Desalination, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10Freezing-Melting Desalination Processes

Mohammad Shafiur Rahman and Mohamed Al-Khusaibi

Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Sultan Qaboos University, P. O. Box 34, Al-Khod 123, Oman

Corresponding author: Mohammad Shafiur Rahman (E-mail: [e-mail])

Abstract

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the freezing-melting process for desalination. It explains the basic principle and advantages of the freezing-melting process followed by its applications in desalination. It introduces different types of freezing-melting processes by describing its components and operations as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Finally the future prospects, challenges and other potential hybrid freezing-melting processes for desalination are discussed.

Keywords: Freeze-concentration, sea water desalination, nucleation, crystallization, melting unit, refrigerants, wash column, vacuum freezing, solar desalination

10.1 Introduction

Desalination refers to a water treatment process that separates water from salt solution, and its use has grown steadily since the 1960s. Freezing-melting (FM) process is essentially capable of removing water by freezing it out from saline solution as ice crystals. A wide variety of FM systems are currently discussed in the literature. The main advantages of the FM process are the requirement of low-energy and low-temperature operation as compared to the thermal desalination. The reduction in energy costs results as the latent heat ...