Abstract
Two hybrid systems, i.e., an integrated flat-plate collector (FPC) and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system and an integrated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and DCMD system, are proposed to mitigate the negative effects of conventional heat supply methods such as burning fossil fuels. In addition to benefiting from renewable and clean sources, harvesting the waste heat of PEMFCs helps enhance its total efficiency. The proposed FPC-DCMD and PEMFC-DCMD hybrid systems were simulated to evaluate their performance on representative days in the city of Wuhan, China. A new approach that combines two programming environments is demonstrated, i.e., a programmed engineering equation solver code for DCMD modeling and the TRNSYS version 16.0 (2016) software for the dynamic simulation of hybrid systems. The driving force required by DCMD () is supplied using the two proposed heat supply scenarios to produce of freshwater. The results of the integrated FPC-DCMD system show that the maximum amount of energy supplied by the FPC are and at 2 PM during the summer and winter solstices, whereas the amounts of energy provided by the auxiliary heater are and , respectively. The average solar fraction at the summer solstice was 19%, whereas at 2 PM, the integrated FPC-DCMD system can provide approximately 70% of the total energy required at the maximum mode. In another scenario, of the total energy required for DCMD was supplied by harvesting the waste heat of the PEMFC, whereas the rest was provided by an auxiliary electric heater. It was found that 73% of the total energy required by DCMD to increase the feed water inlet temperature from 25°C to 80°C was obtained by harvesting the waste heat of the PEMFC.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21776226) and The China Scholarship Council (2017SLJ020343 and 2019SLJ017820). HBH thanks Ms. Neda Mohammad Hashemi and Ms. Sisi Tian who provided useful references for calling EES codes in the TRNSYS software and required information of the commercial PEMFC, respectively.
References
Acevedo, L., J. Uche, A. Del Almo, F. Círez, S. Usón, A. Martínez, and I. Guedea. 2016. “Dynamic simulation of a trigeneration scheme for domestic purposes based on hybrid techniques.” Energies 9 (12): 1013–1025. https://doi.org/10.3390/en9121013.
Adnan, S., M. Hoang, H. Wang, and Z. Xie. 2012. “Commercial PTFE membranes for membrane distillation application: Effect of microstructure and support material.” Desalination 284 (Jan): 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2011.09.015.
Al-Hallaj, S., F. Alasfour, S. Parekh, S. Amiruddin, J. R. Selman, and H. Ghezel-Ayagh. 2004. “Conceptual design of a novel hybrid fuel cell/desalination system.” Desalination 164 (1): 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0011-9164(04)00152-3.
Alkhudhiri, A., N. Darwish, and N. Hilal. 2012. “Membrane distillation: A comprehensive review.” Desalination 287 (Feb): 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2011.08.027.
Amphlett, J. C., R. Baumert, R. F. Mann, B. A. Peppley, P. R. Roberge, and T. J. Harris. 1995. “Performance modeling of the Ballard Mark IV solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell: II. Empirical model development.” J. Electrochem. Soc. 142 (1): 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2043959.
Austrian Institute of Technology. 2015. Glazzed flat-plate collector. Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria: GREENone TEC Solarindustrie GMBH.
Biniaz, P., N. Torabi Ardekani, M. A. Makarem, and M. R. Rahimpour. 2019. “Water and wastewater treatment systems by novel integrated membrane distillation (MD).” ChemEngineering 3 (1): 8–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3010008.
Charcosset, C. 2009. “A review of membrane processes and renewable energies for desalination.” Desalination 245 (1–3): 214–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.06.020.
Chen, X., L. Chen, J. Guo, and J. Chen. 2011. “An available method exploiting the waste heat in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell system.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 36 (10): 6099–6104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.02.018.
Cipollina, A., E. Tzen, V. Subiela, M. Papapetrou, J. Koschikowski, R. Schwantes, M. Wieghaus, and G. Zaragoza. 2015. “Renewable energy desalination: Performance analysis and operating data of existing RES desalination plants.” Desalin. Water Treat. 55 (11): 3120–3140. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2014.959734.
Cozzolino, R., S. Cicconardi, E. Galloni, M. Minutillo, and A. Perna. 2011. “Theoretical and experimental investigations on thermal management of a PEMFC stack.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 36 (13): 8030–8037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.01.052.
El-Dessouky, H. T., and H. M. Ettouney. 2002. Fundamentals of salt water desalination. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Essalhi, M., and M. Khayet. 2015. “Fundamentals of membrane distillation.” In Pervaporation, vapour permeation and membrane distillation, 277–316. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
González, D., J. Amigo, and F. Suárez. 2017. “Membrane distillation: Perspectives for sustainable and improved desalination.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 80 (Dec): 238–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.078.
