(53b) Optimal Plant Operation of Industrial Reverse Osmosis Desalination

A comprehensive first-principles based mathematical model, which explicitly accounts for membrane hydraulic permeability, pump characteristic curves and retentate pressure drop, is developed to describe the reverse osmosis desalination process. Parameters used in the model are derived from data collected in an industrial desalination plant. A model-based optimization framework is then developed to reduce pump energy consumption while maintaining the same permeate rate. The model predicted results match well with plant trials, and a 10% reduction in energy consumption is demonstrated.

References
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