Abstract In this paper we investigate the potential for using suspension crystallisation for the production of clean drinking water from a seawater source. The experimental results show that the produced water from the suspension crystallisation plant not only meets water quality standards but is comparable in ionic composition to premier bottled water from around the globe. The experimental results obtained from a pilot scale suspension crystallisation unit showed that the achievable water recovery was around 41% and the salt rejection ratio reached over 99%, which is comparable with most desalination technologies. Moreover, a hybrid RO-Freeze plant has been proposed that is capable of significantly increasing the potable product water that could be achieved by RO alone (~ 400% increase), while simultaneously concentrating the RO brine (used as feed water) producing a super brine of ~ 13 wt%. While there is a cost to this additional process in terms of capital and energy that must be quantified, the obvious increase in water harvest and reduction in residual brine quantity lead to a very attractive desalination process. If the energy demands are acceptable, then this technology could lead to a more sustainable water future.

中文翻译：

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混合 RO-Freeze 工艺能否实现可持续供水？

摘要 在本文中，我们研究了使用悬浮结晶从海水源生产清洁饮用水的潜力。实验结果表明，悬浮结晶厂生产的水不仅符合水质标准，而且在离子成分上可与来自世界各地的优质瓶装水相媲美。从中试规模悬浮结晶装置获得的实验结果表明，可实现的水回收率约为 41%，脱盐率达到 99% 以上，可与大多数脱盐技术相媲美。此外，还提出了一种混合 RO-Freeze 设备，能够显着增加单独 RO 可以实现的饮用水产水量（增加约 400%），同时浓缩 RO 盐水（用作给水）产生约 13 wt% 的超级盐水。虽然在必须量化的资本和能源方面，这个额外的过程有成本，但水收集量的明显增加和残留盐水量的减少导致非常有吸引力的脱盐过程。如果能源需求是可以接受的，那么这项技术可能会带来更可持续的水资源未来。