Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

A new method of sea water desalination, Centrifugal Reverse-Osmosis (CRO), is developed from concept to patented design and functional prototype of capacity 11,355 litres of fresh water per day. CRO is shown to have significant benefits relative to the leading existing desalination technology, conventional reverse-osmosis. These benefits include: lower energy consumption, reduced initial and replacement membrane costs, lower noise levels and improved reliability. CRO is projected to show increasing cost efficiency as plant capacity increases. For a relatively large CRO plant, 65lm³ fresh water per day, the total cost of desalinated water is projected to be 25.9% lower than the total cost of water produced by a conventional RO plant of equivalent capacity. The current patented design requires further development in order to realize this potential. Toward this end, a computational and experimental study of rotor windage losses and an experimental study of fluid flow losses through the rotor are conducted. In addition a new method for the analysis of stresses in a filament wound rotor shell under combined centrifugal and pressure loading is developed. / Graduate

M. Ing. / Southern Africa faces an increasingly serious shortage of potable water and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Desalination is a process whereby dissolved solids are removed out of a contaminated water source to produce potable water. However, desalination carries an unavoidable energy cost per unit of potable water produced. Minimising this energy cost is an important goal towards making desalination a practical technology for widespread use. A desalination process is proposed by the author which is based on the injection of a brine spray into vacuum conditions. Although a complete desalination process is proposed, only the core components of the desalination process are investigated in the present study. The physical processes taking place in the core components are complex. Computational fluid dynamics is the numerical tool used to investigate the processes taking place in the core components. A commercial computational fluid dynamics code, augmented with user-programming, provides a simulation model for the core components. Due to the complexity of the investigated desalination process not all of its physical aspects are accounted for in the simulation. An analytical as opposed to experimental verification of the simulation is performed. The simulation model is used to perform a number of parametric tests. These tests are used to numerically investigate the effects of a number of process variables on the core components. The results of these parametric tests are presented and discussed

No description available.

This research report discusses a binary power generation and salt water distillation cycle that was the subject of a feasibility study at Florida Technological University. The thermodynamic equations are derived and the results of a parametric study to determine optimum fluid properties is presented. This cycle produces power at efficiencies significantly higher than that of conventional cycles and at the same time produces a significant amount of fresh water. The efficiency is maintained even at the high turbine outlet temperature necessary to produce fresh water. The important quantities in considering they cycle efficiency and the fresh water production are the heat of reaction and the absorption capacity. Changes in these quantities will have the greatest effect on the efficiency and the fresh water production. The results of the calculations and the parametric study are presented which compare the turbine outlet temperature with the efficiency and fresh water production for a conventional cycle and the binary cycle discussed here. Conclusions are presented that this cycle should be afforded more study by means of a model plant and experimentation to validate the results calculated.

No description available.

