Desalination of seawater through gas hydrate process: An overview

Muhammad Saad Khan, Bhajan Lal*, Khalik Mohamad Sabil, Iqbal Ahmed

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Potable water shortage affects more than 80 countries and 40% of the world population. It is predicted that over 60% of the human population would be exposed to water shortage by the end of 2020. Marine water represents an infinite water source since 98% of all global water is present in the form of oceans; therefore, seawater desalination is the most logical approach to meet freshwater demands. Currently, two dominant desalination methods are widely applicable includes reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash distillation. Although these technologies have been proven to be reasonably efficient, they still have some disadvantages, i.e., high capital investment or not feasible for minor scale. To overcome the limitations of the existing techniques, new technologies like Electro deionization (EDI), Freeze Separation (FS), Vacuum Compression Distillation (VCD) and Freezing with Hydrates (FH) must be seeking as future applications. Some recent researchers have highlighted the desalination with hydrates can produce cheaper desalted water than the existing available technologies. This study provides a brief review of the recent researches accomplished on the desalination of saline water through gas hydrate technology. It is evident from the literature that small amount of additives or hydrate promoters either significantly enhance the thermodynamic conditions of hydrate formation above the freezing point of water or increase the hydrate crystallization by improving the hydrate formation rates. This review paper will provide the roadmap for the potential application of hydrate technology in the field of water desalination.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-73
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences
Volume55
Issue number1
Early online date10 Mar 2019
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2019

Keywords

  • Desalination
  • Freshwater
  • Gas hydrate
  • Hydrate desalination
  • Promoter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

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