ABSTRACT
The economic feasibility of reverse osmosis and membrane distillation (RO-MD) hybrid systems for full-scale seawater desalination was theoretically analyzed using a simulation model. The capital and operating costs for RO, MD, and RO-MD systems were calculated as a function of permeate flux, recovery, membrane cost, and steam cost. The simulation results showed that the MD and RO-MD hybrid systems can be cost-competitive compared with the RO system as the recovery and flux of MD system increase and the steam cost decreases. The RO-MD hybrid system was found to be more economic than the MD stand-alone system due to its lower operating cost.
