Showing papers on "Geothermal desalination published in 2003"

Small-scale wind-powered seawater desalination without batteries.

Abstract: Potable water is a commodity taken for granted by many in modem society. In places where it is not naturally available, it is usually produced by adequate processing of the supply from other sources, as is the case with seawater desalination. Such processes require an energy supply, which just as well may not exist at many of these locations. In view of the above, this w~rk focuses on the study of two well-established technologies and their integration: water desalination by Reverse Osmosis (RO) and electricity generation using Wind Energy. Based on the premise that no energy backup or storage devices would be employed, two alternative wind-powered RO system configurations are proposed. Their components are individually described and modelled. Control strategies are devised for both systems, aiming at making the best possible use of the energy available. The expected performances of both systems are assessed through simulation of computer models. Based on the simulated performance results, one of the systems is chosen for further development. A prototype system is built and experimental tests carried out. The design of the prototype is detailed and the results obtained are presented. In the light of these results, the developed model is validated and the viability of the system is discussed. Finally, practical implementation issues are discussed; a case study is introduced, including performance predictions and a simplified economic analysis presented.

Geothermal Power Stations

Abstract: Geothermal energy is renewable heat energy from deep in the earth. By drilling wells this heat can be tapped from the underground reservoirs to supply pools, homes, greenhouses, and power plants. The risks and challenges are related to exploration, drilling and managing the resource. The optimization depends on the choice of adaptation of the power station configuration to the resources available. Power plants convert the heat of the geothermal fluid into electricity. Over 12000 MW of geothermal plants were in operation in 2013.

Integration of reverse osmosis desalination with cold-heat- power production in the tertiary sector

Abstract: A preliminary design of a polygeneration system, conceived for a four-star hotel located on the Mediterranean coast, is presented in this paper. For this system, a single fuel is used to produce cold, heat, power and water from an internal combustion engine integrated and optimized with heaters, absorption units and a reverse osmosis desalination plant. The proposed system is the result of minimizing a multiobjective function of energy (cold, heat and power) and water consumption, in order to reach a more efficient and sustainable management of the installation. The hotel covers its internal demand of energy and water and reaches important overall energy efficiency improvements thanks to the integration of all the systems. An economic analysis has also been performed. The overall system has been modeled by means of data provided by manufacturers and also by means of efficiency curves available in the literature.Copyright © 2003 by ASME

Coupling of MED–TVC with SMART for nuclear desalination

Abstract: A nuclear desalination system has been developed through a thermal coupling of the MED–TVC process and SMART – an integral type of advanced reactor producing rated thermal power of 330 MW. The integrated SMART desalination plant is consists of four units of the MED–TVC process to produce 40,000 m³/day of potable water. The number of units varies according to water production demand. The thermal coupling between SMART and each MED–TVC unit was made using a steam transformer by considering coupling optimisation conditions. The steam transformer has a function as an intermediate loop and protects any radioactive carry-over to the desalination system. The safety analysis performed on the integrated SMART system showed no safety concerns due to the coupling of the desalination system to the nuclear system. The economic evaluation of water production cost showed that the SMART nuclear desalination system can produce potable water comparable to or more economically than the other options with respect to water production costs.

Feasibility investigation of coupling a desalination prototype functioning by Aero-Evapo-Condensation with solar units

Abstract: The rural regions of south Mediterranean countries suffer from problems of drinking water supply However, the majority of these regions have important resources of brackish salt water Thus, brackish water desalination on a small scale presents a potential solution to this problem For this reason, a number of small desalination prototypes are being developed worldwide Bourouni et al have developed a water desalination unit functioning by the Aero-Evapo-Condensation-Process (AECP) in order to satisfy this kind of water demand One of the advantages of this prototype is that it allows the use of low temperature energy such as geothermal and solar energies abundant in these countries An initial experiment was carried on an AECP prototype coupled to a geothermal spring in the south of Tunisia The results relative to the technical and economic performances of the unit have shown that this kind of coupling is promising On the other hand, the brackish water springs in these countries are often non-geothermal In this case, the use of solar energy can be considered Thus, we develop, in the present article, a feasibility investigation on the coupling of the AECP prototype with solar units In fact, we analyse, in the first part of this article, the possibilities of this coupling in a manner that the functioning mode of the solar units will be compatible with that of the AECP prototype To attempt this objective, two kinds of solar installation scenarios are considered and modelled to obtain their energetic contribution Hence, the elaborated models are coupled to the one developed by Bourouni et al for the AECP prototype to determine the technical and economic performances of the whole installation In the last part of this article, a solar unit dimensioning is performed in order to minimise the total cost of the distilled water