Gopi, G., G. Arthanareeswaran, and A. Ismail. 2019. “Perspective of renewable desalination by using membrane distillation.” Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 144 (Apr): 520–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2019.02.036.
Gryta, M., M. Tomaszewska, and A. Morawski. 1997. “Membrane distillation with laminar flow.” Sep. Purif. Technol. 11 (2): 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1383-5866(97)00002-6.
Gude, V. G., and N. Nirmalakhandan. 2008. “Desalination using low-grade heat sources.” J. Energy Eng. 134 (3): 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9402(2008)134:3(95).
Harandi, H. B., A. Asadi, H. Fathi, and P.-C. Sui. 2021a. “Combined macroscopic and pore scale modeling of direct contact membrane distillation with micro-porous hydrophobic membranes.” Desalination 514 (Oct): 115171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2021.115171.
Harandi, H. B., A. Asadi, M. Rahnama, Z.-G. Shen, and P.-C. Sui. 2021b. “Modeling and multi-objective optimization of integrated MED–TVC desalination system and gas power plant for waste heat harvesting.” Comput. Chem. Eng. 149 (Jun): 107294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2021.107294.
Harandi, H. B., A. Asadi, Z. Shen, M. Rahnama, N. Djilali, and P.-C. Sui. 2021c. “Modeling of heat and mass transfer in direct contact membrane distillation: Effect of counter diffusion velocity.” Desalin. Water Treat. 216 (Mar): 71–82. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2021.26816.
Harandi, H. B., M. Rahnama, E. Jahanshahi Javaran, and A. Asadi. 2017. “Performance optimization of a multistage flash desalination unit with thermal vapor compression using genetic algorithm.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 123 (Aug): 1106–1119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.170.
He, W., D. Han, W. Zhu, L. Huang, and X. Zhang. 2018. “Parametric analysis of a power and water combined system based on a top organic Rankine cycle.” J. Energy Eng. 144 (4): 04018037. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000554.
Hwang, H. J., K. He, S. Gray, J. Zhang, and I. S. Moon. 2011. “Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD): Experimental study on the commercial PTFE membrane and modeling.” J. Membr. Sci. 371 (1–2): 90–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2011.01.020.
Ismail, M., A. Mohamed, D. Poggio, and M. Pourkashanian. 2021. “Direct contact membrane distillation: A sensitivity analysis and an outlook on membrane effective thermal conductivity.” J. Membr. Sci. 624 (Apr): 119035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.119035.
Johnson, R. A., and M. H. Nguyen. 2017. Understanding membrane distillation and osmotic distillation. New York: Wiley.
Khayet, M., and T. Matsuura. 2011. Membrane distillation: Principles and applications. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Khayet, M., T. Matsuura, and J. Mengual. 2005. “Porous hydrophobic/hydrophilic composite membranes: Estimation of the hydrophobic-layer thickness.” J. Membr. Sci. 266 (1–2): 68–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2005.05.012.
Kim, Y.-D., K. Thu, N. Ghaffour, and K. C. Ng. 2013. “Performance investigation of a solar-assisted direct contact membrane distillation system.” J. Membr. Sci. 427 (Jan): 345–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.10.008.
Klein, S. 1976. “University of Wisconsin-Madison solar energy laboratory.” In TRNSYS: A transient simulation program. Madison, WI: Engineering Experiment Station.
Lai, X., R. Long, Z. Liu, and W. Liu. 2018. “A hybrid system using direct contact membrane distillation for water production to harvest waste heat from the proton exchange membrane fuel cell.” Energy 147 (Mar): 578–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.01.065.
Lee, J.-G., W.-S. Kim, J.-S. Choi, N. Ghaffour, and Y.-D. Kim. 2018. “Dynamic solar-powered multi-stage direct contact membrane distillation system: Concept design, modeling and simulation.” Desalination 435 (Jun): 278–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.04.008.
Long, R., Y. Bao, X. Huang, and W. Liu. 2014. “Exergy analysis and working fluid selection of organic Rankine cycle for low grade waste heat recovery.” Energy 73 (Aug): 475–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.06.040.
Mahmoudi, F., G. M. Goodarzi, S. Dehghani, and A. Akbarzadeh. 2017. “Experimental and theoretical study of a lab scale permeate gap membrane distillation setup for desalination.” Desalination 419 (Oct): 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.06.013.
Olatunji, S. O., and L. M. Camacho. 2018. “Heat and mass transport in modeling membrane distillation configurations: A review.” Front. Energy Res. 6 (Dec): 130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2018.00130.
