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ABSTRACT

Nowadays, Iran, the same as many other countries, is suffering from freshwater shortage. Hence, the desalination of seawater in the coastal regions and desalination of brackish water in the central, eastern, and western parts of Iran can be promising solutions. For this aim, the use of seawater reverse osmosis and brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) units is proposed. In this article, four different methods to supply the required power have been assessed. They are compared in five cities of Iran to determine the most economical mode of freshwater production in different regions. The grid, gas engines, diesel engines, and photovoltaic solar panels are used to provide power. The results show that the increment in inlet water total dissolved solids causes the required pressure and specific energy consumption to increase. Also, the BWRO system powered by a gas engine seems to be the most economical system with levelized cost of water in the range of 0.89–0.92 US$/m3. Moreover, the minimum required solar energy generation to make the considered RO unit economical is determined. Allocating the emission penalty cost of the fossil-fuel-powered unit to the solar PV system as the environmental subsidy can decrease the period of return by 26.9%.

Today, energy and fresh water play a vital role in human life and the development of economics and also in industry. The energy density in water desalination process is remarkable, so using the renewable energy sources for this purpose can be interesting especially in the high potential renewable energy sources (solar energy) like Middle East. The simulation and feasibility study of solar water desalination system coupled with lithium battery energy storage is considered in the case study of Iran. For these purposes, a complete simulation of the considered system is done. Then, using simulation results, the economic study is carried out using tem economic method. Also, the parametric study is considered to find out the effect of climate change, temperature, solar panel type, size of system and the salinity of inlet water on the economic feasibility. Results show that the suggested system is economically feasible in the considered place (period of return is under 5 years). The minimum cost of market for desalinated water which causes the considered system economic is 0.045 US$/L in (Tehran and Jask), 0.04 US$/L for Semnan, 0.065 US$/L in Rasht and 0.035 US$/L in Yazd.

Thermal nature of multiple effect distillation (MED) process causes the integration of a desalination unit with a high-temperature power cycle like gas turbine in combination with the solid oxide fuel cell. The improvement in energy efficiency is achieved as a result of this combination. This configuration can be introduced as an effective system for the electrical energy–freshwater production. The electrical efficiency of solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine (SOFC-GT) is reported about 60%. Small-scale MED unit is presented as a solution for heat recovery in the 300–1,000 kW range of (size of SOFC) SOFC-GT power cycle. The exhausted heat of SOFC-GT power cycle is used in heat recovery steam generator to produce a required motive steam for the desalination unit. Simulation, parametric studies, and economic analysis of proposed system are carried out to investigate the system performance. Economic analyses are applied based on the annualized cost of system method. Results show that the combination of MED with SOFC-GT power cycle makes the system more economic.

AbstractThermal nature of multiple effect distillation (MED) process causes the integration of a desalination unit with a high-temperature power cycle like gas turbine in combination with the solid oxide fuel cell. The improvement in energy efficiency is achieved as a result of this combination. This configuration can be introduced as an effective system for the electrical energy–freshwater production. The electrical efficiency of solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine (SOFC-GT) is reported about 60%. Small-scale MED unit is presented as a solution for heat recovery in the 300–1,000 kW range of (size of SOFC) SOFC-GT power cycle. The exhausted heat of SOFC-GT power cycle is used in heat recovery steam generator to produce a required motive steam for the desalination unit. Simulation, parametric studies, and economic analysis of proposed system are carried out to investigate the system performance. Economic analyses are applied based on the annualized cost of system method. Results show that the combination of MED with SOFC-GT power cycle makes the system more economic.

•Feasibility analyses of two small scale gas engine CHP package is conducted.•The gas engines are chosen based on a domestic gas engine producer.•The annualized cost of system is chosen as the economic method.•The effect of feed in tariff on the system feasibility are presented.•Experimental analyses are performed on the 33 kVA gas engine CHP package.

•Fresh water generation through exhausted hot flow gas from gas engine is subjected in this article.•A novel single effect thermal distillation is considered to be combined with the 33 kVA gas engine.•The experimental setup is based on the designed novel single effect thermal distillation.•The combination of conventional MED and megawatt size of gas engine is also considered in this article.•Technical and economic evaluations are considered on the basis of the suggested scenarios.