Managing and control of nanofiltration / reverse osmosis desalination system: Application of artificial neural network

Abstract

Some models of the artificial neural network (ANN) are introduced in the control system of a Nanofiltration / Reverse Osmosis desalination in order to manage the operation and to improve the overall efficiency. This study is carried out on a small-scale prototype of NF/RO seawater desalinate++on plant installed in Saudi Arabia and allowing it to operate with input power. The ANN models are developed to generate the permeate flow rate and recovery after taking into account the temperature, conductivity and pressure of the feed water and the available electrical power. The utilized ANN models after training proved their ability to control the operating of the unit with success. In addition, the statistical tests revealed minimum values of RMSE and MAE. A dimensioning of a photovoltaic system to power the plant is also carried out.