DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL LOW GRADE HEAT DRIVEN DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY

Transcription

1 DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL LOW GRADE HEAT DRIVEN DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY Low grade heat driven desalination plants provide solutions for water needs in remote and rural communities, remote mine sites (both for drinking and mineral refining) and the water intensive process industry. At UWA a novel technology has been developed that boosts the efficiency of a standard Multi Effect Distillation process by 20% to 30%. Typical applications include renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy, as well as waste heat. A pilot plant with the capacity of ~1.5m 3 /freshwater day incorporating major parts of the new technology is currently under construction at the UWA workshop and will soon be operational in the Lab of the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination (NCEDA) in Rockingham. The Final Year Project includes: Assistance in the commissioning and with the experiments of the novel pilot plant Data processing and analysis of the test results Further improvement of the desalination process Please note that due to the location of the NCEDA Lab certain parts of this project take place in Rockingham. Be part to develop solutions for a sustainable water supply! Supervisiors: W/Prof. Hui Tong Chua Alexander Christ SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL LOW GRADE HEAT DRIVEN DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY Low grade heat driven desalination plants provide solutions for water needs in remote and rural communities, remote mine sites (both for drinking and mineral refining) and the water intensive process industry. At UWA a novel technology has been developed that boosts the efficiency of a standard Multi Effect Distillation process by 20% to 30%. Extensive simulations have been undertaken to prove the technical availability of the system. The next step is a sensitivity analysis for potential low grade heat sources, such as geothermal energy and waste heat, e.g. from gensets of rural communities. The project consists of a technical aspect including the coupling of the technology the specific characteristic of particular waste heat sources as well as an economical aspect, including the sensitivity analysis of the system. The Final Year Project includes: Analysis of potential low grade heat sources

2 Simulation based coupling with the novel desalination system Sensitivity analysis of the novel technology This project follows up on a recent analysis based on geothermal desalination. Be part to develop solutions for a sustainable water supply! Supervisiors: W/Prof. Hui Tong Chua Alexander Christ

3 Title: An Investigation into Calcite Precipitation Kinetics Field: geochemistry, chemical engineering, geothermal energy, petroleum We are looking for a final year student with a background or at least a strong interest in inorganic chemistry to carry out experimental work to determine the factors that control the kinetics of calcite precipitation in super saturated fluids. This is of interest locally because of a number of both ongoing and proposed geothermal energy projects around the city of Perth. The waters of the target aquifer are known to be supersaturated with calcium carbonate and there is a concern that producing these geothermal fluids could result in calcite precipitation. Calcite scaling would lead to poor heat transfer in heat exchangers and ultimately blocked wells. On a broader scale, calcite precipitation not only affects other geothermal fields but many petroleum fields as well so this research has the potential for wide reaching significance. The student would be responsible for helping to set up experiments in the lab that seek to simulate different flow environments that the geothermal fluid might experience in a production well. The student s participation would include mixing (harmless) reagents to make up a proxy fluid, then observing each batch of experiments for several days and taking periodic measurements (ph, titrations ). Ideally the student would have some conceptual/theoretical understanding of: ph, alkalinity, buffered solutions, solubility products, ionic strength and saturation index. In addition to practicing good laboratory technique in mixing the reagents and making measurements.

4 Title: Climate Control at the Australian Gravitational Wave Observatory Field: heating, ventilation, air conditioning, load modeling, simulation, design We are looking for a final year project student to work in a team to design the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system for the Australian Gravitational Wave Observatory (AIGO) < Due to the extremely sensitive nature of instruments to be installed at AIGO the temperature must be kept relatively constant within the building and air velocities must be kept low (laminar) to avoid inducing vibration which presents interesting engineering challenges. This is a rare opportunity for a student to be involved in a high visibility project that will combine not only theoretical engineering (heat and fluid transport phenomena) but also practical real world considerations. The student will use Australian industry standard design tools (Camel, Dolphin and Beaver) < > to model the AIGO main building and then simulate the heating and cooling load requirements throughout the year. We have developed conceptually a method of using ground water as both a heat source and heat sink dependent on the buildings heating or cooling load demand - the students will also help in making this conceptual design a reality by interacting with HVAC vendors to find the best products to use to meet the design load requirements. Ideally the student will have some familiarity with computer aided design (CAD) tools, a theoretical understanding of heat and fluid transport and an interest in HVAC.

5 "Low Grade Heat Driven Desalination Technology" Nowadays, seawater desalination is one of the most important issues in Australia especially in the state of Western Australia. The aim of this project is to provide a computer Excel based simulation for an improved Multi Effect (MED) Low Grade Geothermal/Waste Heat Driven Desalination Technology to calculate the production rate, electrical power consumption, thermal energy consumption and optimization of the proposed system.

6 Title: Pawsey Centre Supercomputer Cooling Simulation and Design Field: heating, ventilation, air conditioning, load modeling, simulation, design We are looking for a final year project student to work in a team to create a reliable cooling system for the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre < The computer itself is expected to require 1-2 MW th of cooling in addition to the cooling requirements of the building. The student would be involved in modeling the building-computer system and simulating the cooling load requirements using Australian industry standard design tools (Camel, Dolphin and Beaver) < >. This is an opportunity for a student not only to be involved with a high visibility project (the Pawsey Centre) but also a truly innovative project. Rather than rejecting the heat from the building-computer system to a conventional cooling tower, this will be one of the first projects in Australia to reject heat to a shallow aquifer - this is a more sustainable option as cooling towers use up drinking water and create concentrated brine that must be treated by the sewage system. In addition to simulating the cooling system load, the student will help to design the layout of the pumps, pipes and heat exchangers that will connect the Pawsey Centre to the aquifer. The student may also be involved in economic modeling of cooling system if he or she has a strong interest in engineering economics.