Facultative hybrid RO-PRO concept to improve economic performance of PRO: Feasibility and maximizing efficiency

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19 Scopus citations

Abstract

A facultative hybrid reverse osmosis (RO) – pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) system can switch its operation between i) RO mode, where high quality water is produced from waste-water treatment plant effluent and ii) PRO mode, where the salinity difference between seawater desalination brine and wastewater is converted to energy. This system takes advantage of fluctuating energy pricing, by consuming low cost energy to produce water and producing high value energy. The system was modeled by a local concentration polarization and solution diffusion model, considering several geometries. The system was optimized and for different ratios of the economic value of electricity vs water, to find process settings and switch points. A necessary condition for the feasibility of the facultative hybrid RO-PRO concept is that the permeate value satisfies: i) low enough, to justify electricity production and ii) high enough, to justify water production. With a maximum energy price of 0.25 USD/kWh, the first condition translates into
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)114268
JournalDesalination
Volume478
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 24 2019

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01

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