Phattaranawik, J., R. Jiraratananon, and A. Fane. 2003. “Effects of net-type spacers on heat and mass transfer in direct contact membrane distillation and comparison with ultrafiltration studies.” J. Membr. Sci. 217 (1–2): 193–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-7388(03)00130-3.
Qtaishat, M. R., and F. Banat. 2013. “Desalination by solar powered membrane distillation systems.” Desalination 308 (Jan): 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2012.01.021.
Remlaoui, A., D. Nehari, A. Elmeriah, and M. Laissaoui. 2017. “A TRNSYS model of a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system coupled to a flat plate solar collector (FPC).” J. Eur. Systemes Automatises 50 (1): 335–360.
Remlaoui, A., D. Nehari, M. Laissaoui, and A. M. Sandid. 2020. “Performance evaluation of a solar thermal and photovoltaic hybrid system powering a direct contact membrane distillation: TRNSYS simulation.” Desalin. Water Treat. 194 (Aug): 37–51. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2020.25834.
Rosli, R., A. Sulong, W. Daud, M. Zulkifley, T. Husaini, M. Rosli, E. Majlan, and M. Haque. 2017. “A review of high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) system.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 42 (14): 9293–9314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.06.211.
Schwantes, R., A. Cipollina, F. Gross, J. Koschikowski, D. Pfeifle, M. Rolletschek, and V. Subiela. 2013. “Membrane distillation: Solar and waste heat driven demonstration plants for desalination.” Desalination 323 (Aug): 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2013.04.011.
Shahzad, M. A., S. J. Khan, and M. S. Siddique. 2019. “Draw solution recovery using direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) from osmotic membrane bioreactor (Os-MBR).” J. Water Process Eng. 30 (Aug): 100484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2017.08.022.
Shim, W. G., K. He, S. Gray, and I. S. Moon. 2015. “Solar energy assisted direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process for seawater desalination.” Sep. Purif. Technol. 143 (Mar): 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2015.01.028.
Shirazi, M. M. A., S. Bazgir, and F. Meshkani. 2020. “A novel dual-layer, gas-assisted electrospun, nanofibrous SAN4-HIPS membrane for industrial textile wastewater treatment by direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD).” J. Water Process Eng. 36 (Aug): 101315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101315.
Shirazi, M. M. A., A. Kargari, A. F. Ismail, and T. Matsuura. 2016. “Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) opportunities applied to the membrane distillation process: State-of-the-art and perspectives.” Desalination 377 (Jan): 73–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2015.09.010.
Suárez, F., S. W. Tyler, and A. E. Childress. 2010. “A theoretical study of a direct contact membrane distillation system coupled to a salt-gradient solar pond for terminal lakes reclamation.” Water Res. 44 (15): 4601–4615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2010.05.050.
Vargas-Bautista, J. P., A. J. García-Cuéllar, S. L. Pérez-García, and C. I. Rivera-Solorio. 2017. “Transient simulation of a solar heating system for a small-scale ethanol-water distillation plant: Thermal, environmental and economic performance.” Energy Convers. Manage. 134 (Feb): 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2016.12.041.
Winter, D., J. Koschikowski, and S. Ripperger. 2012. “Desalination using membrane distillation: Flux enhancement by feed water deaeration on spiral-wound modules.” J. Membr. Sci. 423 (Dec): 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.08.018.
Wu, D., A. Gao, H. Zhao, and X. Feng. 2018. “Pervaporative desalination of high-salinity water.” Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 136 (Aug): 154–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.05.010.
Zare, S., and A. Kargari. 2018. Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Desalination Handbook. Tehran, Iran: Amirkabir Univ. of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic).
Zhao, P., J. Wang, L. Gao, and Y. Dai. 2012. “Parametric analysis of a hybrid power system using organic Rankine cycle to recover waste heat from proton exchange membrane fuel cell.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 37 (4): 3382–3391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.11.081.
Zhao, Q., H. Zhang, Z. Hu, and Y. Li. 2021. “An alkaline fuel cell/direct contact membrane distillation hybrid system for cogenerating electricity and freshwater.” Energy 225 (Jun): 120303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120303.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2021
Accepted: Nov 27, 2021
Published online: Jan 31, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 30, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Anahita Asadi, Bolin Kang, Hesam Bazargan Harandi, Joey Chung-Yen Jung, Zuguo Shen, Pang-Chieh Sui, Electrodialysis of Lithium Sulphate Solution: Model Development and Validation, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 10.1149/1945-7111/ac707d, 169, 5, (053508), (2022).