BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure of the present patent application relates to a desalination and cooling system, and particularly, to a combination of a single effect water-lithium bromide vapor absorption cycle (VAC) system and a forward osmosis with thermal-recovery (FO-TR) desalination system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Water desalination using Forward Osmosis (FO) technology has drawn significant attention recently as a low energy-consumption technology. The driving force in the FO system relies on the difference in chemical potential of the water, and hence, on osmotic pressure between the feed solution (FS) and the draw solution (DS) as the operating pressure rather than hydraulic pressure.

For the FO process, a semi-permeable membrane separates a draw solution having high osmotic pressure from saline feed water having dissolved solutes such as seawater of lower osmotic pressure. The FO driving force is the water chemical potential (pw) difference between the feed solution and the draw solution. DS has high osmotic pressure and low water chemical potential (μw,DS), while the FS has lower osmotic pressure but higher water chemical potential (μw,FS). The result of μw,FS>μw,DS induces net water flow from the FS to the DS without applying pressure on the saline water such as in the case of a reverse osmosis (RO) system.

Generally, the main energy consumption step in an FO desalination system is the DS regeneration process. Among different methods for DS regeneration, is the heating of the DS to liberate fresh water and reconcentrate the DS again in a process called thermal recovery. In a thermal draw solution regeneration system, a special thermo-responsive draw solution (TRDS) is used to absorb fresh water from the feed seawater, while thermal energy is used to regenerate the DS from the diluted DS.

SUMMARY

A desalination and cooling system includes a single effect water-lithium bromide vapor absorption cycle (VAC) system and a forward osmosis with thermal-recovery (FO-TR) desalination system. The FO system employs a Thermo-Responsive Draw Solution (TRDS). Fresh water, i.e., desalinated water, flows from the FS to the TRDS without application of pressure on the saline water. Afterwards, only thermal energy is required to extract fresh water from the TRDS and recover or regenerate the draw solution. The VAC system serves as a cooling source for cooling or air conditioning applications, generating waste heat as a result. The waste heat generated by the VAC system provides the thermal energy needed to recover the draw solution (DS). The VAC system can be powered by low-grade heat sources like solar thermal energy.

These and other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

