Pilot plant demonstration of energy reduction for RO seawater desalination through a recovery increase

Seung Hyun Kim, Sang Hyup Lee, Jong Sup Yoon, Seong Yong Moon, Cho Hee Yoon

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Energy reduction through a recovery increase was demonstrated for RO seawater desalination using a pilot plant (5 m3/h). Energy reduction was possible through a recovery increase. Based on the relationship developed in this study, a recovery increase from 30% to 50% reduced energy consumption by half from 10 kWh/m3 to 5 kWh/m3. Achieving the target recovery of 50% depended upon such parameters as temperature, salinity, and operating pressure. The target recovery was possible when seawater temperature was higher than 24°C under the study conditions. When the temperature was low and salinity was high, the target recovery was never achieved. Low seawater temperature together with high salinity required excessive operating pressure (73 bar) for the pilot plant to achieve the target recovery, which led to damage of the RO membranes. Subsequently, the target recovery could not be attained and TDS leakage occurred. Temperature was found important for recovery. The linear relationship between recovery and seawater temperature predicted that recovery could increase by almost twice the temperature, which is more than what is expected from the viscosity effect. Based on the relationship developed, the maximum salinity that this pilot plant could achieve as the target recovery was 33‰. As expected, the pilot plant was effective in turbidity removal as well as in red-tide removal.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)153-159
    Number of pages7
    JournalDesalination
    Volume203
    Issue number1-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007 Feb 5

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This study was financially supported by CRERC (Coastal Resource and Environment Research Center) and Kolon Construction Co. The authors appreciate Dr. Jimbo for supplying the membranes for the study.

    Keywords

    • Energy reduction
    • Recovery increase
    • Reverse osmosis
    • Salinity
    • Seawater temperature

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • General Chemical Engineering
    • General Materials Science
    • Water Science and Technology
    • Mechanical Engineering

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Pilot plant demonstration of energy reduction for RO seawater desalination through a recovery increase'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this