Included here is a good summary of the IPHROCES process. Shared as written with credit to Oceanus P&W (1), the firm working to make the process real, and to pv magazine author Emiliano Bellini (2).
"The first IPHROCES project will be built at an unspecified location in Chile’s Andes region, and combines a pumped hydro (PH) storage station using seawater with a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination station. The system will pump seawater into a storage reservoir at an upper level using conventional reversible pump-turbines, based on power produced by on-site renewable energy facilities or grid electricity." Editor note: the PH process has been used worldwide for decades, and new projects using freshwater systems are numerous. The International Hydropower Association (IHA) estimates pumped hydro projects worldwide store up to 9,000 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity (3). "The water in the upper reservoir will be sent back to the shore, where the RO system is located, and used to produce freshwater." Editor note: the RO desalination process has been used worldwide for decades. "The water that is not used for desalination purposes will be used to produce hydropower for between eight and 12 hours per day during peak demand periods." “This hydraulic pressure eliminates the need for additional electricity to be provided to drive the desalination facility, greatly reducing both the capital expenditure and operational expenditure associated with standalone desalination facilities,” Oceanus said. This process purportedly offers better brine management, as pumped storage outflows dilute desalination waste brine. The system also has a better energy footprint, as it reduces reverse osmosis energy consumption, Oceanus claimed. “The result is a low salinity concentration mixture that is sent back to the ocean, minimizing the impacts on marine life,” the company said.
"In a report of the Chilean Ministry of Finance in 2018, Oceanus said that the energy consumption of the system would be the lowest in the market for reverse osmosis. The reverse osmosis process starts with around 400 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure, without the need for pumps. The system will purportedly produce freshwater at a lower cost than other desalination projects that rely on reverse osmosis, due to lower operational costs, Oceanus said. It said that its pumped storage solution will generate power at peak times, with response times of less than five minutes, in order to ensure network stability."
“The integration of these technologies results in significant economic and environmental benefits that cannot be profitably achieved independently,” Oceanus said. “The IPHROCES concept is well suited to helping regions and countries proactively address some of the growing challenges posed by climate change, on a large scale and without the need for new, unproven, expensive technologies.”
"Oceanus Energía y Agua de Sudamerica SpA, a unit of US infrastructure developer Oceanus Power & Water, has signed a deal with French energy giant EDF to build the world’s first integrated pumped hydro reverse osmosis clean energy system (IPHROCES)."
Sources:
1. Oceanus P&W website.
2. pv magazine article by Emiliano Bellini, Mar 23 2021.
3. IHA and hydropower.org website.
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