A standard primary energy approach for comparing desalination processes

Muhammad Wakil Shahzad*, Muhammad Burhan, Kim Choom Ng

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

90 Citations (Scopus)
61 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Considering different grades of energy as equivalent in the desalination industry could have negative economic and environmental consequences. Whereas this approach will suffice for the comparison of same energy input processes, omitting the grade of energy when comparing diverse technologies may lead to incorrect conclusions and, resultantly, inefficient installations. Here, a standard primary energy-based thermodynamic framework is presented that addresses the energy efficacy of assorted desalination processes. Example calculations show that a thermal desalination plant integrated with a power plant consumes 2–3% of input standard primary energy. We also propose a standard universal performance ratio methodology to provide a level playing field for the comparison of desalination processes; this suggest that the majority of desalination processes are operating far from the sustainable zone, with only ~10–13% at the ideal or thermodynamic limit. A proposed roadmap shows that attaining an efficacy level of up to 25–30% of the thermodynamic limit is crucial for achieving the 2030 sustainability development goals for seawater desalination, which will require a technological shift in the capability of dissolved salts separation processes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1
Journalnpj Clean Water
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2019
Externally publishedYes

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