Process analysis of the novel Flash-ME desalination process driven by low-grade thermal energy

Barba, D.; Capocelli, Mauro

doi:10.1016/j.cherd.2022.11.052

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The key performance parameters by which to analyze a thermal separation process that are commonly adopted in the literature are defined below [4,10,[14][15][16][17][18]. Commonly, the efficiency of HDH systems is evaluated determining the GOR and the performance ratio (PR) as defined by Equations ( 1) and ( 2), respectively.…”

Section: Fundamentals Of Hdh System Enhancementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, only a small percentage of total water production is linked to renewable and low-grade energy; the most used methods are based on reverse osmosis desalination connected to the electricity grid and, hence, responsible on average for 3-5 kg CO2 m −3 of water produced [3]. The development of renewable and low-grade energy desalination is a key pathway to building a sustainable water management system [4]. The availability of solar energy or waste heat sources is a marginally explored sector for water desalination technologies [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enhanced Humidification–Dehumidification (HDH) Systems for Sustainable Water Desalination

Luberti,

Capocelli

2023

Energies

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Water scarcity is a pressing global issue driving the need for efficient and sustainable water reuse and desalination technologies. In the last two decades, humidification–dehumidification (HDH) has emerged as a promising method for small-scale and decentralized systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent scientific literature highlighting key advancements, challenges, and potential future directions of HDH research. Because the HDH process suffers from low heat and mass transfer, as well as thermodynamic limitations due to the mild operating conditions, this work indicates three main strategies for HDH enhancement: (1) Advanced Heat and Mass Transfer Techniques, (2) Integration with Other Technologies, and (3) Optimization of System Operative Conditions. Particularly for advanced HDH systems, the reference GOR values exceed 3, and certain studies have demonstrated the potential to achieve even higher values, approaching 10. In terms of recovery ratio, there appear to be no significant process constraints, as recycling the brine prepared in innovative schemes can surpass values of 50%. Considering electricity costs, the reference range falls between 1 and 3 kWh m–3. Notably, multi-stage processes and system couplings can lead to increased pressure drops and, consequently, higher electricity costs. Although consistent data are lacking, a baseline SEC reference value is approximately 360 kJ kg–1, corresponding to 100 kWh m–3. For comparable SEC data, it is advisable to incorporate both thermal and electric inputs, using a reference power plant efficiency of 0.4 in converting thermal duty to electrical power. When considering the utilization of low-temperature solar and waste heat, the proposed exergy-based comparison of the process is vital; this perspective reveals that a low-carbon HDH desalination domain, with II-law efficiencies surpassing 0.10, can be achieved.

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Section: Fundamentals Of Hdh System Enhancementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Humidification–Dehumidification (HDH) Systems for Sustainable Water Desalination

Luberti,

Capocelli

2023

Energies

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“…To improve the energetic performance of the conventional MED, process intensification has played a crucial role by using auxiliary units − along with heat integration. , Among various auxiliary systems, the use of a steam jet ejector and vapor compressor in the form of thermal vapour compression (TVC) − and mechanical vapor compression (MVC), , respectively, are widely reported. Although MED-MVC holds the potential to attain higher heat recovery over MED-TVC, the former approach has not yet received reasonable research attention mainly because of the operational complexity and cost of MVC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

Mukherjee,

Mondal,

Jana

2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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This work proposes a carbon-neutral desalination process. For this, at first a rigorous theoretical framework for multieffect desalination coupled with a thermal vapor compressor (MED-TVC) is developed to validate with the data set of a plant operated in Libya and to show the outperformance over an existing model. A mechanical vapor compressor (MVC) is proposed to integrate with MED, and the hot brine and distillate withdrawn from that MED are employed for feed preheating. A multiobjective genetic algorithm -based optimizer is formulated with three conflicting objectives, namely, productivity, CO 2 emission, and production cost that includes carbon tax. The proposed MED-MVC outperforms MED-TVC in terms of all of those performance metrics. Subsequently, we move to transform this MED-MVC process to a carbon-neutral unit by introducing solar energy to generate makeup steam and electricity. This innovative sustainable zeroemission desalination process secures higher productivity at a lower cost than the existing MED-TVC plant scenario.

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“…To enhance the thermal efficiency, process intensification can play a pivotal role . In this direction, MED is configured by integrating with steam boosters, cascading with extra stack of evaporators to improve heat extraction and by coupling it with MSF to recover low temperature thermal energy . Although these integrated MED configurations have shown improved performance in terms of productivity, the addition of external units invariably results in extra capital cost, thus increasing the overall cost of the resulting schemes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 In this direction, MED is configured by integrating with steam boosters, 14 cascading with extra stack of evaporators to improve heat extraction 15 with MSF to recover low temperature thermal energy. 16 Although these integrated MED configurations have shown improved performance in terms of productivity, the addition of external units invariably results in extra capital cost, thus increasing the overall cost of the resulting schemes. However, integration of MED with thermal vapor compressor (TVC) 17−19 and mechanical vapor compressor (MVC) 20,21 are well accepted and widely reported.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar-Driven Thermal and Mechanical Vapor Compressor Integrated Desalination System: Zero Emission, High Yield, and Cost Reduction

Mukherjee,

Jana

2024

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Water scarcity has become one of the top risks, along with global warming, primarily caused by increasing energy usage. The problem of desalinating water that is a highly energy intensive process gets intensified due to its complex water-energy nexus. Our key objective is to break this nexus by introducing a hybrid solar-thermal multieffect desalination system. More specifically, to unlock the thermodynamic limitation and acquire the benefits of both the thermal (TVC) and mechanical vapor compressor (MVC), an attempt is made to hybridize them for integration with the multieffect distillation (MED) that consequently enhances the yield of water. Ensuring globally optimal performance of this hybrid MED-TVC-MVC configuration, it is proposed to further integrate with a solar cell with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality at the cost of increased capital investment. Imposing a carbon tax is inevitable, and with adding this, we finally explore the techno-economic feasibility of the sustainable solar MED-TVC-MVC. This novel desalination system secures zero carbon emission with reduced freshwater production cost (FWPC) and enhanced recovery ratio with respect to the real-time MED-TVC plant.

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Process analysis of the novel Flash-ME desalination process driven by low-grade thermal energy

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Enhanced Humidification–Dehumidification (HDH) Systems for Sustainable Water Desalination

Enhanced Humidification–Dehumidification (HDH) Systems for Sustainable Water Desalination

A Carbon-Neutral Highly Productive Solar-Powered Desalination Process: Improving Economic Performance with Carbon Pricing

Solar-Driven Thermal and Mechanical Vapor Compressor Integrated Desalination System: Zero Emission, High Yield, and Cost Reduction

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