Optimization Study for a Stand-alone Reverse Osmosis (RO) Desalination Plant

Seawater desalination is a vital source of drinking water, especially in coastal and remote areas. However, its sustainability is constrained by the high energy requirement. The need for fresh water supplies continues to rise due to its intensive use in many development sectors, such as agriculture and industry, as well as the continued increase in population. This has led to the idea of using nuclear power in seawater desalination to reduce the stress on the main electrical grid and enhance sustainable. The paper's goal is to optimize a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant to produce 100,000 m3 of fresh water daily. The best membrane is selected by testing 10 FilmTec membranes, with a focus on achieving optimal product quality (TDS) while maintaining an acceptable level of specific energy consumption (SEC). The study aims to address the challenge of delivering potable water by designing and modeling a standalone desalination plant powered by small modular reactors (SMRs). According to ROSA's analysis, the optimal RO desalination unit consists of two stages with a total of 175 membranes. The FilmTec SW30XHR-400 is identified as the best option based on superior water quality. This membrane has a specific energy consumption of 5.17 kWh/m3 and a low TDS of 141.4 mg/L. The total power consumption of the RO plant is approximately 21.5 MW; therefore, the KAREM-25 MWe reactor has been selected to be coupled with the RO desalination plant.