Biomass Fueled Multiple Effect Distillation Unit for Water Desalination

2016 AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, Nov 13, 2016

Biomass Fueled Multiple Effect Distillation Unit for Water Desalination

Ali Amiri, Kwabena Addae Sarpong, Michael Smith, O. John Idowu, Catherine E. Brewer

Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University

Water Science & Management Program, New Mexico State University

Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University

Abstract

Brackish well water is an issue that many New Mexico farmers face, and clean water for agricultural use can be expensive and difficult to obtain. The cost of clean water can affect the profitability of many crops and even influence what type of crops can be grown in certain areas. Thermal desalination is one method used to obtain clean water from available water sources. However, this method also requires a source of energy. Currently, desalination systems employ the use of sunlight, wind, and geothermal energy as potential energy sources. One resource that many farmers have available, but has not been thoroughly studied as an energy source for water desalination, is biomass. Through inert slow pyrolysis, biomass can be converted to bio-oil and biochar which can be used as fuel for a thermal desalination unit and a soil amendment, respectively.

The purpose of this project is to determine the feasibility of a multiple effect distillation (MED) water desalination unit using biomass as an energy source. Results from this research will be useful for those with large amounts of unused biomass feedstock and are located in an area with brackish ground water.