Renewable energy powered membrane technology. 2. The effect of energy fluctuations on performance of a photovoltaic hybrid membrane system

B. S. Richards, D. P. S. Capao, Andrea Schaefer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper reports on the performance fluctuations during the operation of a batteryless hybrid ultrafiltration-nanofiltration/reverse osmosis (UF-NF/RO) membrane desalination system powered by photovoltaics treating brackish groundwater in outback Australia. The renewable energy powered membrane (RE-membrane) system is designed to supply clean drinking water to a remote community of about 50 inhabitants. The performance of the RE-membrane system over four different solar days is summarized using four different NF membranes (BW30, NF90, ESPA4, TFC-S), and examined in more detail for the BW30 membrane. On an Australian spring day, the system produced 1.1 m(3) of permeate with an average conductivity of 0.28 mS.cm(-1), recovering 28% of the brackish (8.29 mS.cm(-1) conductivity) feedwater with an average specific energy consumption of 2.3 kWh.m(-3). The RE-membrane system tolerated large fluctuations in solar irradiance (500-1200W.m(-1)), resulting in only small increases in the permeate conductivity. When equipped with the NF90 (cloudy day) and ESPA4 (rainy day) membranes, the system was still able to produce 1.36 m(-3) and 0.85 m(-3) of good quality permeate, respectively. The TFC-S membrane was not able to produce adequate water quality from the bore water tested. It is concluded that batteryless operation is a simple and robust way to operate such systems under conditions ranging from clear skies to medium cloud cover.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4563-4569
Number of pages7
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume42
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2008

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • REVERSE-OSMOSIS DESALINATION
  • COMMUNITIES
  • WATER
  • UNIT

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