Advanced Technologies for Stabilization and High Performance of Seawater RO Membrane Desalination Plants

Abstract

Seawater desalination plants that use reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have become a core part of social infrastructure, and should be designed to meet the needs of product water quality and production capacity, while considering various environmental factors such as the seawater quality, temperature and geographical features. Furthermore, stable operation while overcoming various problems should be achieved alongside the increasing demands for energy saving and cost reduction. As no universal plant apparatus and operation technology meets these various requirements, the plants need to be customized for individual solutions. This paper reviews and summarizes the proven technologies, including their advantages/disadvantages, and points to cutting-edge technologies related to the design and operation maintenance of seawater intake, pre-treatment and the RO desalination process.

Desalination Technology in South Korea: A Comprehensive Review of Technology Trends and Future Outlook

“…Currently, the specific energy consumption (SEC) of RO seawater desalination, 3.5-4.5 kWh/m 3 [16], is significantly lower than that of thermal desalination technology such as multi-stage flash (MSF; 13.5-25.5 kWh/m 3 ) and multi-effect distillation (MED; 6.5-11 kWh/m 3 ) [13]. As a result, RO desalination (51% of new seawater desalination capacity in 2001) increased to 75% in 2003 and has continued to increase ever since [14,17]. Because the water shortage problem in South Korea has not been serious, South Korean companies are paying more attention to the global desalination market.…”

“…In addition, the continuous innovation and improvement of SWRO membranes and plant technologies led to the steady growth in both the number and capacity of RO plants. Since 2000, almost all new desalination plants with a production capacity of over 100,000 m 3 /day worldwide were SWRO desalination plants [17]. The current production of desalinated water from SWRO is 65.5 million m 3 /day, accounting for 69% of the desalinated water production [27].…”

“…LG Chem entered the RO membrane field in 2014 by acquiring an American startup, Na-noH2O (Torrance, USA). Currently, Toray (Tokyo, Japan), DuPont (Wilington, USA) (formerly Dow), Hydranautics (Nitto Group Company) (Oceanside, USA), and LG Chem occupy more than 90% of the PAT RO membranes market [17].…”

Analysis of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membranes Fabricated for Membrane Distillation

“…One of the technologies that alleviate this problem is desalination of seawater, brackish water, or wastewater [3,4]. Since desalination technique does not rely on freshwater resources, it can provide ongoing water supply by utilizing alternative water sources [5]. This is the key driver that makes the widespread adoption of desalination technology over the past decades [6][7][8].…”

Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination

“…In this Special Issue, H. Takabatake et al [5] present a comprehensive review of advanced technologies for the stabilization and high performance of a seawater RO membrane plant. This review presents the basic history of SWRO membrane development, typical type of seawater intake, and pre-treatment, including membrane biofilm formation rate (mBFR).…”