Recycling brine water of reverse osmosis desalination employing adsorption desalination: A theoretical simulation

• Published in: Desalination 2017-04, Vol.408, p.13-24
• Main Authors: Ali, Ehab S., Alsaman, Ahmed S., Harby, K., Askalany, Ahmed A., Diab, Mohamed Refaat, Ebrahim Yakoot, Sobhy M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Cooling; Desalination; Reverse osmosis
• ISSN: 0011-9164; 1873-4464
• DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2016.12.002

Intake, pretreatment and brine disposal cost of reverse osmosis sea water desalination systems represent about 25% of total cost of the desalinated water. The present study investigates effect of reverse osmosis brine recycling employing adsorption desalination on overall system desalinated water recovery. The adsorption desalination produces dual useful effects which are high quality potable water and cooling effect. Reverse osmosis desalination is simulated by engineering equation solver (EES). The brine leaving reverse osmosis system is fed to adsorption desalination system. The adsorption desalination is driven by a low temperature heat source such as solar energy. The adsorption desalination system has been simulated by MATLAB. Results show that the proposed combination system recovery increases and permeate salinity decreases. In addition to system performance improvements, a cooling effect is generated and can be utilized for cooling applications. •An innovative combination between RO and AD desalination systems has been proposed.•RO brine is recycled by employing adsorption desalination.•The proposed system has been studied theoretically by using a MATALB code.