Today's and Future Challenges in Applications of Renewable Energy Technologies for Desalination

Abstract

Recent trends and challenges in applications of INTRODUCTIONAdequate and dependable fresh water resources are major issues confronting many nations worldwide (Maila, 2006;Goosen et al., 2011aGoosen et al., & 2011bHuang, 2010; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a Mahmoudi et al., & 2010b. With the world's energy demand increasing much research has been directed at overcoming these challenges and in particular in using renewable energy to help meet the power needs for water desalination (Huang, 2010; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a;Serpen et al., 2010). However, Goosen (2012) and Gottinger and Goosen (2012) argued that while development opens up and advances economies, and creates new wealth, millions are forced to struggle to make meaning of the darker side of development that is not environmentally sustainable. In the past, the world's ecosystems (i.e. air, land and water) were able to absorb the environmental damage resulting from extensive industrialization and development. Nevertheless, with the rapid increases in global population and industrialization, as well as enhanced demands on natural resources such as fresh water supplies, the earth is no longer able to sustain a healthy and balanced ecosystem (Laboy-Nieves, 2009; Laboy et al., 2009; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a Mahmoudi et al., , 2010b Misra, 2000). The sustainability of the society in which we live is determined not only by technical and economic progress, but also by environmental management (Abdulla et al., 2009; Gottinger and Goosen, 2012; Laboy et al., 2010; Maila, 2006). Sustainable development using more renewable energy sources, by improving energy efficiency and reducing water demand and waste production is now considered by many as being the model to follow (Goosen et al., 2004; Goosen, et al., 2009aGoosen, et al., , 2009b Misra, 2000). Elimelech and Philip (2011), for example, reported on the possible reductions in energy demand by desalination technologies, and the role of innovative technologies in improving the sustainability of desalination as a technological solution to global water shortages ( Figure 1). They argued that future research to improve the energy efficiency of desalination should focus on, for example, the pre-treatment and posttreatment stages of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants. Furthermore, Peñate & García-Rodríguez (2012a) presented a comprehensive review of the main innovations and future trends in the design of SWRO desalination technology with an emphasis on improving process performance and efficiency. They concluded that desalination with renewable energies is an attractive combination that will help to reduce stress on existing water supplies.The economic potential and environmental benefits of renewable energies, such as geothermal, solar, wave and wind, and their applications to reducing overall energy requirements have been described in a number of recent articles (Cataldi, et al., 1999;Huang, 2010;Goosen et al., 2011b; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a;Serpen et al., 2010;Stefansson, 2005)....

Renewable energy-driven desalination technologies: A comprehensive review on challenges and potential applications of integrated systems

“…As mentioned previously, extensive utilization of solar power plants has been hindered by cost and intermittency issues [13]. Nonetheless, these challenges may be to some extent eased with the application of thermal energy storage using for instance molten salt.…”

“…Widespread deployment of CSP plants has been hindered by cost and intermittency issues [13]. However, these difficulties may be somewhat eased with, for instance, the addition of thermal energy storage using for example molten salt or compressed air underground heat storage (CAES).…”

“…However, a major goal is to identify and assess RE sources as a precondition to satisfy the ever growing demand for freshwater in an economically and environmentally sustainable way especially in water-scarce regions. Solar, and possibly geothermal energy (GE) could be a good alternative source because it is permanent, abundantly available and is environmentally friendly [8,13]. However, most of the installed plants are connected to a grid from where the desalination plants are fed (i.e.…”

“…In addition, a 8 m 3 /day solar AD pilot unit installed at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) in Saudi Arabia produced not only high quality water with less energy consumption but also provided cooling which is suitable for air-conditioning at a nominal capacity of 10 Rtons (refrigeration tons) [13,32]. Details of these innovative processes are presented in Section 5.1.…”

“…For example, as stated by the Prodes Group-Experts [12], the target for the use of solar energy (SE) is a 3-5% share of new installations in the global desalination market by 2016. Worldwide, several small-scale RE-driven desalination plants have been installed and most of them have been successfully operated and proved that they need very simple maintenance [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. However, a major goal is to identify and assess RE sources as a precondition to satisfy the ever growing demand for freshwater in an economically and environmentally sustainable way especially in water-scarce regions.…”