Process intensification of seawater reverse osmosis through enhanced train capacity and module size - Simulation on Lanzarote IV SWRO plant

• Main Authors: Haryati, S., Hamzah, A. B., Goh, P. S., Abdullah, M. S., Ismail, A. F., Bustan, M. D.
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier B.V. 2017
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/76083/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85009911278&doi=10.1016%2fj.desal.2017.01.011&partnerID=40&md5=07e0a579263984744c363264f7f1ad1b

Process intensification on seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant can be realized through the increase of both train capacity and module size. The investigations were conducted based on a two-staged medium-sized (capacity of 25,000 m3/day) SWRO plant, Lanzarote IV, Canary Island. Comparison between all-16-inch (first and second stages with GE Osmonics' AE-1600 and AG-1600, respectively) and mixed (only the first stage fitted with 16-inch) pressure vessels (PV) was also discussed herein. Exergy and exergoeconomic analysis was performed to calculate specific energy consumption (SEC), effergy and water costs. ROSA 9.1 (for 8-inch diameter modules) and Winflows 3.2 (for 16-inch diameter modules) were utilized to obtain energetic and technical data. The analysis revealed that the incorporation of all-16-inch modules on Lanzarote IV allowed more versatile train size design. The availability of the train was not the sole determining factor for the total cost of 16-inch PV-based configurations since the membrane capital cost only constitutes 2–3% of the total cost. In fact, the simultaneous increase in both train size and PV diameter can significantly offer operational advantages in term of technical, economical and plant footprint for a medium-size SWRO plant.