The use of pelton wheel turbines for energy recovery in reverse osmosis systems

✍ Scribed by W. Wilson; A. Gruendisch; I. Calder-Potts

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 423 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0011-9164
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-9164(87)90136-6

✦ Synopsis

The Riergy Recovery Turbine System takes advantage of the high pressure energy which remains in the reject liquid ccncentrate (brine) from the reverse osmosis process and which is norrcally wasted in other systems.

The high pressure ccncentrate is fed into a Wlton wheel type hydraulic turbine which then produces a rotating power output used to assist the main electric motor in driving the reciprocating pump. This concept allows a smaller less costly motor to be utilised and saves a very considerable proportion of the power and, therefore, cost necessary to drive the pump.

The system is very easy to operate with cnly one ccntrol, canprising the adjustable input nozzle of the turbine , needed to set and maintain the required operating ccnditicns. The plant is started up with the nozzle fully open and the pressure requirerrent of the system is achieved by gradually closing the nozzle either by using a handwheel, or automatically by servcmoter, using a signal from the plant control system.

The nozzle directs a jet of the high pressure concentrate cnto the buckets of the Felton wheel causing the wheel and shaft assembly to rotate. The design of the Pelton wheel and nozzle is optimised to ensure that almost all the kinetic energy of the jet is transferred into rotating mechanical energy enabling the turbine to operate at high efficiency with the liquid reject being discharged at atn-ospheric pressure.