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Renewable energy powered membrane technology : The effect of wind speed fluctuations on the performance of a wind-powered membrane system for brackish water desalination

This ERPE project demonstrated that a reverse osmosis system directly coupled (without energy storage) to a wind turbine could desalinate brackish water. This is the first time such a large number of controlled and repeatable experiments have been conducted with such a system operating under a fluctuating renewable energy resource. Impressively, the system tolerated large fluctuations in wind speed (both frequency and amplitude). An important outcome of the paper was the differentiation between fluctuations and intermittency. Longer term field testing is currently underway in northern Tanzania to address the fluoride contamination problem in drinking water.