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Photovoltaic Reverse Osmosis Desalination System Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development Report No. 104 Photovoltaic Reverse Osmosis Desalination System ITN Energy Systems, Inc. Agreement No. 02-FC-81-0831 U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation May 2004 Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 074-0188 The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of the collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to an penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From – To) May 2004 Final October 2002 – December 2003 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 02-FC-81-0831 Photovoltaic Reverse Osmosis Desalination System 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Sing-Foong Cheah, Ph.D. 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAMES(S) AND ADDRESS(S) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION ITN Energy Systems, Inc. REPORT NUMBER 8130 Shaffer Parkway, Littleton, CO 80127 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) Bureau of Reclamation Denver Federal Center DWPR PO Box 25007 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT Denver, CO 80225-0007 NUMBER(S) DWPR No. 104 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Available from the National Technical Information Service, Operations Division, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development (DWPR) Program 14. ABSTRACT An energy efficient, cost competitive, modular, small-scale photovoltaic reverse osmosis (PVRO) desalination system has been developed and field tested. This PVRO system will fit the needs of off-power-grid communities that face drinking water shortages due to saline water problems. The system is powered directly by a photovoltaic (PV) array, without an inverter or battery. A variable-flow pump was utilized to compensate for the variable power output due to daily and seasonal solar intensity fluctuations. To ensure efficient system operation, a linear current booster or maximum power point tracker was used to match power available with load requirements. A solid state circuit was designed to detect a suitable power level set by the user and to activate a membrane rinsing cycle prior to shutdown. The PVRO system was field tested for 3 months in Mesquite, Nevada. The PVRO system performed well overall, consistently desalinating water at Mesquite, which has a salinity of 3,500 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS), to water of 100 ppm TDS. During the field test, energy use per volume of water produced was 1.38 kilowatt-hours per cubic meter, which is low for a small system. 15. SUBJECT TERMS desalination, reverse osmosis, photovoltaic, solar desalination, linear current booster, maximum power point tracker, scaling prevention 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON ABSTRACT OF Lee Petersen a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE PAGES 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) (303) 285-1824 U U U UU 44 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-18 PHOTOVOLTAIC REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION SYSTEM Sing-Foong Cheah, Ph.D. ITN Energy Systems, Inc. 8130 Shaffer Parkway Littleton, CO 80127 Agreement No. 02-FC-81-0831 Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development Program Report No. 104 May 2004 U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation Denver Office Technical Service Center Environmental Services Division Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group Mission Statements U.S. Department of the Interior The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. Bureau of Reclamation The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. Disclaimer Information contained in this report regarding commercial products or firms was supplied by those firms. It may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes and is not to be construed as an endorsement of any product or firm by the Bureau of Reclamation. The information contained in this report was developed for the Bureau of Reclamation; no warranty as to the accuracy, usefulness, or completeness is expressed or implied. Acknowledgments Funding for this project was provided by the Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development Program of the Bureau of Reclamation and ITN Energy Systems, Inc. Help from the Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group at Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) was greatly appreciated. In particular, the author acknowledges the following individuals for help in field site, discussion, and contribution to the project: Tom Jennings, Harry Remmers, Frank Leitz, Saied Delagah, John Walp, and Michelle Chapman (Reclamation) Michael Johnson and Pete Peterson (Virgin Valley Water District, Nevada) Patrick Swanson, Lloyd Cooper, Jade Bechir, G. Scott Kato, D. Garth Jensen, and Lee Petersen (ITN Energy Systems, Inc.) iii Abbreviations and Acronyms µS microSiemens AC alternating current Ah ampere-hour cm centimeter CREST Critical Research on Economic and Social Transformation DC direct current EDS electron dispersive spectroscopy EDTA ethylenediaminetetracetate gpd gallon per day gpm gallon per minute kW kilowatt kWh kilowatthour m3 cubic meter mg/L milligram per liter ND not detected at the reporting limit ppm part per million psi pound per square inch PV photovoltaic PVRO photovoltaic reverse osmosis Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation RO reverse osmosis SES Solar Energy Systems TDS total dissolved solids TSP trisodium phosphate UV ultraviolet V volt W watt WaTER Water Treatment Engineering and Research Group iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary.............................................................................................................. 1 2. Background and Introduction to Potential Solutions............................................................ 2 2.1 Current Technologies...................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Proposed Solutions..........................................................................................................4 3. System Description ............................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Overall System Description ............................................................................................ 4 3.2 PV Cooling and Feedwater Preheating........................................................................... 8 4. Testing and Research Findings ........................................................................................... 10 4.1 Testing........................................................................................................................... 10 4.2 Detailed Descriptions of Research Findings................................................................. 14 4.3 Economic Cost Analysis............................................................................................... 22 5. Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................... 23 5.1 Recommendations and Future Directions..................................................................... 24 6. References........................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix: Mesquite Field Test Data ..................................................................................... 27 v Tables 1. Summary of renewable energy powered desalination systems.................................................. 3 2. Water analysis results of raw well water and RO feed at test site in Mesquite, Nevada........... 9 3. Cost comparison between storing water and storing electricity in batteries............................ 16 4. Comparison of energy expenditure for water production at different water recoveries.......... 21 5. Water production cost of the PVRO system............................................................................. 23 Figures 1. Schematic of first generation PVRO system built and tested in this research project................ 5 2. Data showing variable flow and pressure of the pump as a function of power generated from the PV panels.. ........................................................................................................................ 6 3. PVRO research unit being tested at ITN campus from May to August 2003.......................... 11 4. Water production at ITN campus............................................................................................
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