TY - JOUR
T1 - Integration of desalination and energy conversion in a thermo-osmotic system using low-grade heat
T2 - Performance analysis and techno-economic evaluation
AU - Xiao, Tingyu
AU - Lin, Zhizhong
AU - Liu, Chao
AU - Liu, Lang
AU - Li, Qibin
PY - 2023/3/25
Y1 - 2023/3/25
N2 - Freshwater and electricity cogeneration systems, using renewable energy sources, can play a crucial role at the water-energy nexus. By placing a hydrophobic, porous membrane between a hot saline water flow and a pres-surized cold freshwater flow, thermal-osmotic energy conversion and thermal-osmotic desalination can be implemented simultaneously. A novel open-loop freshwater and electricity cogeneration system is proposed and evaluated, which consists of a hydrophobic membrane module, a seawater pump, two heat exchangers, and a hydraulic turbine. In the base case designed for a daily freshwater production of 3.9 x 104 m3/day, the net power output is estimated to be 2.15 MWe and the energy efficiency of power generation is 0.24%. Considering the economic benefits brought by the electricity production, the water production cost is 0.36 $/m3 with a global average industrial electricity price of 0.11 $/kWh. Compared with the commercial reverse osmosis desalination technology, the desalination cost of the hybrid system is reduced by over 28%. The parameter analysis is carried out and reveals that optimizing membrane properties and operating conditions can greatly improve the energy efficiency and reduce the water production cost. Improving the liquid entry pressure and permeability coefficient and reducing the thermal conductivity of the membrane are the key to improving the application prospect of the system.© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
AB - Freshwater and electricity cogeneration systems, using renewable energy sources, can play a crucial role at the water-energy nexus. By placing a hydrophobic, porous membrane between a hot saline water flow and a pres-surized cold freshwater flow, thermal-osmotic energy conversion and thermal-osmotic desalination can be implemented simultaneously. A novel open-loop freshwater and electricity cogeneration system is proposed and evaluated, which consists of a hydrophobic membrane module, a seawater pump, two heat exchangers, and a hydraulic turbine. In the base case designed for a daily freshwater production of 3.9 x 104 m3/day, the net power output is estimated to be 2.15 MWe and the energy efficiency of power generation is 0.24%. Considering the economic benefits brought by the electricity production, the water production cost is 0.36 $/m3 with a global average industrial electricity price of 0.11 $/kWh. Compared with the commercial reverse osmosis desalination technology, the desalination cost of the hybrid system is reduced by over 28%. The parameter analysis is carried out and reveals that optimizing membrane properties and operating conditions can greatly improve the energy efficiency and reduce the water production cost. Improving the liquid entry pressure and permeability coefficient and reducing the thermal conductivity of the membrane are the key to improving the application prospect of the system.© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW - Desalination
KW - Electricity generation
KW - Thermal -osmotic system
KW - Low-grade heat utilization
KW - CONTACT MEMBRANE DISTILLATION
KW - MASS-TRANSFER
KW - PRESSURE
KW - EFFICIENCY
KW - COST
KW - TEMPERATURE
KW - CONSUMPTION
KW - TRANSPORT
KW - ENGINE
UR - http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS&KeyUT=000923059600001
U2 - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120039
DO - 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120039
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
SN - 1359-4311
VL - 223
JO - Applied Thermal Engineering
JF - Applied Thermal Engineering
M1 - 120039
ER -