extraction regeneration technologies
2022
Abstract A salinity gradient power heat engine is a novel sustainable technology for the conversion of low-grade waste heat (T This chapter presents an overview of the main regeneration technologies based on the “salt extraction strategy” reported in the literature. A salt extraction regeneration unit takes advantage of the property of specific chemical compounds to shift from a soluble form to separable species in solution allowing the salt transfer between the exhausted solutions and aiding their regeneration. The regeneration processes reported here are classified into (i) switchable solubility salts and (ii) thermolytic salts. The first class includes compounds characterized by thermal…
Composite membranes of aromatic-polyamide for desalination: Membrane preparation and characterization.
1987
A new reverse osmosis composite membrane composed of the following aromatic polymer was estudied. Composite membranes were successfully prepared from PTDS by the conventional phase-inversion method. A typical example of the basic membrane performances is as follows; water flux, 440 1/m2 day and salt rejection, 97.7% determined under the pressure of 40 atm., using 0.1% NaCl solution at 25 °C. The PTDS membrane was characterized by its excellent chemical and thermal resistances, especially against acid, alkali and oxidative atmospheres. These features suggest that the PTDS membrane is a promising candidate for water desalination.