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Preliminary experimental analysis of a small-scale prototype SWRO desalination plant, designed for continuous adjustment of its energy consumption to the widely varying power generated by a stand-alone wind turbine

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  • Carta, José A.
  • González, Jaime
  • Cabrera, Pedro
  • Subiela, Vicente J.

Abstract

Given the significant water-energy problems associated with many remote and arid areas of the planet, most studies, projects and developments of installations for the production of fresh water using desalination technologies powered by renewable energy sources have focussed on small-scale stand-alone systems. The most commonly used energy sources have been solar photovoltaic and wind and the most widely applied desalination technology that of reverse osmosis (RO). Most of the systems use batteries as a means of mass energy storage and the RO plants normally operate at constant pressure and flow rate. This paper presents a small-scale prototype SWRO (seawater reverse osmosis) desalination plant designed to continuously adapt its energy consumption to the variable power supplied by a wind turbine (WT), dispensing with mass energy storage in batteries and proposing the use of a supercapacitor bank as a dynamic regulation system. A description is given of the tests performed to date with the SWRO desalination plant connected to the conventional grid while controlling the number of pressure vessels that are connected/disconnected to/from the system and regulating their operating pressures and flow rates (within predetermined admissible limits) to maintain a constant permeate recovery rate and adapt the energy consumption of the plant to a widely varying simulated wind energy supply.

Suggested Citation

  • Carta, José A. & González, Jaime & Cabrera, Pedro & Subiela, Vicente J., 2015. "Preliminary experimental analysis of a small-scale prototype SWRO desalination plant, designed for continuous adjustment of its energy consumption to the widely varying power generated by a stand-alon," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 222-239.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:137:y:2015:i:c:p:222-239
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.09.093
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    3. Marina Moreira & Ivan Felipe Silva Santos & Lilian Ferreira Freitas & Flávio Ferreira Freitas & Regina Mambeli Barros & Geraldo Lúcio Tiago Filho, 2022. "Energy and economic analysis for a desalination plant powered by municipal solid waste incineration and natural gas in Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 1799-1826, February.
    4. 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).
    5. Mito, Mohamed T. & Ma, Xianghong & Albuflasa, Hanan & Davies, Philip A., 2019. "Reverse osmosis (RO) membrane desalination driven by wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) energy: State of the art and challenges for large-scale implementation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 669-685.
    6. Fang, Guochang & Tian, Lixin & Fu, Min & Sun, Mei & Du, Ruijin & Lu, Longxi & He, Yu, 2017. "The effect of energy construction adjustment on the dynamical evolution of energy-saving and emission-reduction system in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 180-189.
    7. Kyriakarakos, George & Dounis, Anastasios I. & Arvanitis, Konstantinos G. & Papadakis, George, 2017. "Design of a Fuzzy Cognitive Maps variable-load energy management system for autonomous PV-reverse osmosis desalination systems: A simulation survey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 575-584.
    8. Ayodele, T.R. & Ogunjuyigbe, A.S.O. & Adetokun, B.B., 2017. "Optimal capacitance selection for a wind-driven self-excited reluctance generator under varying wind speed and load conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 339-353.
    9. Ariana M. Pietrasanta & Mostafa F. Shaaban & Pio A. Aguirre & Sergio F. Mussati & Mohamed A. Hamouda, 2023. "Simulation and Optimization of Renewable Energy-Powered Desalination: A Bibliometric Analysis and Highlights of Recent Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-28, June.

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