Due to water scarcity and the global trends in climate change, winning drinking water through desalination is increasingly becoming an option, especially using reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology. Operating a reverse osmosis desalination plant is associated with several expenses and energy consumption that take a very large share. Several studies have shown that wind power incurs lower energy costs compared to other renewable energy sources, therefore, should be the first choice to be coupled to an RO desalination system to clean water using sustainable energy. Therefore, in this paper , we investigate the feasibility of driving a n RO desalination system using wind power with and without pressure vessel energy storage and small scale energy recovery us ing Clark pump based on simulation models. The performance of both variants w as compared with several scenarios of wind patterns. As expected buffering and energy recovery delivered higher water production and better water quality demonstrating the importance of an energy storage/recovery system for a wind-power-supplied desalination plant.
Li, D. and Wang, H.T. (2010) Recent Developments in Reverse Osmosis Desalination Membranes. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 20, 4551-4566. https://doi.org/10.1039/b924553g
Zarzo, D. and Prats, D. (2018) Desalination and Energy Consumption. What Can We Expect in the Near Future? Desalination, 427, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.10.046
El-Ghonemy, A. (2012) RETRACTED: Waste Energy Recovery in Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plants. Part 2: Case Study. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16, 4016-4028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.03.057
Feo-García J., Ruiz-García, A., Ruiz-Saavedra, E. and Melian-Martel., N. (2016) Energy Consumption Assessment of 4,000 m3/d SWRO Desalination Plants. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57, 23019-23023. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2015.1106095
Karimanzira, D. and Rauschenbach, T. (2018) Optimal Utilization of Renewable Energy in Aquaponic Systems. Energy and Power Engineering, 10, 279-300. https://doi.org/10.4236/epe.2018.106018
Kalogirou, S.A. (2005) Seawater Desalination Using Renewable Energy Sources. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 31, 242-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2005.03.001
Gilau, A.M. and Small, M.J. (2008) Designing Cost-Effective Seawater Reverse Osmosis System under Optimal Energy Options. Renewable Energy, 33, 617-630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2007.03.019
Koschikowski, J. (2011) Water Desalination: When and Where Will It Make Sense, Presentation at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_aaas2011_energy_water_koschikowski.pdf
Caldera, U., Bogdanov, D. and Breyer, C. (2016) Local Cost of Seawater RO Desalination Based on Solar PV and Wind Energy: A Global Estimate. Desalination, 385, 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2016.02.004
Ganora, D., Dorati, C., Huld, T.A. and Pistochi, A. (2019) An Assessment of Energy Storage Options for Large-Scale PV-RO Desalination in the Extended Mediterranean Region. Scientific Reports, 9, Article No. 16234. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-52582-y
Esmaeilion, F. (2020) Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Desalination. Applied Water Science, 10, Article No. 84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-020-1168-5
Al-Nory, M. and El-Beltagy M. (2014) An Energy Management Approach for Renewable Energy Integration with Power Generation and Water Desalination. Renewable Energy, 72, 377-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.07.032
Mentis, D., Caralis, Karalis, G., Zervos, A., Howells, M., Taliotis, C., Bazilian, M. and Holger, R.(2016) Desalination Using Renewable Energy Sources on the Arid Islands of South Aegean Sea. Energy, 94, 262-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.11.003
Garci’a-Rodriguez, L. (2003) Renewable Energy Applications in Desalination State of the Art. Solar Energy, 75, 381-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2003.08.005
Kasaeian, A., Rajaee, F. and Yan, W.M. (2018) Osmotic Desalination by Solar Energy: A Critical Review. Renewable Energy, 134, 1473-1490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.09.038
Ahmed, F.E., Hashaikeh, R. and Hilal, N. (2019) Solar Powered Desalination Technology, Energy and Future Outlook. Renewable Energy, 134, 1473-1490 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2018.12.002
Kershman, S.A., Rheinlander, J., Neumann, T. and Goebel, O. (2005) Hybrid Wind/PV and Conventional Power for Desalination in Libya—GECOL’s Facility for Medium and Small Scale Research at Ras Ejder. Desalination, 183, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2005.04.021
Ma, Q.F. and Lu, H. (2011) Wind Energy Technologies Integrated with Desalination Systems: Review and State-of-the-Art. Desalination, 277, 274-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2011.04.041
Calise, F., Cappiello, L., Vanoli, R. and Vicidomini, M. (2019) Economic Assessment of Renewable Energy Systems Integrating Photovoltaic Panels, Seawater Desalination and Water Storage. Applied Energy, 253, Article ID: 113575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113575
Weiner, D., Fisher, D., Moses, E.J., Katz, B. and Meron, G. (2001) Operation Experience of a Solar- and Wind-Powered Desalination Demonstration Plant. Desalination, 137, 7-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(01)00198-9
Miranda, M.S. and Infield, D. (2003) A Wind-Powered Seawater Reverse-Osmosis System without Batteries. Desalination, 153, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(02)01088-3
Thomson, M. and Infield, D. (2003) A Photovoltaic-Powered Seawater Reverse-Osmosis System without Batteries. Desalination, 153, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(03)80004-8
Mansour, T., Ismail, T., Ramzy, K. and Abd El-Salam, M. (2020) Energy Recovery System in Small Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations. Alexandria Engineering Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.06.030
Smith, D. (2000) Battery-Powered Desalter Relies on Unique Pressure Pump. International Desalination and Water Reuse Quarterly, 10, 18-22.
Urrea, S.A., Reyes, F.D., Suárez, B.P. and Juan, A. (2019) Technical Review, Evaluation and Efficiency of Energy Recovery Devices Installed in the Canary Islands Desalination Plants. Desalination, 450, 54-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2018.07.013
Bermudez, A. and Thomson, M. (2010) Modified Operation of a Small Scale Energy Recovery Device for Seawater Reverse Osmosis. Desalination and Water Treatment, 13, 195-202. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2010.990
Karassik, I.J., Messina, J.P., Cooper, P. and Charles, C. (2008) Pump Handbook. 4th Edition, the Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York.
Sassi, K.M. and Mujtaba, I.M. (2010) Simulation and Optimization of Full Scale Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant. Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 28, 895-900. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1570-7946(10)28150-6
Caldera, U. and Breyer, C. (2018) The Role That Battery and Water Storage Play in Saudi Arabia’s Transition to an Integrated 100% Renewable Energy Power System. Journal of Energy Storage, 17, 299-310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2018.03.009
Schunke, A.J., Hernandez Herrera, G.A., Padhye, L. and Berry, T.-A. (2020) Energy Recovery in SWRO Desalination: Current Status and New Possibilities. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 2, Article 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2020.00009
Liu, C.C.K., Jae-Woo, P., Migita, R. and Gang, Q. (2002) Experiments of a Prototype Wind-Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination System with Feedback Control. Desalination, 150, 277-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(02)00984-0