Solar-thermal desalination (STD) is a potentially low-cost, sustainable approach for providing high-quality fresh water in the absence of water and energy infrastructures. Despite recent efforts to advance STD by improving heat-absorbing materials and system designs, the best strategies for maximizing STD performance remain uncertain. To address this problem, we identify three major steps in distillation-based STD: (i) light-to-heat energy conversion, (ii) thermal vapor generation, and (iii) conversion of vapor to water via condensation. Using specific water productivity as a quantitative metric for energy efficiency, we show that efficient recovery of the latent heat of condensation is critical for STD performance enhancement, because solar vapor generation has already been pushed toward its performance limit. We also demonstrate that STD cannot compete with photovoltaic reverse osmosis desalination in energy efficiency. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of factors other than energy efficiency, including cost, ease of maintenance, and applicability to hypersaline waters.

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Pathways and challenges for efficient solar-thermal desalination

Environmental impact of desalination processes: Mitigation and control strategies

Multi-objective optimization of a hybrid biomass-based SOFC/GT/double effect absorption chiller/RO desalination system with CO2 recycle

Thermodynamic analysis of compressed air energy storage (CAES) hybridized with a multi-effect desalination (MED) system

Nuclear Desalination: A State-of-the-Art Review

Multi-objective optimization of MED-TVC-RO hybrid desalination system based on the irreversibility concept

Optimum exergoeconomic modeling of novel hybrid desalination system (MEDAD+RO)

A new approach to thermo-economic modeling of adsorption desalination system

A brackish water reverse osmosis desalination plant based on exergy analysis was simulated and its performance was investigated. The computational model base on diffusion and convection transport mechanisms and concentration polarization concept was developed to predict the performance of RO membrane using different feed water concentration, feed flow rate, feed water pressure, membrane specification and feed water properties. The mathematical model has had good accuracy with reference data. The influence of operating parameters such as feed water pressure and temperature on the performance of the system was studied. Exergetic efficiency and destruction of streams exergy were calculated. Finally, multi-objective optimization for highest exergetic efficiency and permeate flow rate was done.

Multi objective optimization of reverse osmosis desalination plant with exergy approach

The mathematical model to predict the performance and the exergetic efficiency in a multi-effect desalination system with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC system) has been presented. The energy and the concentration conservation law were developed for each effect, considering the boiling point elevation and the various thermodynamic losses by developing the mathematical models. These analyses led to the determination of the thermodynamic properties at different points and to the gain output ratio (GOR) values. Then, a heat transfer equation was developed in each effect and the required heat transfer areas were determined. Finally, irreversibility analysis was performed, from which the exergy destruction (considering chemical and physical exergy) and the exergetic efficiency were calculated. To obtain the optimum point of a system, multi-objective optimization was used. Determination of the best trade-off between GOR and heat transfer area was the final goal of this optimization. The optimum design led to a selected system with the lowest heat transfer area (and related cost) and the highest GOR.

http://www.energyequipsys.com/article_28978_59c3c783f29878591621a643823607ed.pdf

Somayyeh Sadri

Papers

Multi-objective optimization of MED-TVC-RO hybrid desalination system based on the irreversibility concept

Optimum exergoeconomic modeling of novel hybrid desalination system (MEDAD+RO)

A new approach to thermo-economic modeling of adsorption desalination system

Multi objective optimization of reverse osmosis desalination plant with exergy approach

Multi objective optimization of the MED-TVC system with exergetic and heat transfer analysis