Application of the concept of a renewable energy based‐polygeneration system for sustainable thermal desalination process—A thermodynamics' perspective

Abstract

Fossil fuel-powered thermal desalination processes have many harmful environmental effects including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and high-salinity brine discharge resulting in biological damages, in addition to energy losses because of the high temperatures of the streams leaving the desalination unit. In this study, a solar energy-based polygeneration approach has been proposed to address these issues. In the proposed system, concentrated solar parabolic trough technology is used to drive a multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination unit for production of fresh water. To recover the waste heat carried by the produced clean water, an organic Rankine cycle is integrated to produce electricity. In addition, to recover the waste heat carried by brine, an absorption cooling system is employed to provide cooling. In order to mitigate the effects of high-salinity brine, a pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) unit is installed, which reduces the salinity of the discharge and produces additional electrical energy. To ensure stable nighttime operations, a thermal energy storage (TES) system is also added to the system. A comprehensive thermodynamic analysis is conducted through mass, energy, and entropy, as well as exergy balances along with energetic and exergetic efficiencies to assess the overall performance of the system. The attained results show that at reference conditions with an overall parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) area of 100 000 m 2 , the system produces 583.3 kW of electricity, approximately 4284 kW of cooling, and 1140 m 3 of freshwater daily. Furthermore, the effects of changing operational conditions on the overall performance of the system are investigated. At design conditions, the overall energetic and exergetic efficiencies of the system are found to be 34.54% and 14.55%, respectively.

Co‐decorated reduced graphene/titanium nitride composite as an active oxygen reduction reaction catalyst with superior stability

“…Fossil fuel, which is the main source of energy, is not only limited in resources but has also severe environmental impacts 1,2 . Renewable energy sources are considered to be the best choice in order to overcome these problems 3,4 . Green hydrogen, for example, which is the hydrogen produced using different renewable energy sources, is considered as being the cleanest fuel that can be utilized in various different sectors, with no environmental impacts 5‐7 .…”

“…1,2 Renewable energy sources are considered to be the best choice in order to overcome these problems. 3,4 Green hydrogen, for example, which is the hydrogen produced using different renewable energy sources, is considered as being the cleanest fuel that can be utilized in various different sectors, with no environmental impacts. [5][6][7] Developing costeffective devices that can use hydrogen fuel efficiently is a basic requirement for the success of this target.…”

Commercial Thermal Technologies for Desalination of Water from Renewable Energies: A State of the Art Review

“…The use of parabolic trough collectors (PTC), with an area of 3160 m 2 , can provide approximately 76% of the energy requirements demanded by an MSF system [124]. Solar energy use by means of PTC makes possible to generate enough energy to achieve high volumes of fresh water in installed MSF plants, with a value of up to USD $2.72 per cubic meter of produced water [125,126], representing an immense potential of alternative energies in optimizing and reducing the operating costs of these thermal desalination systems.…”

Energy, Exergy, and Thermo-Economic Analysis of Renewable Energy-Driven Polygeneration Systems for Sustainable Desalination

“…Recently, Luqman et al [78] have thermodynamically evaluated a solar-driven polygeneration system for sustainable desalination. Their proposed system is composed of solar PTCs that are employed to power the MSF desalination plant.…”