Techno-economic evaluation of hybrid multi-effect and membrane desalination systems for improved water production

IF 10.9 1区工程技术 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy Conversion and Management Pub Date : 2025-09-27 DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120548

Qais N. Al-Oweiti , Omar G. Kaoud , Muhammad H. Elbassoussi , Syed M. Zubair

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study introduces a hybrid desalination system combining a four-stage parallel-feed Multi-effect Desalination with Thermal Vapor Compression (MED-TVC) and Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD). The system recycles hot brine rejected from each MED-TVC stage into DCMD units, improving efficiency and reducing brine discharge. Techno-economic and exergy analyses indicate significant performance gains; at a steam temperature of 90 °C, the proposed hybrid system achieved a specific energy consumption of 25 kWh/m³ (11.6 % lower), and a levelized cost of water (LCOW) of 1.28 $/m³ (8.5 % reduction) compared to standalone MED-TVC. Optimal DCMD membrane area decreases from 17 m² at 65 °C to 9.2 m² at 95 °C, beyond which LCOW rises. The TVC part accounts for about half of system irreversibility, while sensitivity analyses confirm that capital expenditure (52.8 %) and steam costs (77.6 % of operational costs) heavily influence LCOW, indicating potential savings from reduced steam pricing.

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多效和膜混合脱盐系统提高产水量的技术经济评价

本研究介绍了一种结合热蒸汽压缩（MED-TVC）和直接接触膜蒸馏（DCMD）的四级平行进料多效脱盐的混合脱盐系统。该系统将每个MED-TVC级排出的热盐水回收到DCMD装置中，从而提高了效率并减少了盐水排放。技术经济和能源分析表明，显著的性能提高；在蒸汽温度为90°C时，与独立的MED-TVC相比，该混合系统实现了25千瓦时/立方米的比能耗（降低11.6%），水的平准化成本（LCOW）为1.28美元/立方米（降低8.5%）。最佳膜面积从65℃时的17 m2减小到95℃时的9.2 m2， LCOW升高。TVC部分约占系统不可逆性的一半，而敏感性分析证实，资本支出（52.8%）和蒸汽成本（77.6%的运营成本）严重影响LCOW，这表明降低蒸汽定价可能会节省成本。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Energy Conversion and Management 工程技术-力学

CiteScore

19.00

自引率

11.50%

发文量

1304

审稿时长

17 days

期刊介绍： The journal Energy Conversion and Management provides a forum for publishing original contributions and comprehensive technical review articles of interdisciplinary and original research on all important energy topics. The topics considered include energy generation, utilization, conversion, storage, transmission, conservation, management and sustainability. These topics typically involve various types of energy such as mechanical, thermal, nuclear, chemical, electromagnetic, magnetic and electric. These energy types cover all known energy resources, including renewable resources (e.g., solar, bio, hydro, wind, geothermal and ocean energy), fossil fuels and nuclear resources.