Desalination Processes' Efficiency and Future Roadmap.

Area of Science:

• Thermodynamics
• Environmental Engineering
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Current seawater desalination energy efficiency evaluations omit the grade of energy supplied, leading to flawed comparisons and poor technology choices.
• This misconception of equivalent energy values in the desalination industry has significant economic and environmental repercussions.
• Suboptimal technology implementation in water-stressed regions increases energy costs and environmental impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a standard primary energy-based thermodynamic framework for accurate energy efficiency evaluation in seawater desalination.
• To propose a universal performance ratio-based method for comparing diverse desalination processes.
• To guide the selection of more efficient and sustainable desalination technologies.

Main Methods:

• Development of a standard primary energy (SPE)-based thermodynamic framework.
• Application of the framework to analyze energy consumption of thermally driven desalination processes.
• Proposal of a universal performance ratio for evaluating desalination process efficacy against the thermodynamic limit.

Main Results:

• Thermally driven desalination processes consume 2.5-3% of standard primary energy (SPE) when integrated with power plants.
• Existing desalination processes operate between 10-14% of the thermodynamic limit.
• Achieving 2030 sustainability goals requires innovative processes reaching 25-30% of the thermodynamic limit.

Conclusions:

• A standard primary energy-based thermodynamic framework provides accurate energy efficiency assessment for desalination.
• Current desalination technologies are far from optimal thermodynamic efficiency.
• Innovation is essential to meet future sustainability targets in seawater desalination.