Matan Beery

Sustainable Design of Different Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Pretreatment Processes

Abstract Sustainable development is usually presented using the three pillar model: economy, environment and society. This research uses life cycle based assessments in conjunction with process system engineering methods for the design and analysis of sustainable processes with the example of pretreatment of seawater membrane desalination. At the first step, the sustainability potential of several state of the art process alternatives is analyzed (namely granular media- and membrane-based filtration). Conducting a broad environmental life cycle assessment (LCA, using GaBi4® software) together with a life cycle costs assessment (LCC, according to SETAC guidelines) forms the so called eco-efficiency analysis (based on a definition by Germanys institute for applied Ecology) which together with a qualitative process performance assessment gives a good idea about the sustainability potential of the different process alternatives. The results show that the current trend of using a membrane based pre-treatment is proven here to not always be a more sustainable process solution.

Techno-economical approach of GAC and microfiltration as a coagulant-free pre-treatment of seawater desalination

Abstract Membrane filtration is lately becoming a popular process for the pre-treatment of seawater in reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination. The common practiced method of controlling membrane fouling and reducing the treatment costs usually involves a short coagulation step prior to the membrane filtration. In this work, a study of the feasibility of a coagulation free microfiltration (MF) as pre-treatment for SWRO desalination from a technical, economical and environmental point of view was performed. The experimental part included filtration of seawater from the Yellow Sea in Korea both with and without granular activated carbon (GAC) pre-treatment using a laboratory scale MF plant and different constant fluxes in outside-in dead-end mode. The results show that a coagulant and GAC free, stand-alone microfi ltration using low fluxes and intense chemical cleanings is technically possible. When compared to a state of the art coagulation-MF, such a process could be economically and environmentally favourabl...

Integration of Carbon Footprint Minimization into the Process Design of SWRO Desalination Pretreatment

Abstract In this work we present a novel graphical user interface (GUI) tool which assists water engineers with the synthesis, simulation and evaluation of new seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination pre-treatment separation trains. It is based on a knowledge management system, steady state How sheet simulation and, for the first time, a basic product carbon footprint evaluation. With the help of a case study it is shown how the user can rapidly choose, design and evaluate the best pre-treatment process in the basic design phase while accounting for both techno-economical as well as environmental aspects.