Abstract This paper aims to quantify the contribution of the various factors to energy consumption in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination processes and to identify those with the greatest potential for reduction. Specific energy consumption (SEC), in kWh per m3 of permeate production, is due to the retentate osmotic pressure, the resistance to fluid permeation through the membrane, the friction losses in the retentate and permeate channels of the spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules and the non-ideal operation of high pressure pumps and energy recovery devices (ERD). Taking advantage of a recently developed SWM-module performance simulator, the aforementioned individual contributions to SEC are determined for two case studies, typical of seawater and brackish water desalination processes, for steady state operation. Detailed results are obtained with SEC itemized per SWM element in a typical 7-element pressure vessel. Comparative assessment of the results is enlightening, showing that the greatest margin for the desirable SEC reduction is related to improvements of membrane permeability and efficiency of pumps and ERD. The indirect, yet significant, effect of other key design and operating process parameters is also discussed.

中文翻译：

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反渗透海水淡化过程比能耗分析

摘要 本文旨在量化反渗透 (RO) 脱盐过程中各种因素对能源消耗的贡献，并确定那些具有最大减少潜力的因素。比能量消耗 (SEC)，以每立方米产水量 kWh 为单位，是由于滞留物渗透压、流体通过膜渗透的阻力、螺旋缠绕膜 (SWM) 模块的滞留物和渗透物通道中的摩擦损失以及高压泵和能量回收装置 (ERD) 的非理想操作。利用最近开发的 SWM 模块性能模拟器，上述对 SEC 的个人贡献是为两个案例研究确定的，典型的海水和微咸水淡化过程，用于稳态运行。详细结果是通过 SEC 在典型的 7 元件压力容器中按 SWM 元件逐项列出的。结果的比较评估具有启发性，表明理想的 SEC 减少的最大幅度与膜渗透性和泵和 ERD 效率的提高有关。还讨论了其他关键设计和操作工艺参数的间接但重要的影响。