Technology for freeze concentration in the desalination industry

Abstract The world is currently facing the prospect of a severe global shortage of fresh water alongside finite energy resources and the development of energy-efficient desalination methods is of paramount importance to solve these complex problems. In this paper the basic principles of freeze concentration processes are presented. Even though the process has the advantage of low energy usage and high concentration factors, only lab and pilot scale studies have been conducted in the desalination industry and application of the process has been limited due to the dominance of more traditional thermal and membrane technologies. Finally, the paper looks at the future applications for freeze concentration and discusses the possibility of application to high saline brine wastes in hybrid-technology.

[1]  George Karnofsky.  Saline water conversion by direct freezing with butane , 1960 .

[2]  F. L. Moreno,et al.  A process to concentrate coffee extract by the integration of falling film and block freeze-concentration , 2014 .

[3]  X. D. Chen,et al.  Freezing‐Melting Process and Desalination: I. Review of the State‐of‐the‐Art , 2006 .

[4]  Wenwu Chen,et al.  Experimental study on factors affecting the quality of ice crystal during the freezing concentration for the brackish water , 2010 .

[5]  Nicholas A. Beier,et al.  Laboratory investigation on freeze separation of saline mine waste water , 2007 .

[6]  Deborah Squire,et al.  Reverse osmosis concentrate disposal in the UK , 2000 .

[7]  Alison Lewis,et al.  A case study for treating a reverse osmosis brine using Eutectic Freeze Crystallization—Approaching a zero waste process , 2011 .

[8]  R. Scholz,et al.  Preconcentration of wastewater through the Niro freeze concentration process , 2001 .

[9]  I. Karagiannis,et al.  Water desalination cost literature: review and assessment , 2008 .

[10]  Lawrence L. Kazmerski,et al.  Energy Consumption and Water Production Cost of Conventional and Renewable-Energy-Powered Desalination Processes , 2013 .

[11]  Guoqing Zhou,et al.  Performance analysis of evaporation-freezing desalination system by humidity differences , 2014 .

[12]  J. Ulrich,et al.  A quantitative estimation of purity and yield of crystalline layers concerning sweating operations , 2002 .

[13]  P. Prádanos,et al.  Multi-ionic nanofiltration of highly concentrated salt mixtures in the seawater range , 2011 .

[14]  Da-Wen Sun,et al.  Innovative applications of power ultrasound during food freezing processes—a review , 2006 .

[15]  T. Arnot,et al.  A review of reverse osmosis membrane materials for desalinationDevelopment to date and future poten , 2011 .

[16]  P. D. Roberts,et al.  Dynamic modelling and partial simulation of a pilot scale column crystallizer , 1979 .

[17]  T. Davies,et al.  Measurement of salt entrapment during the directional solidification of brine under forced mass convection , 2006 .

[18]  Peng Wang,et al.  A conceptual demonstration of freeze desalination-membrane distillation (FD-MD) hybrid desalination process utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy. , 2012, Water research.

[19]  Y. R. Mayhew,et al.  Thermodynamic and transport properties of fluids , 1967 .

[20]  Experimental studies on washing and melting ice crystals in the immiscible refrigerant freezing process , 1974 .

[21]  S. E. Aly,et al.  A combined RO/freezing system to reduce inland rejected brine , 1989 .

[22]  R. E. Kepner,et al.  Freeze concentration of volatile components in dilute aqueous solutions. , 1969, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[23]  Lixin Xie,et al.  Study on sea ice desalination technology , 2009 .

[24]  J. Sanchez,et al.  Review. Freeze Concentration in the Fruit Juices Industry , 2009 .

[25]  Muhammad Saqib Ilyas,et al.  Low-Carb: A practical scheme for improving energy efficiency in cellular networks , 2016, Comput. Commun..

[26]  T. Mtombeni,et al.  Evaluation of the performance of a new freeze desalination technology , 2013, International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.

[27]  O. Miyawaki,et al.  An apparatus for partial ice-melting to improve yield in progressive freeze-concentration , 2014 .

[28]  J. Aguilera,et al.  Centrifugal freeze concentration , 2013 .

[29]  Milind V. Rane,et al.  Heat pump operated freeze concentration system with tubular heat exchanger for seawater desalination , 2011 .

[30]  Shigeru Sakashita,et al.  Ice crystallization in a pilot-scale freeze wastewater treatment system , 2001 .

[31]  J. Sanchez,et al.  Progressive freeze concentration of orange juice in a pilot plant falling film. , 2010 .

[32]  Noreddine Ghaffour,et al.  Technical review and evaluation of the economics of water desalination: Current and future challenges for better water supply sustainability , 2013 .

[33]  Jose M. Veza,et al.  Reuse and minimization of desalination brines: A review of alternatives , 2012 .

[34]  Baltasar Peñate,et al.  Current trends and future prospects in the design of seawater reverse osmosis desalination technology , 2012 .

