OMSD – An open membrane system design tool

A tool for design and performance analyses of filtration systems is presented. The tool evaluates the filtration rate and its associated power consumption of complex filtration systems, based on the system design, feed water characteristics, membrane characteristics and operating conditions. It is based on a modular concept, through which system elements, such as filtration modules or pumps, are assembled to build a virtual model of a filtration system.

The system performance is based on its operating expenses, evaluated from the filtration rate, the filtrate solute concentration and the power consumption of the pumps and pre-treatment. The system analysis tool is applied to two case studies on the desalination of brackish water and brine. These studies compare various system configurations and operating conditions, based on their energy-efficiency.

Based on the findings, general design principles are derived for brackish water and brine desalination. The tool presented here poses the first development stage in the development of an open, versatile and intuitive system design tool. Its open implementation allows for subsequent development contributions of the scientific community.

The advantages over existing system tools are its transparency, its free extendibility, and the freedom to implement arbitrary filtration modules, without restrictions to commercial products.