4 ms·

Can you describe this thermodynamic optimum or link me to something? Curious

• jessriedel 10y ago
  > A state-of-the-art facility is now within a factor of two of the theoretical energy minimum, and only 25 percent higher than the realistic minimum for the current reverse osmosis process. In short, it’s going to be tough to squeeze too much more energy out of reverse osmosis, and we’re unlikely to find an alternative method of desalination that will provide a significant boost over that. > But that doesn’t mean that there are no other ways of getting better output for our energy. The total process of desalination turns out to require three to four times the theoretical minimal energy use, since the salt water must be pumped and pretreated, the membranes maintained, and the resulting brine handled afterwards. Some of these things might be amenable to further improvements, and there has been work put into developing membranes that don’t clog up as easily or better pre-filtering of biological materials. http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/desalinization-is-this-as-good-as-it-gets/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/desalinization-is-thi... More: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/333/6043/712 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/333/6043/712 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Menachem_Elimelech/publication/51547620_The_Future_of_Seawater_Desalination_Energy_Technology_and_the_Environment/links/02e7e51e88c0a7f890000000/The-Future-of-Seawater-Desalination-Energy-Technology-and-the-Environment.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Menachem_Elimelech/publ...