Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities
In the last years, an increasing number of countries has been affected by water shortage. Seawater desalination driven by solar energy, which is usually available in arid regions, might be a solution to satisfy the freshwater demand. In this study, the feasibility of a stand-alone multi-effect desal...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/3864 |
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| author | Angelica Liponi Claretta Tempesti Andrea Baccioli Lorenzo Ferrari |
| author_facet | Angelica Liponi Claretta Tempesti Andrea Baccioli Lorenzo Ferrari |
| author_sort | Angelica Liponi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the last years, an increasing number of countries has been affected by water shortage. Seawater desalination driven by solar energy, which is usually available in arid regions, might be a solution to satisfy the freshwater demand. In this study, the feasibility of a stand-alone multi-effect desalination (MED) plant driven by solar energy for an isolated community was studied. The system was made up of a solar field, a MED unit, and a thermal storage that mitigated solar energy fluctuations. Simulations with different top brine temperature and inclination and number of the solar panels were carried out in Matlab and Aspen Plus on an hourly basis by considering one typical meteorological year for ambient temperature and solar radiation. Two different sources of electrical energy were considered: A photovoltaic (PV) field and a diesel generator. The results were compared from an energetic and economic point of view, by considering the adoption of plastic as a material for MED heat exchangers. The maximum water production was obtained with December as the design month. Polytetrafluoroethylene heat exchangers allowed the cost of water to be reduced up to 9.5% compared to conventional exchangers. The lowest cost of water (7.09 $/<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) was obtained with September as the design month and a tilt angle of 45° with the PV field as the electrical power source. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:09:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa671eaaa93e4dc99feae73eb4ff1f9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:09:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa671eaaa93e4dc99feae73eb4ff1f9c2023-11-20T08:17:15ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-07-011315386410.3390/en13153864Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated CommunitiesAngelica Liponi0Claretta Tempesti1Andrea Baccioli2Lorenzo Ferrari3Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 1, 56122 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 1, 56122 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 1, 56122 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 1, 56122 Pisa, ItalyIn the last years, an increasing number of countries has been affected by water shortage. Seawater desalination driven by solar energy, which is usually available in arid regions, might be a solution to satisfy the freshwater demand. In this study, the feasibility of a stand-alone multi-effect desalination (MED) plant driven by solar energy for an isolated community was studied. The system was made up of a solar field, a MED unit, and a thermal storage that mitigated solar energy fluctuations. Simulations with different top brine temperature and inclination and number of the solar panels were carried out in Matlab and Aspen Plus on an hourly basis by considering one typical meteorological year for ambient temperature and solar radiation. Two different sources of electrical energy were considered: A photovoltaic (PV) field and a diesel generator. The results were compared from an energetic and economic point of view, by considering the adoption of plastic as a material for MED heat exchangers. The maximum water production was obtained with December as the design month. Polytetrafluoroethylene heat exchangers allowed the cost of water to be reduced up to 9.5% compared to conventional exchangers. The lowest cost of water (7.09 $/<inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn>3</mn></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) was obtained with September as the design month and a tilt angle of 45° with the PV field as the electrical power source.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/3864solar energymulti-effect distillationseawater desalinationstand alonethermal storage |
| spellingShingle | Angelica Liponi Claretta Tempesti Andrea Baccioli Lorenzo Ferrari Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities Energies solar energy multi-effect distillation seawater desalination stand alone thermal storage |
| title | Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities |
| title_full | Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities |
| title_fullStr | Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities |
| title_short | Small-Scale Desalination Plant Driven by Solar Energy for Isolated Communities |
| title_sort | small scale desalination plant driven by solar energy for isolated communities |
| topic | solar energy multi-effect distillation seawater desalination stand alone thermal storage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/3864 |
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