IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v187y2017icp910-928.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Zero thermal input membrane distillation, a zero-waste and sustainable solution for freshwater shortage

Author

Listed:
  • Baghbanzadeh, Mohammadali
  • Rana, Dipak
  • Lan, Christopher Q.
  • Matsuura, Takeshi

Abstract

The innovative concept of a zero-waste, energy efficient, and therefore sustainable desalination strategy, Zero Thermal Input Membrane Distillation (ZTIMD), is demonstrated to be economically more effective than existing seawater desalination technologies by simulation based on a single-pass Direct Contact Membrane Distillation process using surface seawater as the feed and bottom seawater as the coolant. Thermal energy required for water distillation in the process was satisfied by extracting the enthalpy of the surface seawater using the bottom seawater as the heat sink. Under one of the favorable conditions, the proposed ZTIMD process could produce pure water with a cost of $0.28/m3 at a specific energy consumption of 0.45kWh/m3, which is significantly lower than that of the major existing seawater desalination processes, including the currently dominating technology, Reverse Osmosis ($0.45–2.00/m3). Some major advantages promised by the ZTIMD include (1) With no requirement of external thermal energy input, ZTIMD is an inherently energy-saving process, (2) it is economically competitive to existing desalination technologies, and (3) it is waste-free.

Suggested Citation

  • Baghbanzadeh, Mohammadali & Rana, Dipak & Lan, Christopher Q. & Matsuura, Takeshi, 2017. "Zero thermal input membrane distillation, a zero-waste and sustainable solution for freshwater shortage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 910-928.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:187:y:2017:i:c:p:910-928
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.10.142
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261916314799
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.10.142?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark A. Shannon & Paul W. Bohn & Menachem Elimelech & John G. Georgiadis & Benito J. Mariñas & Anne M. Mayes, 2008. "Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades," Nature, Nature, vol. 452(7185), pages 301-310, March.
    2. Thu, Kyaw & Kim, Young-Deuk & Amy, Gary & Chun, Won Gee & Ng, Kim Choon, 2013. "A hybrid multi-effect distillation and adsorption cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 810-821.
    3. Suárez, Francisco & Ruskowitz, Jeffrey A. & Tyler, Scott W. & Childress, Amy E., 2015. "Renewable water: Direct contact membrane distillation coupled with solar ponds," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 532-539.
    4. Wan, Chun Feng & Chung, Tai-Shung, 2016. "Energy recovery by pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) in SWRO–PRO integrated processes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 687-698.
    5. Ghaffour, Noreddine & Lattemann, Sabine & Missimer, Thomas & Ng, Kim Choon & Sinha, Shahnawaz & Amy, Gary, 2014. "Renewable energy-driven innovative energy-efficient desalination technologies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1155-1165.
    6. Ali, Muhammad Tauha & Fath, Hassan E.S. & Armstrong, Peter R., 2011. "A comprehensive techno-economical review of indirect solar desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4187-4199.
    7. Sarbatly, Rosalam & Chiam, Chel-Ken, 2013. "Evaluation of geothermal energy in desalination by vacuum membrane distillation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 737-746.
    8. Wakeel, Muhammad & Chen, Bin & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Ahmad, Bashir, 2016. "Energy consumption for water use cycles in different countries: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 868-885.
    9. Christopher Napoli & Bertrand Rioux, 2016. "Evaluating the economic viability of solar-powered desalination: Saudi Arabia as a case study," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 412-427, May.
    10. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar, 2016. "Geothermal source potential for water desalination – Current status and future perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1038-1065.
    11. Chen, Yih-Hang & Li, Yu-Wei & Chang, Hsuan, 2012. "Optimal design and control of solar driven air gap membrane distillation desalination systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 193-204.
    12. Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil & Thu, Kyaw & Kim, Yong-deuk & Ng, Kim Choon, 2015. "An experimental investigation on MEDAD hybrid desalination cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 273-281.
