Low-cost desalination of seawater and hypersaline brine using nanophotonics enhanced solar energy membrane distillation

Said, Ibrahim A.; Fuentes, Naomi; He, Ze; Xin, Ruikun; Zuo, Kuichang; Li, Qilin

doi:10.1039/d0ew00254b

Low-cost desalination of seawater and hypersaline brine using nanophotonics enhanced solar energy membrane distillation

Journal Article · Wed Jun 17 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ew00254b· OSTI ID:1643676

^[1]; Fuentes, Naomi ^[2]; He, Ze ^[2]; Xin, Ruikun ^[2]; Zuo, Kuichang ^[2]; ^[2]

Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States); Rice University
Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)

A stand-alone small-scale nanophotonics enhanced solar membrane distillation (NESMD) testbed was designed, developed, and tested for desalinating seawater and high salinity feedwaters. This NESMD system can take almost any source water and turn it into clean water with sunlight as the only energy source. The NESMD technology applies nanophotonic coating materials on a commercial hydrophobic polypropylene support of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane surface. The photothermal coating serves as a solar thermal collector, absorbs solar energy, and generates highly localized heat on the membrane, while the rest of the membrane performs membrane distillation functions. The presented NESMD system is equipped with an internal heat recovery system with no need for external electricity and no additional water for cooling. The NESMD testbed is installed and tested at Rice University campus (29.7174° N, 95.4018° W). In this study, real seawater from Galveston Bay, Texas, U.S. and high salinity simulated feedwaters (total dissolved solids (TDS) of 113 200–200 000 PPM) have been tested for long-term testing under the weather conditions of Houston, Texas. Here, the field testing results showed stable desalination performance in consecutive 5–8 hour operation cycles, with a TDS removal of ≥99.5% in all experiments. An average daily membrane flux of ≥0.75 L m^–2 h^–1 was achieved at a solar intensity close to 1 kW m^–2 without an external heat exchanger. Further investigations and improvements are required to enhance the performance of the reactor since it is still a new promising technology.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008397

OSTI ID:: 1643676

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1637722

Journal Information:: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 6; ISSN 2053-1400

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (34)

