Simulation of a Solar-Powered Reverse Osmosis System Integrated with Vacuum Membrane Distillation for Desalination Brine Treatment

This study simulates a solar-powered reverse osmosis (RO) system integrated with vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for desalination brine treatment. The models were simulated using the Simulink package and MATLAB. The water production, energy consumption data, and the energy generation of 100 solar panels for the best location in Saudi Arabia were calculated to demonstrate this integration. The optimal yearly tilt was 28.5°, and the monthly tilts were found to be ranging from 5.2° to 51.9°. utilising the optimal monthly tilts and the sun tracking system resulted in a 6.46% and 40.3% increases in the power generated throughout the year, respectively. The specific electrical energy consumption was found to be ranging from 4.61 to 5.11 kWh/m3 for the RO process, and the specific thermal energy consumption was found to be ranging from 152 to 202.4 kWh/m3 for the VMD. The overall recovery ranged between 43.5 and 48.2% using the RO system and a mere 11.22% to 13.64% using the VMD system, resulting in a combined recovery ranging from 54.7 to 61.9%, with total production ranging from 7595 to 9611 m3 of freshwater per year. The results attained in this study are greatly beneficial to both acadmic and desalination industries and future researchers aiming with the brine treatment process to reach zero liquid discharge (ZLD) or minimal liquid discharge (MLD).