Energy and exergy analysis of multi-stage vacuum membrane distillation integrated with mechanical vapor compression

Lin, Bosong; Malmali, Mahdi

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122568

Energy and exergy analysis of multi-stage vacuum membrane distillation integrated with mechanical vapor compression

Journal Article · Thu Nov 17 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Separation and Purification Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122568· OSTI ID:2228427

Lin, Bosong ^[1]; Malmali, Mahdi ^[2]

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (United States); Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (United States)

Membrane distillation (MD) is a promising candidate for desalinating hypersaline brine, but its poor energy efficiency has remained a major barrier for widespread application. One possible solution to this issue is to recover the latent heat in the process. In this work, a multi-stage vacuum MD (MSVMD) was integrated with a mechanical vapor compressor (MVC) to enhance the latent heat recovery, and the energetic and exergetic performance of this integrated process was examined. A comprehensive energy and exergy analysis is provided to compare MSVMD and MSVMD-MVC processes for desalination of hypersaline brine. This analysis was conducted by examining the effect of the compression ratio on the energetic and exergetic performance, and the findings are reported in terms of specific thermal energy consumption (STEC), specific electricity consumption (SEC), and exergetic efficiency. The energy analysis shows that thermal energy consumption can be reduced as the compression ratio increases, due to the enhancement of latent heat recovery. The MSVMD-MVC process can be operated in a steady-state condition, without the need for thermal heat input; with STEC and SEC of 0 and 49 kWh/m³ at the feed temperature of 50 °C and MVC compression ratio of 2.14. Moreover, exergy analysis demonstrates the efficacy of the eNRTL model in exergy calculation. Exergy destruction can be greatly reduced by increasing the compression ratio to an optimal value. For high salinity brine (124 g/L), MSVMD-MVC achieved a higher exergetic efficiency of 6.85%, compared to 2.42% in MSVMD. Furthermore, the result suggests that the application of MVC can intensify the energy efficiency and exergetic efficiency of the MSVMD system, although this process cannot outperform the current desalination technologies from the standard primary energy point of view.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: RAPID Manufacturing Institute, New York, NY (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007888

OSTI ID:: 2228427

Journal Information:: Separation and Purification Technology, Journal Name: Separation and Purification Technology Vol. 306; ISSN 1383-5866

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Desalination
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eNRTL

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