Techno-Economic Analysis of Seawater Freezing Desalination using Liquefied Natural Gas

Abstract

This work aims to propose a detailed mathematical model to evaluate the feasibility of a seawater desalination process that is based on the cold energy provided by the regasification of the liquefied natural gas (LNG). Detailed material and energy balance models as well as the basic models for calculation of thermodynamic properties are presented for subsequent Seawater Freezing Desalination (SFD) process optimisation. Current analysis results reveal that the process is affected by multiple variables that need further optimisation. With the assumption of 50 % ice production rate in the ice generator, the SFD system could be able to produce 400 Mt/y of freshwater over the world.