Design of an Energy Recovery Concept for a Small-scale Renewable-driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination System
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Abstract
The desalination industry has grown exponentially the last four decades as countries seek solutions to water scarcity caused by population growth, climate change, pollution and industrial development. All source water types included, reverse osmosis is the prevalent desalination process, accounting for more than half of the global capacity. The energy demand of reverse osmosis systems can be significantly reduced by using energy recovery. Autonomous renewable-driven reverse osmosis desalination systems set additional constraints on the required energy recovery device. This thesis aims design an efficient energy recovery concept for a small-scale autonomous renewable-driven reverse osmosis desalination system. In this context, the energy recovery technologies currently available are analyzed based on their characteristics. The constraints defined by the examined renewable-driven reverse osmosis desalination system are described and the energy recovery technologies that meet these requirements are listed. Five energy recovery concepts that rely on these technologies and apply for the examined RO system are designed. Based on the criteria set, the energy recovery concepts are evaluated. Their evaluation revealed the most applicable energy recovery concept for the examined desalination system.