Abstract Technological advances of membrane seawater desalination have propelled its worldwide use. Despite the two-fold reduction of its power demand over the past 20 years, seawater desalination remains the most energy intensive alternative for production of fresh drinking water at present. This article provides an overview of the current status of energy use for seawater desalination, discusses the minimum energy demand for production of fresh water and presents key factors that influence the desalination plant energy demand for the site specific conditions of a given desalination project. The article describes key benefits and challenges associated with the implementation of energy-saving technologies and equipment such as: collocation of desalination and power plants; alternative RO system configurations proven to yield significant energy savings such as; low-recovery plant design; use of split permeate two-pass RO system configuration; three-center RO system design; and use of high productivity/low energy membrane elements, hybrid RO membrane vessel configurations, large-size high efficiency pumps and pressure-exchanger based energy recovery systems. The article also discusses emerging desalination technologies with high-energy reduction potential and provides a forecast of the potential impact of future technologies on energy use for membrane desalination.

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膜海水淡化的能源使用——现状和趋势

摘要 膜海水淡化技术的进步推动了其在世界范围内的应用。尽管过去 20 年来其电力需求减少了两倍，但海水淡化仍然是目前生产淡水的能源密集度最高的替代方案。本文概述了海水淡化的能源使用现状，讨论了淡水生产的最低能源需求，并提出了在给定海水淡化项目的现场特定条件下影响海水淡化厂能源需求的关键因素。文章描述了与实施节能技术和设备相关的主要好处和挑战，例如：海水淡化和发电厂的搭配；经证明可显着节能的替代 RO 系统配置，例如；低回收工厂设计；采用分流二回程反渗透系统配置；三中心反渗透系统设计；以及使用高生产率/低能量膜元件、混合 RO 膜容器配置、大型高效泵和基于压力交换器的能量回收系统。本文还讨论了具有高节能潜力的新兴海水淡化技术，并预测了未来技术对膜海水淡化能源使用的潜在影响。大型高效泵和基于压力交换器的能量回收系统。本文还讨论了具有高节能潜力的新兴海水淡化技术，并预测了未来技术对膜海水淡化能源使用的潜在影响。大型高效泵和基于压力交换器的能量回收系统。本文还讨论了具有高节能潜力的新兴海水淡化技术，并预测了未来技术对膜海水淡化能源使用的潜在影响。