Design and Energy Consumption Analysis of Small Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination Equipment

• Main Authors: Zhuo Wang, Yanjie Zhang, Tao Wang, Bo Zhang, Hongwen Ma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: small capacity; seawater desalination; reverse osmosis; specific energy consumption; energy utilization efficiency
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/8/2275

The reverse osmosis method has developed extremely rapidly in recent years and has become the most competitive seawater desalination technology in the world, and it has been widely used in all aspects. Large-scale reverse osmosis desalination plants cannot provide fresh water resources in areas with insufficient water resources and limited space. Therefore, this paper proposes a research plan for a small seawater desalination device based on reverse osmosis, which is mainly suitable for handling emergencies, disaster relief, desert areas and outdoor activities and other needs for timely freshwater resources. It mainly includes pretreatment modules, a reaction infiltration module, a post-processing module and an energy supply module. Detailed design calculations are carried out for the small-scale reverse osmosis membrane system, including the selection and quantity and arrangement of membranes. Subsequently, the one-stage two-stage small-scale reverse osmosis membrane system was modeled, and its energy consumption was analyzed theoretically from the perspectives of specific energy consumption and energy utilization efficiency; the main influencing factors were clarified, and the optimal recovery rate for system operation was determined to be 20%–30%. Finally, an experimental prototype was built to conduct relevant experiments to determine the influence trend of pressure, temperature, concentration, and flow rate on the operating performance of the reverse osmosis system.