    13. Zaragoza, G. & Ruiz-Aguirre, A. & Guillén-Burrieza, E., 2014. "Efficiency in the use of solar thermal energy of small membrane desalination systems for decentralized water production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 491-499.
    14. Prante, Jeri L. & Ruskowitz, Jeffrey A. & Childress, Amy E. & Achilli, Andrea, 2014. "RO-PRO desalination: An integrated low-energy approach to seawater desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 104-114.
    15. Li, Guo-Pei & Zhang, Li-Zhi, 2016. "Investigation of a solar energy driven and hollow fiber membrane-based humidification–dehumidification desalination system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 393-408.
    16. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar, 2015. "Energy storage for desalination processes powered by renewable energy and waste heat sources," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 877-898.
    17. Mohammad Heiranian & Amir Barati Farimani & Narayana R. Aluru, 2015. "Water desalination with a single-layer MoS2 nanopore," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, December.
    18. Salata, F. & Coppi, M., 2014. "A first approach study on the desalination of sea water using heat transformers powered by solar ponds," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 611-618.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Swaminathan, Jaichander & Chung, Hyung Won & Warsinger, David M. & Lienhard V, John H., 2018. "Energy efficiency of membrane distillation up to high salinity: Evaluating critical system size and optimal membrane thickness," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 715-734.
    2. Tufa, Ramato Ashu & Noviello, Ylenia & Di Profio, Gianluca & Macedonio, Francesca & Ali, Aamer & Drioli, Enrico & Fontananova, Enrica & Bouzek, Karel & Curcio, Efrem, 2019. "Integrated membrane distillation-reverse electrodialysis system for energy-efficient seawater desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Xu, Jianwei & Liang, Yingzong & Luo, Xianglong & Chen, Jianyong & Yang, Zhi & Chen, Ying, 2023. "Techno-economic-environmental analysis of direct-contact membrane distillation systems integrated with low-grade heat sources: A multi-objective optimization approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    4. Li, Qiyuan & Beier, Lisa-Jil & Tan, Joel & Brown, Celia & Lian, Boyue & Zhong, Wenwei & Wang, Yuan & Ji, Chao & Dai, Pan & Li, Tianyu & Le Clech, Pierre & Tyagi, Himanshu & Liu, Xuefei & Leslie, Greg , 2019. "An integrated, solar-driven membrane distillation system for water purification and energy generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 534-548.
    5. Wang, Qiushi & Zhu, Ziye & Wu, Gang & Zhang, Xiang & Zheng, Hongfei, 2018. "Energy analysis and experimental verification of a solar freshwater self-produced ecological film floating on the sea," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 510-526.
    6. Zhang, Quanguo & Nurhayati, & Cheng, Chieh-Lun & Lo, Yung-Chung & Nagarajan, Dillirani & Hu, Jianjun & Chang, Jo-Shu & Lee, Duu-Jong, 2017. "Ethanol production by modified polyvinyl alcohol-immobilized Zymomonas mobilis and in situ membrane distillation under very high gravity condition," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 1-5.
    7. Yuxin Jiang & Ken Li & Sikpaam Issaka Alhassan & Yiyun Cao & Haoyu Deng & Shan Tan & Haiying Wang & Chongjian Tang & Liyuan Chai, 2022. "Spinel LiMn 2 O 4 as a Capacitive Deionization Electrode Material with High Desalination Capacity: Experiment and Simulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Long, Rui & Lai, Xiaotian & Liu, Zhichun & Liu, Wei, 2018. "Direct contact membrane distillation system for waste heat recovery: Modelling and multi-objective optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1060-1068.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Jungbin & Park, Kiho & Yang, Dae Ryook & Hong, Seungkwan, 2019. "A comprehensive review of energy consumption of seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    2. Huang, Xiaojian & Luo, Xianglong & Chen, Jianyong & Yang, Zhi & Chen, Ying & María Ponce-Ortega, José & El-Halwagi, Mahmoud M., 2018. "Synthesis and dual-objective optimization of industrial combined heat and power plants compromising the water–energy nexus," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 448-468.
    3. Swaminathan, Jaichander & Chung, Hyung Won & Warsinger, David M. & Lienhard V, John H., 2016. "Membrane distillation model based on heat exchanger theory and configuration comparison," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 491-505.
