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Process Systems Engineering
Optimal design of reverse osmosis-based water treatment systems
Article first published online: 13 JUL 2012
DOI: 10.1002/aic.13880
Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Additional Information
How to Cite
Karuppiah, R., Bury, S. J., Vazquez, A. and Poppe, G. (2012), Optimal design of reverse osmosis-based water treatment systems. AIChE J., 58: 2758–2769. doi: 10.1002/aic.13880
Publication History
- Issue published online: 8 AUG 2012
- Article first published online: 13 JUL 2012
- Accepted manuscript online: 26 JUN 2012 12:39PM EST
- Manuscript Revised: 29 MAY 2012
- Manuscript Received: 2 DEC 2011
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- reverse osmosis;
- superstructure optimization;
- MINLP;
- desalination
Abstract
We address the problem of optimal design of reverse osmosis (RO)-based water treatment systems. A superstructure optimization method is proposed to solve the problem, where the superstructure for a RO system is structurally enhanced with additional features. We formulate the problem as mixed-integer nonlinear program which is solved to yield optimal results. A case study on desalination is considered in this work, and the numerical results obtained using our approach are validated using a commercial simulation tool. We further extend the problem by considering the effects of degradation of membrane performance over time and solve it by representing the problem as a two-stage stochastic program. This new approach is highly useful for identifying minimum cost robust designs for membrane-based water purification systems, which are especially important in desalination applications. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012