Search results for "water desalination"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Some intriguing items in the history of adsorption
1994
Abstract Clay was already used in antiquity as a drying and bleaching agent, a carrier for paints, and for various medical purposes. Sand was applied for water desalination. Charcoal was recommended as an antidote Based on Lowitz' discovery of the decolorizing effect in 1785, charcoal was used for the purification first of sugar. The patents of Ostrejko in 1900 opened the way for its industrial application. Already in the Bible we find the description of an adsorption experiment. The systematic research began 1773 when Scheele observed the adsorption of air by charcoal using a volumetric apparatus. The first adsorption measuring instruments were hygrometers as described by Nicholas of Cues …
A critical assessment of desalination operations in Sicily
2005
In this paper a brief history of desalination plants in Sicily is presented together with an in-depth description of processes and operating data, relevant to the plants actually operating on the island. 5 multi stage flash (MSF) units and one reverse osmosis (RO) plant are operating in Gela (total nominal production of about 80,000 m 3 /d), thus providing drinking water for more than 300,000 people living in the southern coast of the island. A thermal vapour compression multiple effect distillation (TVC-MED) plant (36,000 m 3 /d) is operating in Trapani and a small mechanical vapour compression (MVC) unit (5000 m 3 /d) is located in Porto Empedocle. In the oldest MSF units in Gela, several…
Analysis of the process of environmental impact assessment for seawater desalination plants in Spain
2014
Desalination generates drinking water and enhances the economic, social, and environmental development of many areas with few water resources, such as parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and southern Europe (such as Spain and Cyprus). Desalination plants may cause environmental impacts in coastal areas and so it is necessary to submit plans for new plants to a process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in order to achieve more environmentally viable projects, meaning: optimal locations; appropriately used systems and technologies; effective preventive, compensatory, and corrective measures; and social and environmental acceptance. This article contains a study of the process of en…
A novel 2D process model of electrodialysis units in cross-flow layout for the assessment of membrane deformation effects
2022
Energy assessment of a dish-Stirling system powering a reverse osmosis plant for seawater desalination
2022
Water scarcity in many regions of the world and the global demographic growth make the desalination of seawater and/or brackish an effective solution to meet the growing demand for freshwater. Nowadays, reverse osmosis has the largest share of the global installed desalination capacity. The impelling need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been pushing the search for sustainable technologies to produce the electricity needed to power reverse osmosis plants. Among solar technologies, little attention has been paid to the possibility of powering reverse osmosis with electricity from the dish-Stirling concentrator. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper assesses the energy-saving potential…
THE POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN SICILY FOR WATER DESALINATION APPLICATIONS
2007
CHARACTERIZATION OF HYDROPHOBIC POLYMERIC MEMBRANES FOR MEMBRANE DISTILLATION PROCESS
2010
Hydrophobic microporous membranes are utilized in membrane distillation (MD) processes, e.g. seawater desalination at moderate temperatures. The vapour permeability of commercial hydrophobic membranes with different pore sizes (0.2-1 micron) was characterized through a simple apparatus designed-on-purpose. A cylindrical vessel had a face closed by the membrane and the other connected to a thin graduate tube. The water level variation in the tube is recorded and related to the vapour flux across the membrane. Measurements were taken in the temperature range 20-80°C. A fan tangential to membrane surface was employed to maintain a constant driving force for vapour transport. Vapour flux did no…
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…
Electrodialysis for water desalination: A critical assessment of recent developments on process fundamentals, models and applications
2018
Abstract The need for unconventional sources of fresh water is pushing a fast development of desalination technologies, which proved to be able to face and solve the problem of water scarcity in many dry areas of the planet. Membrane desalination technologies are nowadays leading the market and, among these, electrodialysis (ED) plays an important role, especially for brackish water desalination, thanks to its robustness, extreme flexibility and broad range of applications. In fact, many ED-related processes have been presented, based on the use of Ion Exchange Membranes (IEMs), which are significantly boosting the development of ED-related technologies. This paper presents the fundamentals…
Seawater Desalination for Freshwater Production
2009
In the last decades more and more countries have experienced water scarcity problems, thus pointing at alternative non-conventional sources of fresh water. Seawater desalination has proven to be a reliable and economically sustainable water resource since the second half of the 20th Century. A number of well proven technologies already exist, with advantages and disadvantages making each of them more suitable in specific sites. Moreover, quite recently, coupling the use of renewable energy to the production of fresh water from seawater results in novel technologies, able to minimise the environmental impact that desalination processes can create due to their intense energy consumptions.