Advancing high-recovery desalination with free-piston batch reverse osmosis (RO) technology

Hosseinipour, Ebrahim ORCID: 0009-0006-1879-5640 (2024). Advancing high-recovery desalination with free-piston batch reverse osmosis (RO) technology. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Hosseinipour2024PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (7MB)

Abstract

Reverse osmosis (RO) dominates desalination industry, yet achieving high recovery is energy-intensive and costly. Batch RO represents a promising approach to desalination, theoretically capable of achieving minimum thermodynamic specific energy consumption (SEC) at high recovery rates. Its applicability covers various domains including brackish and seawater desalination, brine mining, solute recovery, and industrial effluent treatment. Nonetheless, rigorous pilot-scale experimental studies on batch RO performance are currently lacking. This thesis bridges this gap by conducting seven research studies using two free-piston batch RO systems in the laboratory. Each system utilizes an 8-inch spiral wound membrane module: one operates at pressures up to 25 bar, while the other reaches up to 120 bar. The research programme encompassed various feed solutions, including sodium chloride, sparingly soluble salts representative of groundwater, seawater, and metal plating wastewater. The system was adopted to operate in batch, semi-batch, and hybrid modes, allowing comparisons to be made among these modes. Experimental data were used to develop analytical models capturing key factors such as membrane characteristics, pump efficiencies, salt retention, and concentration gradient effects. The modelling was used to design systems at larger scale and using improved membrane and pump properties, demonstrating favourable performance compared to state-of-the-art semi-batch RO systems.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):