Modelling an energy storage system using brine

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the possible application of a viable energy storage/ recovery system for the Reverse Osmosis plants on the Maltese Islands, as an alternative to other proposals submitted in the past. An in-depth analysis on the production and energy consumption was done for each Reverse Osmosis plant for a twelve-year period. From this, several key points were highlighted that would affect the choosing of the system:  The system chosen must not negatively affect or halt the daily operation of the  Reverse Osmosis systems,  The system chosen must also not reduce the amount of potable water being  produced by the Reverse Osmosis systems,  The final setup must be compact and use as little space as possible,  It must be easy to install and maintain,  Be non-hazardous to the environment and the operators Through research, Reverse Electrodialysis was chosen for further analysis. This consisted of the comparison of the potential energy, using the published method for this system and a set of equations. Following this, a series of tests were done using models from literature and comparison of results to confirm the potential of this system for the chosen scenario. From this analysis and comparison, mixed results were achieved with the greatest highlight being that the power densities exceeding the literature benchmark value of 6.04 W/m2 [1]. Finally, a scale-up experiment and payback period was done, including testing the potential of using multiple systems in series or parallel to each other. From this final analysis, due to the high costs of the materials used, the best payback achieved was that of ten years at the fixed rate of €0.08c/kWh.