Abstract

Overpopulation, intensive industrial water usage and climate change are some of the occurrences that are exacerbating global water scarcity. By 2050, the United Nations predicts that over 6 billion people will be affected by water scarcity. Over 70% of the earth's surface is covered by oceans yet its water remains unusable due to the high salinity of seawater. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the most common method of desalinating water but is dependent on non-renewable generated electricity to meet its high energy requirements. The majority of the power supplied to desalination plants is generated using emission-heavy fuels. Given the UN’s goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, renewable energy production is expected to increase over the next 30 years [13]. In response to this issue, our team has developed PRO-BRO, the first desalination system that uses both wave power and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) to power clean water production and generate electricity using common equipment already present in reverse-osmosis desalination plants. The system has the additional capability of behaving as an energy storage method to assist in unmanageable energy surplus or deficiencies in the local grid. The design also includes an improved WEC-side connection to decrease energy loss from wave power. PRO-BRO's functionality will be shown in a Matlab and Simulink full-scale plant model and a lab-scale prototype displaying the performance of the bimodal membrane and improved WEC-side connection.

Comments

This is a report from the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition 2022.

Date of this Version

2022

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