Recovery of the brine hydraulic energy promises operating cost savings in reverse osmosis (RO) systems. For seawater (SW) RO systems, this promise has turned into reality with a plethora of
commercialized energy recovery devices (ERDs). Brackish water (BW) RO however, is not nearly so amenable for ERD application due to a relatively small amount of hydraulic energy available in
the brine stream thereby limiting energy savings potential thus placing severe limits on the acceptable capital cost of the ERD. TurboBoosters are the only apparently successful ERDs in the BW RO market. TurboBoosters raise the pressure between membrane stages in a brine-staged configuration and are entirely energized by the brine from the final membrane stage. Interstage boost helps balance flux rates, improve permeate quality and reduces feed pressure. These performance enhancements plus a very high reliability and easy installation have driven their commercial success. This paper describes a significant advancement in TurboBooster and HP feed pump technology called the BW Hydraulic Energy Management Integration (BW-HEMI). The BW-HEMI centralizes HP pumping and brine energy recovery resulting in a very low cost package yet able to realize significantly reduced energy consumption from brine energy recovery. A variation of the BW-HEMI is used for interstage pressure boosting in which perfect control on interstage pressure boost is obtained regardless of the membrane operating requirement.
This presentation is available to AMTA Members only.
Speaker
- Eli Oklejas, Jr.
Company
- Fluid Equipment Development Company, LLC
Event
- AMTA Biennial Conference, Las Vegas, NV
Session
- Biennial Conference
Date
- 07/23/07
Media
Keywords
- BW Hydraulic Energy Management Integration (BW-HEMI), energy recovery, interstage pressure boost, seawater RO, brackish water (BW) RO, Low Pressure Hydraulic Energy Management Integration (LPHEMI?)
Reference
- 9641-DP207