    4. González, Daniel & Amigo, José & Suárez, Francisco, 2017. "Membrane distillation: Perspectives for sustainable and improved desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 238-259.
    5. Wan, Chun Feng & Chung, Tai-Shung, 2016. "Energy recovery by pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) in SWRO–PRO integrated processes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 687-698.
    6. Andrés-Mañas, J.A. & Roca, L. & Ruiz-Aguirre, A. & Acién, F.G. & Gil, J.D. & Zaragoza, G., 2020. "Application of solar energy to seawater desalination in a pilot system based on vacuum multi-effect membrane distillation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    7. Calise, Francesco & Cappiello, Francesco Liberato & Vanoli, Raffaele & Vicidomini, Maria, 2019. "Economic assessment of renewable energy systems integrating photovoltaic panels, seawater desalination and water storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Prado de Nicolás, Amanda & Molina-García, Ángel & García-Bermejo, Juan Tomás & Vera-García, Francisco, 2023. "Desalination, minimal and zero liquid discharge powered by renewable energy sources: Current status and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    9. Kaczmarczyk, Michał & Mukti, Mentari & Ghaffour, Noreddine & Soukane, Sofiane & Bundschuh, Jochen & Tomaszewska, Barbara, 2024. "Renewable energy-driven membrane distillation in the context of life cycle assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    10. Li, Guo-Pei & Zhang, Li-Zhi, 2016. "Investigation of a solar energy driven and hollow fiber membrane-based humidification–dehumidification desalination system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 393-408.
    11. Esmaeil Ahmadi & Benjamin McLellan & Seiichi Ogata & Behnam Mohammadi-Ivatloo & Tetsuo Tezuka, 2020. "An Integrated Planning Framework for Sustainable Water and Energy Supply," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-37, May.
    12. Schallenberg-Rodríguez, Julieta & Del Rio-Gamero, Beatriz & Melian-Martel, Noemi & Lis Alecio, Tyrone & González Herrera, Javier, 2020. "Energy supply of a large size desalination plant using wave energy. Practical case: North of Gran Canaria," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    13. Ali, Aamer & Tufa, Ramato Ashu & Macedonio, Francesca & Curcio, Efrem & Drioli, Enrico, 2018. "Membrane technology in renewable-energy-driven desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1-21.
    14. Swaminathan, Jaichander & Chung, Hyung Won & Warsinger, David M. & Lienhard V, John H., 2018. "Energy efficiency of membrane distillation up to high salinity: Evaluating critical system size and optimal membrane thickness," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 715-734.
    15. Chang, Hsuan & Hsu, Jian-An & Chang, Cheng-Liang & Ho, Chii-Dong & Cheng, Tung-Wen, 2017. "Simulation study of transfer characteristics for spacer-filled membrane distillation desalination modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 2045-2057.
    16. Chew, Alvin Wei Ze & Law, Adrian Wing-Keung, 2018. "DRFM hybrid model to optimize energy performance of pre-treatment depth filters in desalination facilities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 576-597.
    17. Gonzalez, Alonso & Grágeda, Mario & Ushak, Svetlana, 2017. "Assessment of pilot-scale water purification module with electrodialysis technology and solar energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1643-1652.
    18. Ortega-Delgado, Bartolomé & Cornali, Matteo & Palenzuela, Patricia & Alarcón-Padilla, Diego C., 2017. "Operational analysis of the coupling between a multi-effect distillation unit with thermal vapor compression and a Rankine cycle power block using variable nozzle thermocompressors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 690-701.
    19. Tashtoush, Bourhan & Alyahya, Wa'ed & Al Ghadi, Malak & Al-Omari, Jamal & Morosuk, Tatiana, 2023. "Renewable energy integration in water desalination: State-of-the-art review and comparative analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 352(C).
    20. Tufa, Ramato Ashu & Pawlowski, Sylwin & Veerman, Joost & Bouzek, Karel & Fontananova, Enrica & di Profio, Gianluca & Velizarov, Svetlozar & Goulão Crespo, João & Nijmeijer, Kitty & Curcio, Efrem, 2018. "Progress and prospects in reverse electrodialysis for salinity gradient energy conversion and storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 290-331.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:187:y:2017:i:c:p:910-928. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.