A*STAR Grant for Developing Hybrid Desalination Process

Prof. Neal Chung TS, Prof. Rangaiah GP, Dr. Teoh MM, Dr. Wang KY and Mr. Bonyadi S. (not shown in the picture) have won support from A*STAR in the form of a S$895K grant to develop hybrid desalination processes using cold energy from LNG re-gasification.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has received worldwide demand and its consumption has increased rapidly due to record high prices for oil and the urgent need for alternative energy sources. Since re-gasification is a huge heat sink process that results in temperatures well below ambient temperature, the heat absorption from the ambient surrounding is often called “cold energy”. So far, most cold energy during LNG re-gasification has been wasted. The objective of this research is to develop innovative desalination processes using the cold energy provided by LNG re-gasification to: (1) develop membrane distillation crystallization (MDC) process for desalination and (2) perform an exploratory study a hybrid desalination system consisting of membrane distillation (MD) and freeze desalination (FD). We aim to have materials and processing breakthroughs and develop patentable and marketable membrane technologies to produce high quality water and recover valuable salts from desalination operations.