A review of membrane processes and renewable energies for desalination

The growing scarcity of freshwater is driving the implementation of desalination on an increasingly large scale. However, the energy required to run desalination plants remains a drawback. The idea of using renewable energy sources is fundamentally attractive and many studies have been done in this area. Membrane processes are also gaining much interest for their scaled-up ability and their economic feasibility. This article provides a state-of-the-art review on membrane processes associated with renewable energies for seawater and brackish water desalination. The membrane processes include reverse osmosis, membrane distillation and electrodialysis. They are coupled with renewable energies such as solar, wind, wave, and hydrostatic pressure. This article presents the main results in this field including principles, plant design and implementation, mathematical models and economic feasibility.