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

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  • 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.

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  • 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
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    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    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.

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