4 ms·
90% compared to heating. But at scale no one desalinates by heating, it's all membrane based. I'd like to see an energy comparison to that.
by ars 7y ago
90% compared to heating. But at scale no one desalinates by heating, it's all membrane based.
I'd like to see an energy comparison to that.
- LegitShady 7y agoexactly this
- bluGill 7y agoNo citation, but from what I've heard in previous discussions heat and membranes need about the same energy input. With heat you use the steam in heat exchangers so you recover most of your input heat and only need to add more to make up for inefficiencies (the system of course is never 100% efficient). With membranes you need to supply power to the pumps to keep the membranes at the correct pressure differential. The above assumes engineering went into designing an efficient system. Pumps are easier to make efficient, but at scale they are not necessarily better.
- russdill 7y agoThere's already a factor of 10 cost difference between different heating technologies given energy costs and mineral content in the water.