Modular desalination concept with low-pressure reverse osmosis and capacitive deionization: Performance study of a pilot plant in Vietnam in comparison to seawater reverse osmosis

Vu T Luong; Edgardo E Cañas Kurz; Ulrich Hellriegel; Duc N Dinh; Hang T Tran; Alberto Figoli; Bartolo Gabriele; Tran L Luu; Jan Hoinkis

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117078

Modular desalination concept with low-pressure reverse osmosis and capacitive deionization: Performance study of a pilot plant in Vietnam in comparison to seawater reverse osmosis

J Environ Manage. 2023 Mar 1:329:117078. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117078. Epub 2022 Dec 24.

Authors

Vu T Luong¹, Edgardo E Cañas Kurz², Ulrich Hellriegel², Duc N Dinh³, Hang T Tran⁴, Alberto Figoli⁵, Bartolo Gabriele⁶, Tran L Luu⁴, Jan Hoinkis⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Separation Science, LUT School of Engineering Science, LUT University, P.O. Box 20, 53851, Lappeenranta, Finland; Vietnamese-German University, Le Lai Street, Hoa Phu Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.
² Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany; Laboratory of Industrial and Synthetic Organic Chemistry (LISOC), Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy; Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro Bucci 17/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy.
³ Vietnamese-German University, Le Lai Street, Hoa Phu Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam; Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany.
⁴ Vietnamese-German University, Le Lai Street, Hoa Phu Ward, Thu Dau Mot City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.
⁵ Institute on Membrane Technology, National Research Council (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro Bucci 17/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy.
⁶ Laboratory of Industrial and Synthetic Organic Chemistry (LISOC), Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci 12/C, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy.
⁷ Center of Applied Research, Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Moltkestr. 30, 76133, Karlsruhe, Germany. Electronic address: jan.hoinkis@h-ka.de.

PMID: 36571949
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117078

Abstract

Membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) has shown many advances, however, its performance in combination with other treatment technologies has not been widely reported. In this study, a pilot-scale low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) (FilmTec™ XLE-2540) with MCDI (CapDI© C17, Voltea) was developed and tested as a promising modular desalination system. The systems were evaluated individually at different salinities and tested together as a modular system. The study focused in the comparison to conventional seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) (FilmTec™ SW30-2540) at pilot-scale and in theory using the software Water Application Value Engine (WAVE, DuPont™), including a cost evaluation of the systems. Pilot tests were carried out in Can Gio, a riverine estuary region in South Vietnam, which is affected by progressive salinization (TDS ≈ 1-25 g/L). Drinking water quality (TDS < 600 mg/L) was achieved with a specific energy consumption (SEC) of 5.2 kWh/m³. Additionally, fouling mitigation was investigated for the ultrafiltration (UF) pre-treatment by periodic hydraulic and chemical enhanced backwashing. While the SWRO had a slightly lower SEC of 5.0 kWh/m³, WAVE calculations showed that lowering the SEC to 3.6 kWh/m³ is possible by improving the LPRO pump design and an optimization of the MCDI operation.

Keywords: Drinking water; Estuary salinization; LPRO; MCDI; Ultrafiltration.

MeSH terms

Membranes, Artificial
Osmosis
Seawater
Vietnam
Water Purification*

Substances

Membranes, Artificial