Study of Efficiency in a Sliding Vane Pressure Exchanger

Sliding vane pressure exchanger (SVPE) is expected to be an efficient device which recovers pressure energy from liquid streams in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) system. In this work, a matching design of vane number and port location was proposed to eliminate the short circuit flow, reversed flow, liquid decompression and compression. The contact performance between the cylinder and vane was studied by the proposed vane dynamics model. Then, the vane dynamics model in conjunction with the energy loss model were used to evaluate the work transfer efficiency of SVPE. The critical condition of contact performance and the work transfer efficiency of SVPE were simulated. Finally, the influences of device parameters on the work transfer efficiency were discussed. The results suggest a careful selection of device parameters, such as rotational speed, vane thickness and vane length, is critical in order to improve the work transfer efficiency of SVPE.