A simulation tool for analysis and design of reverse electrodialysis using concentrated brines

Tedesco, Michele; Cipollina, Andrea; Tamburini, Alessandro; Bogle, David; Micale, G.

doi:10.1016/j.cherd.2014.05.009

Cited by 129 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Moreover, this choice can lead to the benefit of keeping a reduced stack resistance, even with realistically feasible compartment thicknesses, thus opening a large room for RED technology applications and process optimization [20][21][22][23]. This concept was demonstrated by theoretical analysis indicating how the use of brine and brackish water can have beneficial effects on the process performance, with optimal conditions dramatically depending on the stack size and geometry, solutions residence time and membrane features [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reverse electrodialysis with saline waters and concentrated brines: A laboratory investigation towards technology scale-up

Tedesco

Brauns

Cipollina

et al. 2015

Journal of Membrane Science

182

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The measured values of OCV can be compared with the theoretical OCV calculated by the Nernst equation [24,30] assuming unitary permselectivity of IEMs (Figure 4.A). In particular, the theoretical OCV has been evaluated as…”

Section: Influence Of Feed Solutions Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reverse electrodialysis with saline waters and concentrated brines: A laboratory investigation towards technology scale-up

Tedesco

Brauns

Cipollina

et al. 2015

Journal of Membrane Science

182

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“…These factors affect also other aspects as the Ohmic resistances and the nonOhmic resistances (due to the concentration polarization and the streamwise change of the bulk concentration) which reduce the actual driving force [7,[12][13][14]. Therefore, in the optimization of the stack and of the operating conditions one has to account for the combined effects of several factors on various aspects [15][16][17]. However, among these, pressure drops and consequent power consumption might have the major impact on the process efficiency [7,11,13,14,18] especially when highly concentrated solutions are employed [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pressure drop at low Reynolds numbers in woven-spacer-filled channels for membrane processes: CFD prediction and experimental validation

Gurreri

Tamburini

Cipollina

et al. 2017

DWt

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a b s t r a c tThe energy consumption due to pumping power is a crucial issue in membrane processes. Spacers provide mechanical stability and promote mixing, yet increasing pressure drop. Woven spacers and their behaviour at low Reynolds numbers are less studied in the literature. Nevertheless, they are typical of some membrane technologies, as reverse electrodialysis (RED). RED is a promising technology for electric power generation by the chemical potential difference of two salt solutions within a stack equipped by selective ion-exchange membranes. The mechanical energy required for pumping the feed solutions, can dramatically reduce the net power output. In this work computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of spacer-filled channels at low Reynolds numbers were carried out in parallel with an experimental campaign focused on the collection of data for model validation. Woven spacers 280-480 μm thick were investigated at the flow rates typical of RED channels. The construction of the computational domain was based on measurements made by optical microscopy and micrometer. Fully developed flow conditions were assumed, thus, periodic boundary conditions were adopted (unit cell approach). The experiments were carried out in a flow cell with one channel. Pressure drops were measured with and without the spacer, in order to quantify the effect of inlet-outlet channel and identify the distributed pressure drops due to the woven nets. Experimental results showed that the distributed pressure drop along the spacer-filled channel for the cases investigated is around 40% of the overall pressure loss. The significant contribution of the manifolds is due to the relatively high velocity of the fluid entering and leaving the channel in radial direction in the inlet and outlet holes, as in the RED stacks commonly used. However, an improved geometry of the distribution and collection system can easily result in a significant reduction of hydraulic loss in this part of the stack. Therefore, the optimization of the spacer geometry is crucial. In this regard, a good agreement between CFD results and experimental data on hydraulic loss along the channel was found, thus confirming that a simple CFD model (as the one presented in this work) can be a powerful and cheap tool, able to efficiently evaluate the pressure drops within spacer-filled channels of any customised geometry.

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“…Focus of this work is to present a newly developed process simulator for the RED process with sea/brackish water and concentrated brines as feed streams. Starting from a model previously developed by the same authors [17], a more detailed simulation tool was built, allowing to quantitatively explore the effect of new stack design, e.g. a cross-flow configuration with asymmetrical paths for the feed solutions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis and simulation of scale-up potentials in reverse electrodialysis

Tedesco

Mazzola

Tamburini

et al. 2014

Desalination and Water Treatment

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The Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) process has been widely accepted as a viable and promising technology to produce electric energy from salinity difference (salinity gradient power -e.g. using river water/seawater, or seawater and concentrated brines). Recent R&D efforts demonstrated how an appropriate design of the RED unit and a suitable selection of process conditions may crucially enhance the process performance. With this regard, a process simulator was developed and validated with experimental data collected on a labscale unit, providing a new modelling tool for process optimisation.In this work, performed within the REAPower project (www.reapower.eu), a process simulator previously proposed by the same authors has been modified in order to predict the behaviour of a cross-flow RED unit. The model was then adopted to investigate the influence of the most important variables (i.e. solution properties and stack geometry) on the overall process performance. In particular, the use of different concentrations and flow rates for the feed streams have been considered, as well as different aspect ratios in asymmetric stacks. Moreover, the influence of the scaling-up a RED unit was investigated, starting from a 22x22 cm 2 100 cell pairs lab-stack, and simulating the performance of larger stacks up to a 44x88 cm 2 500 cell pairs unit. Finally, different scenarios are proposed for a prototype-scale RED plant, providing useful indications for the technology scale-up towards 1 kW of power production, relevant to the installation of a real prototype plant in Trapani (Italy) being the final objective of the R&D activities of the REAPower project.

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A simulation tool for analysis and design of reverse electrodialysis using concentrated brines

Cited by 129 publications

References 31 publications

Reverse electrodialysis with saline waters and concentrated brines: A laboratory investigation towards technology scale-up

Reverse electrodialysis with saline waters and concentrated brines: A laboratory investigation towards technology scale-up

Pressure drop at low Reynolds numbers in woven-spacer-filled channels for membrane processes: CFD prediction and experimental validation

Analysis and simulation of scale-up potentials in reverse electrodialysis

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