PVDF hollow fiber and nanofiber membranes for fresh water reclamation using membrane distillation Francis, Lijo; Ghaffour, Noreddine; Alsaadi, Ahmad S. Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 49, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7894-4	journal	November 2013
Removal of benzene traces from contaminated water by vacuum membrane distillation Banat, Fawzi A.; Simandl, Jana Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 51, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2509(95)00365-7	journal	April 1996
Terminology for Membrane Distillation Smolders, K.; Franken, A. C. M. Desalination, Vol. 72, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0011-9164(89)80010-4	journal	December 1989
Extraction of organic components from aqueous streams by vacuum membrane distillation Sarti, G. C.; Gostoli, C.; Bandini, S. Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 80, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-7388(93)85129-K	journal	June 1993
Study on the concentration of acids by membrane distillation Tomaszewska, M.; Gryta, M.; Morawski, A. W. Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 102 https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-7388(94)00281-3	journal	June 1995
Distillation vs. membrane filtration: overview of process evolutions in seawater desalination Van der Bruggen, Bart; Vandecasteele, Carlo Desalination, Vol. 143, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(02)00259-X	journal	June 2002
A new process to remove halogenated VOCs for drinking water production: vacuum membrane distillation Couffin, N.; Cabassud, C.; Lahoussine-Turcaud, V. Desalination, Vol. 117, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(98)00103-9	journal	September 1998
Separation of binary mixtures by thermostatic sweeping gas membrane distillation I. Theory and simulations Rivier, C. Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 201, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(01)00648-2	journal	May 2002
Membrane distillation Lawson, Kevin W.; Lloyd, Douglas R. Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 124, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(96)00236-0	journal	February 1997
Concentration of radioactive components in liquid low-level radioactive waste by membrane distillation Zakrzewska-Trznadel, G.; Harasimowicz, M.; Chmielewski, A. G. Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 163, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(99)00171-4	journal	November 1999
Concentration of glycerol from dilute glycerol wastewater using sweeping gas membrane distillation Shirazi, Mohammad Mahdi A.; Kargari, Ali; Tabatabaei, Meisam Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, Vol. 78 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2014.02.002	journal	April 2014
Feasibility of sweeping gas membrane distillation on concentrating triethylene glycol from waste streams Duyen, Pham Minh; Jacob, Paul; Rattanaoudom, Romchat Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, Vol. 110 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2016.10.015	journal	December 2016
Sweeping gas membrane distillation (SGMD) for wastewater treatment, concentration, and desalination: A comprehensive review Said, Ibrahim A.; Chomiak, Timothy; Floyd, John Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, Vol. 153 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2020.107960	journal	July 2020
Membrane-distillation desalination: Status and potential Alklaibi, A. M.; Lior, Noam Desalination, Vol. 171, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2004.03.024	journal	January 2005
Pollutants removal from wastewaters through membrane distillation Boi, Cristiana; Bandini, Serena; Sarti, Giulio Cesare Desalination, Vol. 183, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2005.03.041	journal	November 2005
Overview of systems engineering approaches for a large-scale seawater desalination plant with a reverse osmosis network Kim, Young M.; Kim, Seung J.; Kim, Yong S. Desalination, Vol. 238, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.10.004	journal	March 2009
Membrane distillation: Recent developments and perspectives Drioli, Enrico; Ali, Aamer; Macedonio, Francesca Desalination, Vol. 356 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.10.028	journal	January 2015
Recovery of volatile fruit juice aroma compounds by membrane technology: Sweeping gas versus vacuum membrane distillation Bagger-Jørgensen, Rico; Meyer, Anne S.; Pinelo, Manuel Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2011.02.005	journal	July 2011
Review of technologies for oil and gas produced water treatment Fakhru’l-Razi, Ahmadun; Pendashteh, Alireza; Abdullah, Luqman Chuah Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 170, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.05.044	journal	October 2009
Removal of hazardous volatile organic compounds from water by vacuum pervaporation with hydrophobic ceramic membranes Kujawa, Joanna; Cerneaux, Sophie; Kujawski, Wojciech Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 474 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2014.08.054	journal	January 2015
Quantity of flowback and produced waters from unconventional oil and gas exploration Kondash, Andrew J.; Albright, Elizabeth; Vengosh, Avner Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 574 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.069	journal	January 2017
Membrane distillation-crystallization of seawater reverse osmosis brines Ji, Xiaosheng; Curcio, Efrem; Al Obaidani, Sulaiman Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 71, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2009.11.004	journal	January 2010
Direct contact membrane distillation for treatment of oilfield produced water Macedonio, Francesca; Ali, Aamer; Poerio, Teresa Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 126 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2014.02.004	journal	April 2014
Low-cost high-efficiency solar membrane distillation for treatment of oil produced waters Said, Ibrahim A.; Chomiak, Timothy R.; He, Ze Separation and Purification Technology, Vol. 250 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117170	journal	November 2020
Field Demonstration of a Nanophotonics-Enabled Solar Membrane Distillation Reactor for Desalination Said, Ibrahim A.; Wang, Sen; Li, Qilin Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 58, Issue 40 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.9b03246	journal	September 2019
Theoretical and Experimental Study on Membrane Distillation in the Concentration of Orange Juice Calabro, Vincenza; Jiao, Bi Lin; Drioli, Enrico Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 33, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00031a020	journal	July 1994
Photothermal nanocomposite membranes for direct solar membrane distillation Wu, Jinjian; Zodrow, Katherine R.; Szemraj, Peter B. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 5, Issue 45 https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TA04555G	journal	January 2017
Air gap membrane distillation: A review Shahu, Vandita T.; Thombre, S. B. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Vol. 11, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5063766	journal	July 2019
Solar thermal desalination as a nonlinear optical process Dongare, Pratiksha D.; Alabastri, Alessandro; Neumann, Oara Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 116, Issue 27 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1905311116	journal	June 2019
Membrane Distillation and Related Operations—A Review Curcio, Efrem; Drioli, Enrico Separation & Purification Reviews, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1081/SPM-200054951	journal	January 2005
The Future of Seawater Desalination: Energy, Technology, and the Environment Elimelech, M.; Phillip, W. A. Science, Vol. 333, Issue 6043 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200488	journal	August 2011
Desalination Freshens Up Service, R. F. Science, Vol. 313, Issue 5790 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.313.5790.1088	journal	August 2006
Produced water volumes and management practices in the United States. Clark, C. E.; Veil, J. A. https://doi.org/10.2172/1007397	report	September 2009
A white paper describing produced water from production of crude oil, natural gas, and coal bed methane Veil, John A.; Puder, Markus G.; Elcock, Deborah https://doi.org/10.2172/821666	report	January 2004

Similar Records

Treatment of brackish water reverse osmosis brine using only solar energy

Journal Article · Wed Aug 04 20:00:00 EDT 2021 · Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology · OSTI ID:1978788

Comparative techno-economic assessment of osmotically-assisted reverse osmosis and batch-operated vacuum-air-gap membrane distillation for high-salinity water desalination

Journal Article · Thu Mar 31 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Desalination · OSTI ID:1977061

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
membrane distillation
nanophotonics
solar desalination

Low-cost desalination of seawater and hypersaline brine using nanophotonics enhanced solar energy membrane distillation

Citation Formats

References (34)

Similar Records

Related Subjects