Integrated Membrane-Based Desalination System
Elham El-Zanati, K, M. EI-Khatib
Chcm. En*. St Pilot Planf Department, Engineering Division, Nutionnl Research Centre, Dukkl, C»1i*o. Kpy]it
eclzanati(fl) amx.net
Abstract
A comparative study of an integrated hybrid membrane ~ based system with an earlier
locally designed RO unit, such system comprises of NanofiUralion (NT), Reverse
osmosis (RO) and Membrane Distillation (MD) subsystems. The comparison is
essentially based on using the NF technique in presentment section, while the MD was
contributed to concentrate the two brine streams from both NF and RO. The proposed
system was economically evaluated and compared with the RO unit.
Key words; Desalination. RO, NF, MD, membrane separation, costing.
Introduction
Water shortages affects 88 developing countries that are comprise to half of the
world’s population. Low cost methods of purifying freshwater and desalting sea water arc
required to contend with this destabilizing trend [I].
At 2001, the world population was 6.2 billion, the need for water is rapidly
increasing, and current freshwater resources will not be able to meet all requirements.
Water cannot be considered now as a natural, self-renewable, low-cost resource, easily
accessible to nil. Many years of drought at various locations, followed by desertification
and movement of the population towards this essential resource calls for different
considerations in terms of economic and social effects [2].