The management of hypersaline brines is a topic of growing environmental concern. While desalination is an increasingly attractive treatment option, conventional desalination technologies face technical limitations in high-salinity environments. This dissertation guides scientific development in the field of hypersaline desalination and advances our fundamental understanding of the novel technology Temperature Swing Solvent Extraction (TSSE). Chapter 1 motivates the environmental, regulatory, economic, and water scarcity drivers for hypersaline desalination and briefly outlines the objectives and contributions of the thesis. In Chapter 2, the sources and characteristics of hypersaline streams are introduced, and a primer on the energy requirements of high-salinity desalination is presented. The prospects and challenges of emerging technologies for hypersaline desalination are critically reviewed along the dimensions of energy consumption, fit- for-purpose compatibility, and ability to precipitate salts in the bulk solution. TSSE, which utilizes a switchable solvent with thermally responsive polarity to extract and subsequently release water from hypersaline feeds, shows particular promise in this field. Chapter 3 of this dissertation investigates the influence of temperature on the equilibrium partitioning of water, salt, and solvent in biphasic TSSE mixtures. Analysis reveals that TSSE hypersaline desalination performance is inherently constrained by a productivity-selectivity tradeoff: as the operating temperature is tuned to improve water extraction, salt rejection worsens. In Chapter 4, a novel configuration of TSSE with intermediate-step release (TSSE-IR) is introduced, and its desalination performance is assessed. The intermediate temperature step is demonstrated to dramatically improve salt rejection compared to the conventional single-step operation while minimizing sacrifices in water recovery yields. Chapter 5 of the dissertation advances a physical chemistry framework for the a priori prediction of activity coefficients in TSSE biphasic systems. Water partitioning behavior is shown to be enthalpically driven, and salt partitioning behavior is determined to be primarily influenced by the anion. In Chapter 6, the distribution behaviors of organic contaminants, which are present in real hypersaline brines, are measured in TSSE biphasic mixtures. The fate of these compounds can be reliably predicted from the physicochemical properties of octanol-water partition coefficients and acid-base dissociation constants. Finally, Chapter 7 details the contributions and implications of the dissertation, offering suggestions for targeted areas of future research. Overall, this work helps to advance the development of cost-effective and energy-efficient desalination of high-salinity streams to enable a circular water economy.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Desalination has been hailed by some as the answer to global freshwater supply shortages, but there is rigorous debate over the appropriateness of utilising desalination technology in regions that are not faced with severe water shortages. The aim of this research report is to provide a strategic overview of the South African desalination equipment market, a region where little research on this topic has been conducted. Secondary and thorough primary research in the form of interviews with desalination equipment suppliers and end users of desalination equipment in South Africa were conducted. The research findings revealed that the South African desalination equipment market, with a total annual revenue figure of R169.80 million in 2006 is very small when compared with the annual revenue figures of other global markets such as Saudi Arabia, which reached R6.61 billion in 2006. The industrial sector is the most active end user in South Africa followed by the commercial and lastly the municipal sector. It is anticipated however that the municipal sector, driven by coastal municipalities, will experience high growth in the medium to long term. Competition levels within the market were found to be high between desalination equipment suppliers, an attribute common in growth markets. Distinct market drivers, restraints and market trends were identified by research participants each of which have a varying influence on the desalination equipment market. South Africa has a fairly active desalination equipment market, which is small by global standards, and it is unlikely that desalination will solve South Africa’s water supply issues. Impoverished citizens, the high cost of desalination and the low cost of current fresh water sources all add to the complexity of the desalination debate in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPOMMING: Ontsouting word deur sommige partye gesien as die antwoord op die wêreldwye vars water voorsieningstekorte, maar daar is breedvoerige debat oor die geskiktheid van ontsouting tegnologie in streke waar daar nie ernstige waterterkort is nie. Die doel van hierdie navorsingsverslag is om ’n strategies oorsig te lewer van die Suid Afrikaanse ontsoutingsmark, ’n streek waarin daar tot dusver min navorsing oor hierdie veld gedoen is. Sekondêre en primêre navorsing in die vorm van onderhoude met ontsoutings-toerusting en eindgebruikers van hierdie toerusting in Suid Afrika is gedoen. Die bevindinge toon dat die Suid Afrikaanse ontsoutings-toerusting mark, met ’n omset van R169.8 miljoen in 2006, baie klein is wanneer dit vergelyk word met ’n mark soos Saudi Arabië, met ’n omset van R6.6 miljard in 2006. Die industriële sektor is die mees aktiewe eidgebruiker in Suid Afrika, gevolg deur die kommersiële en laastens die munisipale sektor. Dit word egter geantisipeer dat die munisipale sektor, gedryf deur kus-munisipaliteite, die grootste groei in die medium tot lang termyn gaan toon. Dei bevindeninge wys verder op hoë vlakke van kompetisie tussen ontsoutings-toerusting voorsieners, ’n algemene verskynsel in groei-markte. Verskeie mark-drywers, beperkings en tendense is deur deelnemers in die navorsing geïdentifiseer, met elk wat ’n wisselende invlied op die ontsoutings-toerusting mark het. Suid Afrika het ’n redelike klein aktiewe ontsoutings-toerusting mark in wêreld-terme en dit is onwaarskynlik dat ontsouting Suid Afrika se water-probleme sal oplos. Arm inwoners, die hoë koste van ontsouting en die huidige lae koste van vars water dra alles by tot die kompleksiteit van die ontsoutingsdebat in Suid Afrika.