Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis

Bartholomew, Timothy V.; Siefert, Nicholas S.; Mauter, Meagan S.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b02771

Title: Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis

Abstract

We develop a nonlinear optimization model to identify minimum cost designs for osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO), a multistaged membrane-based process for desalinating high-salinity brines. The optimization model enables comprehensive evaluation of a complex process configuration and operational decision space that includes nonlinear process performance and implicit relationships among membrane stages, saline sweep cycles, and makeup, purge, and recycle streams. Here, the objective function minimizes cost, rather than energy or capital expenditures, to accurately account for the trade-offs in capital and operational expenses inherent in multistaged membrane processes. Generally, we find that cost-optimal OARO processes minimize the number of stages, eliminate the use of saline makeup streams, purge from the first sweep cycle, and successively decrease stage membrane area and sweep flow rates. The optimal OARO configuration for treating feed salinities of 50–125 g/L total dissolved solids with water recoveries between 30–70% results in costs less than or equal to $6 per m3 of product water. Sensitivity analysis suggests that future research to minimize OARO costs should focus on minimizing the membrane structural parameter while maximizing the membrane burst pressure and reducing the membrane unit cost.

Authors:

Bartholomew, Timothy V. ^[1]; Siefert, Nicholas S. ^[2];

^[1]

Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

Publication Date:: Tue Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Research Org.:: National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: FE; USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 1509728

Report Number(s):: NETL-PUB-22335
Journal ID: ISSN 0013-936X

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Environmental Science and Technology

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 52; Journal Issue: 20; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-936X

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 42 ENGINEERING; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats


                    Bartholomew, Timothy V., Siefert, Nicholas S., and Mauter, Meagan S. Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis.  United States: N. p., 2018. 
Web.  doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b02771.

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                    Bartholomew, Timothy V., Siefert, Nicholas S., & Mauter, Meagan S. Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b02771

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                    Bartholomew, Timothy V., Siefert, Nicholas S., and Mauter, Meagan S. Tue .  
"Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b02771.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1509728.

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@article{osti_1509728,

  title        = {Cost Optimization of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis},

  author       = {Bartholomew, Timothy V. and Siefert, Nicholas S. and Mauter, Meagan S.},

  abstractNote = {We develop a nonlinear optimization model to identify minimum cost designs for osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO), a multistaged membrane-based process for desalinating high-salinity brines. The optimization model enables comprehensive evaluation of a complex process configuration and operational decision space that includes nonlinear process performance and implicit relationships among membrane stages, saline sweep cycles, and makeup, purge, and recycle streams. Here, the objective function minimizes cost, rather than energy or capital expenditures, to accurately account for the trade-offs in capital and operational expenses inherent in multistaged membrane processes. Generally, we find that cost-optimal OARO processes minimize the number of stages, eliminate the use of saline makeup streams, purge from the first sweep cycle, and successively decrease stage membrane area and sweep flow rates. The optimal OARO configuration for treating feed salinities of 50–125 g/L total dissolved solids with water recoveries between 30–70% results in costs less than or equal to $6 per m3 of product water. Sensitivity analysis suggests that future research to minimize OARO costs should focus on minimizing the membrane structural parameter while maximizing the membrane burst pressure and reducing the membrane unit cost.},

  doi          = {10.1021/acs.est.8b02771},

  journal      = {Environmental Science and Technology},

  number       = 20,

  volume       = 52,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Tue Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018},

  month        = {Tue Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018}

}

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https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b02771

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Cited by: 46 works

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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1: Unit water costs for reverse osmosis (RO), osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO), and mechanical vapor compression (MVC). Each arrow represents one case study for concentrating an inlet feed from an initial (circle) to final (arrow head) salinity. Life-cycle RO and MVC costs were obtained from literature, while life-cyclemore »

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