Simulation of a horizontal axis tidal turbine for direct driven reverse-osmosis desalination

Conference paper (2019)

Authors

F. Greco Offshore Engineering - CEG
A. Jarquin Laguna Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Research Group
Offshore Engineering (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2019 F. Greco, A. Jarquin Laguna
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Published Date

2019

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Hydraulic Engineering

Research Group

Offshore Engineering

Abstract

Desalination of seawater from renewable energy sources is without doubt an appealing solution to face water scarcity issues in coastal areas. In particular, tidal energy technologies offer high potential to be integrated with existing desalination technologies. This paper contributes to the idea of using a horizontal axis tidal turbine for direct driven reverse-osmosis seawater desalination without intermediate electrical power conversion. In combination with a positive displacement pump and RO membranes, a back-pressure valve is employed at the brine exit to induce a suitable pressure in the system while keeping a variable speed operation of the rotor. A time-domain numerical model is used to simulate and compare the dynamic response of a passive and an active controlled valve configuration. Intermediate results are given for a 300 kW system under turbulent current conditions.