Abstract
This research examines the integration of a reverse Brayton cycle (RBC) used in a hydrogen liquefaction plant with a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system for waste heat recovery and freshwater production. Waste heat from RBC compressors is used to run the DCMD plant, with parametric analysis evaluating the effect of feed Reynolds number, permeate mass flow rate, module length and pinch temperature of heat exchangers on thermal and economic performance of the hybrid system. Both parallel and series multi-stage DCMD configurations are compared with higher feed and permeate flow rates enhancing the temperature polarisation coefficient and permeate flux. A maximum gained output ratio of 0.56 and a minimum specific thermal energy consumption of 1070 kWh/m3 were achieved at a feed Reynolds number of 3050, with a permeate flow rate of 5 LPM. Economic analysis show that the capital cost of the DCMD plant accounts for 25% of the total capital cost, while waste heat recovery components account for 75% of the total capital cost. Almost 40% of the capital cost was used for permeate cooling, where in addition, lower permeate and higher feed flow rates reduced the levelized cost of water (LCOW). Further, LCOW and daily water production were chosen as optimization objectives in a genetic algorithm for multi-objective optimization, with optimal values calculated at 1.75 $/m3 and 29.8 m3/day.
Keywords
direct contact membrane desalination (DCMD), multi-stage DCMD, reversed Brayton cycle (RBC), waste heat recovery
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
9-15-2026
Article Number
121727
ISSN
01968904
Volume
364
Publication Title
Energy Conversion and Management
Publisher
Elsevier
School
Mineral Recovery Research Centre / School of Engineering
Funding Information
Edith Cowan University
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Ghamati, E., Khiadani, M., & Das, B. K. (2026). Waste heat driven direct contact membrane desalination coupled with reverse Brayton cycle: Techno-economic analysis and multi-objective optimization. Energy Conversion and Management, 364, Article 121727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121727