[35]  J. Sanchez,et al.  Freeze concentration of whey in a falling-film based pilot plant: process and characterization , 2011 .

[36]  D. Sego,et al.  Freeze separation of salt contaminated melt water and sand wash water at snow storage and sand recycling facilities , 2009 .

[37]  W. E. Johnson.  State-of-the-art of freezing processes, their potential and future , 1976 .

[38]  Abdullah A. Al-Hajouri,et al.  Long term experience in the operation of nanofiltration pretreatment unit for seawater desalination at SWCC SWRO plant , 2013 .

[39]  B. Guignon,et al.  Pressure-shift nucleation: A potential tool for freeze concentration of fluid foods , 2012 .

[40]  Ahmed A.A. Attia,et al.  New proposed system for freeze water desalination using auto reversed R-22 vapor compression heat pump. , 2010 .

[41]  Gjergj Dodbiba,et al.  Application of progressive freeze-concentration for desalination , 2013 .

[42]  O. Miyawaki,et al.  Yield improvement in progressive freeze-concentration by partial melting of ice , 2012 .

[43]  Shigeru Sakashita,et al.  Effect of seed ice on formation of tube ice with high purity for a freeze wastewater treatment system with a bubble-flow circulator , 1999 .

[44]  Akili D. Khawaji,et al.  Advances in seawater desalination technologies , 2008 .

[45]  R. Johnson,et al.  Development of a eutectic freezing process for brine disposal , 1974 .

[46]  K. S. Speigler,et al.  A Desalination Primer , 1994 .

[47]  Mahmoud Shatat,et al.  Water desalination technologies utilizing conventional and renewable energy sources , 2014 .

[48]  P. M. Williams,et al.  Assessment of desalination technologies for high saline brine applications - discussion paper , 2011 .

[49]  H. Kramer,et al.  Dynamic modeling and simulation of eutectic freeze crystallization , 2002 .

[50]  G. Nebbia,et al.  Early experiments on water desalination by freezing , 1968 .

[51]  Mushtaque Ahmed,et al.  Freezing-melting process and desalination: Review of present status and future prospects , 2007 .

[52]  Roger Guiu,et al.  The economics of desalination for various uses , 2010 .

[53]  Domenico Panno,et al.  Potential applications using LNG cold energy in Sicily , 2008 .

[54]  W. Gu,et al.  Gravity-induced sea ice desalination under low temperature , 2013 .

[55]  W. Gao,et al.  Freeze concentration for removal of pharmaceutically active compounds in water , 2009 .

[56]  H. F. Wiegandt,et al.  Myths about freeze desalting , 1980 .

[57]  R.D.C. Shone.  The freeze desalination of mine waters , 1987 .

[58]  S. Veesler,et al.  Sea water desalination by dynamic layer melt crystallization: Parametric study of the freezing and sweating steps , 2012 .

[59]  Benny D. Freeman,et al.  Reverse osmosis desalination: water sources, technology, and today's challenges. , 2009, Water research.

[60]  Hassan E.S. Fath,et al.  Techno-economic assessment and environmental impacts of desalination technologies , 2011 .

[61]  A. Ibarz,et al.  Freeze concentration of must in a pilot plant falling film cryoconcentrator , 2010 .

[62]  R. Johnson,et al.  Spray freezer and pressurized counterwasher for freeze desalination , 1974 .

[63]  A. König,et al.  Purification potential of melt crystallisation , 2001 .

[64]  J. R. Alvarez,et al.  A comparative study of reverse osmosis and freeze concentration for the removal of valeric acid from wastewaters , 2000 .

[65]  D. Mangin,et al.  Parametric study of the sweating step in the seawater desalination process by indirect freezing , 2011 .

[66]  Catherine Charcosset,et al.  A review of membrane processes and renewable energies for desalination , 2009 .

[67]  G. Witkamp,et al.  Eutectic freeze crystallization in a new apparatus: the cooled disk column crystallizer , 2004 .

[68]  G. Witkamp,et al.  Eutectic freeze crystallization simultaneous formation and separation of two solid phases , 1999 .

[69]  S. T. Reddy,et al.  Design of a Eutectic Freeze Crystallization process for multicomponent waste water stream , 2010 .

[70]  M. Buonomenna.  Nano-enhanced reverse osmosis membranes , 2013 .

[71]  D. M. Cole,et al.  Observations of brine drainage networks and microstructure of first-year sea ice , 1998 .

[72]  S. Bindra,et al.  Recent developments in water desalination , 2001 .

[73]  Yingjun Xu,et al.  Sea ice desalination under the force of gravity in low temperature environments , 2012 .

[74]  H. von Blottnitz,et al.  A comparative life cycle assessment of eutectic freeze crystallisation and evaporative crystallisation for the treatment of saline wastewater , 2012 .