Modelling and automatic control in solar membrane distillation: Fundamentals and proposals for its technological development

[ES] La destilación por membranas es un proceso de separación impulsado térmicamente en fase de investigación. Esta tecnología destaca principalmente por la simplicidad del proceso y su baja temperatura de operación, lo que permite que pueda ser alimentada con energía solar de media-baja temperatura. Así, la destilación por membranas se ha convertido en una solución prometedora, eficiente y sostenible para desarrollar plantas de desalación de pequeño o mediano tamaño en lugares aislados con buenas condiciones de radiación. No obstante, para que esta tecnología pueda llegar a ser implementada a escala industrial se debe seguir investigando y mejorando aspectos relacionados tanto con el diseño de las membranas y de los módulos como con la propia operación de estos. En relación con la operación, el desarrollo de modelos y técnicas de control cobran un papel fundamental. En este trabajo se presenta una revisión de las técnicas de control y modelado aplicadas en este campo, describiendo las principales metodologías empleadas y los retos futuros que quedan por abordar, incluyendo además un ejemplo ilustrativo.[EN] Membrane distillation is a termally-driven separation process under investigation. This technology stands out for the simplicity of the process and for its low operating temperature, which allows it to be combined with low grade solar energy. Thus, membrane distillation has become a promising, effcient and sustainable solution for the development of small-medium stand-alone desalination facilities to be implemented in offgrids areas with good irradiance conditions. However, in order to develop this technology on an industrial scale, research must continue to improve aspects related to both the design of membranes and modules and their operation. Regarding the operation, the development of models and control techniques play a fundamental role. This paper presents a review of the control and modeling techniques applied in this field, describing the main methodologies employed and the future challenges to be addressed, also including an illustrative example.Este trabajo ha sido financiado con el Proyecto I+D+i del Plan Nacional DPI2017-85007-R del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades y Fondos FEDER. Juan D. Gil quiere ´ agradecer al Plan Propio de Investigacion y Transferencia de la ´ Universidad de Almer´ıa por la financiacion de su contrato pre- ´ doctoral.Gil, JD.; Roca, L.; Berenguel, M. (2020). Modelado y control automático en destilación por membranas solar: fundamentos y propuestas para su desarrollo tecnológico. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 17(4):329-343. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2020.13122OJS329343174Abdallah, S. B., Frikha, N., Gabsi, S., 2013. Simulation of solar vacuum membrane distillation unit. 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