Swaminathan, JaichanderJaichanderSwaminathanTow, Emily W.Emily W.TowStover, Richard L.Richard L.StoverLienhard, John H.John H.Lienhard2025-08-312025-08-312019-11-1510.1016/j.desal.2019.1140972-s2.0-85070917753https://d8.irins.org/handle/IITG2025/23139Batch operation of reverse osmosis (RO) has been proposed as a method to reduce seawater RO (SWRO) energy consumption and fouling propensity. In this paper, we use a transient numerical model of the RO process to investigate the impact of several practical loss mechanisms on the overall energetic performance of batch SWRO compared to a conventional continuous system. A critical variable that controls the energetic advantage of batch RO is the reset time between cycles. A large reset time necessitates higher operating flux and therefore results in increased energy consumption. On the other hand, ensuring a low cycle reset time requires higher energy for the refilling process. A batch SWRO design with an atmospheric pressure feed tank and pressure exchangers for energy recovery does not show promise for energy savings. Batch SWRO must be designed with a large number of short pressure vessels (with fewer membranes each) and lower energy recovery losses (e.g., by using pressurized feed storage) in order to reduce energy consumption by up to 8%. These modifications are more complex and hence capital expenses would determine the overall feasibility of such designs to improve seawater desalination.trueBatch reverse osmosis | Energy consumption | Operation | Reset timeArticlehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/am/pii/S001191641930949X15 November 201945114097arJournal47