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Experimental investigation of a reverse osmosis desalination system directly powered by wave energy

Author

Listed:
  • Mi, Jia
  • Wu, Xian
  • Capper, Joseph
  • Li, Xiaofan
  • Shalaby, Ahmed
  • Wang, Ruoyu
  • Lin, Shihong
  • Hajj, Muhammad
  • Zuo, Lei

Abstract

Powering desalination processes with renewable energy is a promising solution to address the global issue of water shortage with minimum carbon footprint and environmental impact. We experimentally investigate a sustainable reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system directly powered by wave energy. In this system, seawater is pressurized and pumped to a RO desalination module via a piston pump directly driven by an oscillating surge wave energy converter (OSWEC). An accumulator is adopted on the feed inlet to mitigate the pressure fluctuations under time-varying ocean conditions. Meanwhile, a needle valve on the brine outlet is used to adjust the system pressure and water recovery. A 1:10 scaled model was designed, fabricated, and tested in a wave tank based on the Froude scaling law. The optimal specific water productivity (SWP) obtained in the tank tests with 3.5 g/L feed salinity was 2.23 m3/kWh, indicating a full-scale specific water productivity of 0.22 m3/kWh for 35 g/L seawater salinity. The influence of needle valve tuning on the specific water productivity was experimentally investigated and analyzed. Under a specific operational condition, tuning this valve improved specific water productivity by about 17 % and reduced the system pressure by 24 %, thereby avoiding extreme pressure and improving the system’s capability. This pilot study demonstrates that ocean wave energy is a promising source to sustainably power reverse osmosis desalination and provide freshwater water for coastal regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mi, Jia & Wu, Xian & Capper, Joseph & Li, Xiaofan & Shalaby, Ahmed & Wang, Ruoyu & Lin, Shihong & Hajj, Muhammad & Zuo, Lei, 2023. "Experimental investigation of a reverse osmosis desalination system directly powered by wave energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:343:y:2023:i:c:s0306261923005585
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121194
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Li, Xiaofan & Chen, ChienAn & Li, Qiaofeng & Xu, Lin & Liang, Changwei & Ngo, Khai & Parker, Robert G. & Zuo, Lei, 2020. "A compact mechanical power take-off for wave energy converters: Design, analysis, and test verification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
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    1. Jeremy W. Simmons & James D. Van de Ven, 2023. "A Comparison of Power Take-Off Architectures for Wave-Powered Reverse Osmosis Desalination of Seawater with Co-Production of Electricity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-33, October.

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