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Technical and economic assessment of photovoltaic-driven desalination systems

Author

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  • Al-Karaghouli, Ali
  • Renne, David
  • Kazmerski, Lawrence L.

Abstract

Solar desalination systems are approaching technical and cost viability for producing fresh-water, a commodity of equal importance to energy in many arid and coastal regions worldwide. Solar photovoltaics (PV) represent an ideal, clean alternative to fossil fuels, especially for remote communities such as grid-limited villages or isolated islands. These applications for water production in remote areas are the first to be nearing cost-competitiveness due to decreasing PV prices and increasing fossil fuel prices over the last five years. The electricity produced from PV systems for desalination applications can be used for electro-mechanical devices such as pumps or in direct-current (DC) devices. Reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis (ED) desalination units are the most favorable alternatives to be coupled with PV systems. RO usually operates on alternating current (AC) for the pumps, thus requiring a DC/AC inverter. In contrast, electrodialysis uses DC for the electrodes at the cell stack, and hence, it can use the energy supplied from the PV panels with some minor power conditioning. Energy storage is critical and batteries are required for sustained operation. In this paper, we discuss the operational features and system designs of typical PV-RO and PV-ED systems in terms of their suitability and optimization for PV operation. For PV-RO and PV-ED systems, we evaluate their electricity need, capital and operational costs, and fresh-water production costs. We cover ongoing and projected research and development activities, with estimates of their potential economics. We discuss the feasibility of future solar desalination based on expected (or predicted) improvements in technology of the desalination and PV systems. Examples are provided for Middle East and other parts of the World.

Suggested Citation

  • Al-Karaghouli, Ali & Renne, David & Kazmerski, Lawrence L., 2010. "Technical and economic assessment of photovoltaic-driven desalination systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 323-328.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:35:y:2010:i:2:p:323-328
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2009.05.018
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    Cited by:

    1. Sadegh Modarresi, M. & Abada, Bilal & Sivaranjani, S. & Xie, Le & Chellam, Shankararaman, 2020. "Planning of survivable nano-grids through jointly optimized water and electricity: The case of Colonias at the Texas-Mexico border," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    2. Pandey, A.K. & Tyagi, V.V. & Selvaraj, Jeyraj A/L & Rahim, N.A. & Tyagi, S.K., 2016. "Recent advances in solar photovoltaic systems for emerging trends and advanced applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 859-884.
    3. Sagar Shelare & Ravinder Kumar & Trupti Gajbhiye & Sumit Kanchan, 2023. "Role of Geothermal Energy in Sustainable Water Desalination—A Review on Current Status, Parameters, and Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-22, March.
    4. Schäfer, Andrea I. & Hughes, Gordon & Richards, Bryce S., 2014. "Renewable energy powered membrane technology: A leapfrog approach to rural water treatment in developing countries?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 542-556.
    5. Li, Chennan & Goswami, Yogi & Stefanakos, Elias, 2013. "Solar assisted sea water desalination: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 136-163.
    6. Manju, S. & Sagar, Netramani, 2017. "Renewable energy integrated desalination: A sustainable solution to overcome future fresh-water scarcity in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 594-609.
    7. Hussein M. Maghrabie & Abdul Ghani Olabi & Ahmed Rezk & Ali Radwan & Abdul Hai Alami & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem, 2023. "Energy Storage for Water Desalination Systems Based on Renewable Energy Resources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-34, March.
    8. Ariana M. Pietrasanta & Mostafa F. Shaaban & Pio A. Aguirre & Sergio F. Mussati & Mohamed A. Hamouda, 2023. "Simulation and Optimization of Renewable Energy-Powered Desalination: A Bibliometric Analysis and Highlights of Recent Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-28, June.
    9. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar, 2015. "Energy storage for desalination processes powered by renewable energy and waste heat sources," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 877-898.
    10. Raj, Pankaj & Subudhi, Sudhakar, 2018. "A review of studies using nanofluids in flat-plate and direct absorption solar collectors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 54-74.
    11. Ali, Muhammad Tauha & Fath, Hassan E.S. & Armstrong, Peter R., 2011. "A comprehensive techno-economical review of indirect solar desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4187-4199.
    12. Fernandez-Gonzalez, C. & Dominguez-Ramos, A. & Ibañez, R. & Irabien, A., 2015. "Sustainability assessment of electrodialysis powered by photovoltaic solar energy for freshwater production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 604-615.
    13. Chen, W.L. & Xie, G., 2022. "Performance of multi-stage tubular solar still operating under vacuum," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 34-46.
    14. Li, Changsheng & Wang, Haiyu & Miao, Hong & Ye, Bin, 2017. "The economic and social performance of integrated photovoltaic and agricultural greenhouses systems: Case study in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 204-212.
    15. Okampo, Ewaoche John & Nwulu, Nnamdi, 2021. "Optimisation of renewable energy powered reverse osmosis desalination systems: A state-of-the-art review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    16. Ahmad, Naseer & Sheikh, Anwar K. & Gandhidasan, P. & Elshafie, Moustafa, 2015. "Modeling, simulation and performance evaluation of a community scale PVRO water desalination system operated by fixed and tracking PV panels: A case study for Dhahran city, Saudi Arabia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 433-447.
    17. Li, Zhenyu & Siddiqi, Afreen & Anadon, Laura Diaz & Narayanamurti, Venkatesh, 2018. "Towards sustainability in water-energy nexus: Ocean energy for seawater desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3833-3847.
    18. Eltawil, Mohamed A. & Alamri, Ali M. & Azam, Mostafa M., 2022. "Design a novel air to water pressure amplifier powered by PV system for reverse osmosis desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    19. Guo, Chenglong & Zhao, Jiaxu & Zhang, Wenting & Miao, Endong & Xie, Yuhang, 2020. "Constructing 3D optical absorption holes by stacking macroporous membrane for highly efficient solar steam generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 944-953.
    20. Pérez-Alonso, J. & Pérez-García, M. & Pasamontes-Romera, M. & Callejón-Ferre, A.J., 2012. "Performance analysis and neural modelling of a greenhouse integrated photovoltaic system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4675-4685.
    21. Eveloy, Valérie & Rodgers, Peter & Qiu, Linyue, 2016. "Performance investigation of a power, heating and seawater desalination poly-generation scheme in an off-shore oil field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 26-39.
    22. Lee, Sangkeum & Cho, Hong-Yeon & Har, Dongsoo, 2018. "Operation optimization with jointly controlled modules powered by hybrid energy source: A case study of desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 3070-3080.
    23. Jill B. Kjellsson & Michael E. Webber, 2015. "The Energy-Water Nexus: Spatially-Resolved Analysis of the Potential for Desalinating Brackish Groundwater by Use of Solar Energy," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-14, June.

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