Research is testing a better way to remove salt from seawater

New research from Binghamton University could lead to a more energy-efficient desalination method that can convert seawater into fresh water for human consumption or agricultural purposes.

Assistant Professor Cosan Daskiran – a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences – will lead research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a $10 million investment in the Water Power Technologies Office Powering the Blue Economy Initiative.

Daskiran and his colleagues at Lehigh University and Cleveland State University received a $607,819 grant to develop, test and prove the concept of an integrated tidal desalination system that produces drinking water using renewable energy, using the rotational power of hydrokinetic turbines rather than electricity .

The conventional desalination process mainly uses the reverse osmosis method, in which the entire module operates at pressures higher than the minimum required thermodynamic energy. Daskiran and his team want to develop a centrifugal reverse osmosis (CRO) system that uses the rotational energy of ocean turbines to generate varying centrifugal pressure in the desalination module, optimizing operational efficiency.

“Currently, renewable energy sources generate electricity, which is then used by conventional reverse osmosis modules to purify water. However, the process of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy creates inefficiencies, reducing the overall efficiency of the system. – Daskiran said. “Our centrifugal RO concept aims to eliminate conversion losses by directly integrating the turbine into the CRO system. This approach not only increases efficiency, but also streamlines the system, making it more compact.

Professor Emeritus William Krantz of the University of Colorado invented the centrifugal reverse osmosis technology and serves as senior advisor to the DOE project. Daskiran plans to apply this idea to seawater desalination, believing it could significantly reduce energy demand compared to conventional methods.

“When we reduce energy consumption by 30%, we expect a corresponding reduction in desalinated water costs of about 6%,” he said. “At first glance, this may not seem significant, but when you consider the sheer amount of water produced, it becomes extremely important.”

Daskiran worked with his Cleveland State colleague, Assistant Professor Mustafa Usta, during their doctoral studies at Lehigh. While Daskiran focused on turbine power generation, Usta focused on desalination, so the new DOE project combines both areas of expertise.

The first phase of the project will involve the design, construction and production of a centrifugal reverse osmosis module, which will be supported by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. In the second phase, the impact of the CRO module on turbine performance will be studied using high-fidelity simulations and experiments at the Lehigh Tidal Turbulence Test Facility, managed by Professor Arindam Banerjee, department chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Lehigh.

“The main goal is to provide drinking water to remote communities without electrical grid,” Daskiran said. “Additionally, in coastal urban regions, climate change-driven disasters such as floods and power outages may threaten the safety of drinking water wells. This highlights the urgent need for renewable energy-powered desalination systems, such as the integrated tidal desalination system being developed in this project.”