The Essentials

An Initiative of the IDA

Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

Summer 2020
Created by the International Desalination Association
Foreword
IDA Essentials are a special selection of papers that have been curated from the IDA
vault. For more than forty years, the IDA has hosted conferences globally for water
desalination and water reuse and has built a large library of papers. The technical
content of many papers is still very relevant, and the IDA wants to make this content for
accessible to its members. For this reason, IDA has launched the IDA Essentials
publications. Each IDA Essentials publication has been carefully selected from several
papers on a specific topic from different authors so that the reader can quickly obtain a
thorough understanding on a specific topic while minimizing time on literature research.
-

Introduction
Desalination is widely applied to counter the global water scarcity.

Over the years, the energy consumption of desalination systems has been reduced through
the development of products and technologies such as low energy seawater RO membranes,
and energy recovery devices.

The need for secure, affordable and sustainable energy has become critical.

Sustainable energy has become a parameter that needs to be addressed when planning new
desalination plants.

This IDA Essential publication contains a series of papers that focus on solar energy for
desalination:

Utilizing the renewable energy of the ocean

Solar energy desalination design concepts (Photo Voltaic,

Concentrating Solar Power)

Increasing the operation efficacy of solar desalination systems

Technical and economical evaluations of different solar energy

technologies in desalination (RO and MED-VC).

Case Studies

3 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Table of Contents
Title Author Pages

Desalination of seawater utilizing the

1 renewable energy source of the tropical Dr. Manfred J. Zapka 5
ocean

Sustainable water desalination by means

Jinjun Cen, Lauren Beck, William
2 of a solar PV-T powered MED-VC 21
Janssen, Leon Awerbuch
Technology

Toru Kannari, Yoshiaki Miho,

Solar thermal energy seawater
3 Yuji Saito, Rencai Chu, 30
desalination
Yoshiharu Horita

Mohamed A. Darwish, Hassan K.

PV Solar technologies and desalination:
4 Abdulrahim, Ashraf S. Hassan, 38
economic analysis
Abdelnasser A. Mabrouk

Water from the sun: the best

PV/CSP/RO combination to minimize the Emilio Ghiazza, Guido Laguzzi,
58
5 water cost in a self-standing solar Francesco Bevilacqua
desalination plant

Solar steam turbine driven HP pump for Justin Robert Paden, Thomas
6 71
SWRO plant Altmann, Sambhu Mitra

Solar powered seawater desalination – a Fulya Verdier, Heinz Ludwig,

7 80
case study Johannes Kretschmann

Case study of manufacture and

8 operation of mobile solar powered Yahya Alzafin 95
desalination unit

4 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

DESALINATION OF SEAWATER
UTILIZING THE RENEWABLE
ENERGY SOURCE OF THE
TROPICAL OCEAN

Authors: Dr. Manfred J. Zapka, Ph.D., Dipl.-Ing.

Presented at the 2019 IDA World Congress, Dubai, UAE, October 20-24

This paper presents the design of an integrated OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy
Conversion) and desalination plant for the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

5 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

DESALINATION OF SEAWATER UTILIZING THE RENEWABLE

ENERGY SOURCE OF THE TROPICAL OCEAN

Authors: Dr. Manfred J. Zapka, Ph.D., Dipl.-Ing

Presenter: Dr. Manfred J. Zapka, Ph.D., Dipl.-Ing

Abstract
An innovative thermal desalination plant derives power from the renewable energy process of
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and provides high quality freshwater in a sustainable,
energy self- sufficient and environmentally benign manner.

The tropical ocean represents the largest solar energy collector and storage, whose energy
content can be utilized to produce energy and fresh water. Energy is generated by a heat engine
process, which extracts power from the temperature difference between the warm surface
seawater and the cold deep seawater. The conversion of the thermal energy of the ocean is the
only renewable energy form, which can provide a reliable base load energy supply on a global
scale, on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

The paper presents the design of an integrated OTEC and desalination plant for the island of
Oahu, Hawaii. The integrated plant combines OTEC based energy conversion and with freshwater
production of 19,000 m3/day (5 million gallons per day, MGD). The OTEC process produces all
the energy needed for the desalination. In addition to electricity and freshwater production, the
plant provides cold deep ocean water for air conditioning as well as for aquaculture and agriculture
businesses.

The thermal desalination process employed is an optimized multi-stage process, which

incorporates all unique system requirements to operate efficiently at low temperature differences.
The warm seawater, which has an average temperature of about 26ºC, is converted into steam.
The steam generated is condensed by the 5ºC cold deep seawater, which is extracted from the
ocean from a depth of about 800 meter. Major components of the plant are the multiple-effect
evaporator, the condenser, seawater pipe systems (with pipe diameters of up to 2.5 meters), and
handling of the non-condensable gases.

The paper presents business opportunities and challenges of the integrated OTEC and
desalination plant. A financial analysis is presented which contains applicable costs and all
revenues streams derivable from the multi product plant (revenues from the sale of electricity,
freshwater, chilled water for air conditioning, as well as cold water for aquaculture and agriculture).

6 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

I. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY

One of the central goals of future desalination technologies is the advancement towards
environmentally and financially sustainable systems.

Central demands of such goals can be categorized in

• Lowering the costs of producing desalinated water,
• Reducing the emissions from desalination plants
• Increasing the use of renewable energy and clean energy sources
• Integrating water and power production

In his article “The Hidden Cost of Energy” Harold M. Hubbard describes that recognizing and
minimizing the societal costs of energy – while still providing the energy required to fuel a growing
global economy – will become the pressing concern of the next decades. Hubbard explains that
society’s ignoring environmental and other social costs leads to a “tragedy of the commons”,
which defines the overuse of under prized goods, such as village dumps or free water supplies.

As we enter a time where renewable water resources become insufficient to satisfy the demands
of a growing world population, the need for increased desalination has been recognized
worldwide. Since the natural resource “freshwater” can no longer be perceived as “common”
goods, freely available to humankind, there is a need to increase desalination capacities, by
decreasing the required energy demand for the production of desalination and emb ed the
desalination process in overall sustainable systems, both in financial as well as environmental
terms.

This paper presents solutions to incorporate the production of desalinated water in a multi-product
system approach, powered solely through the renewable energy of the ocean.

II. UTILIZATION OF ENERGY CONTAINED IN THE TROPICAL OCEAN

The world oceans represent an enormous source of non-polluting, inexhaustible energy. The
oceans cover some 70% of the world, which make them the world's largest solar energy collector
and storage system. On an average day the part of the oceans, which comprises the tropical seas,
absorbs an amount of solar radiation equal in heat content to about 250 billion barrels of oil. This
equals 20,000 times the amount of the total energy consumption in the US per day. (NREL web
site)

The vertical temperature distribution in the open ocean is characterized by a warm surface layer
and a cold main body of the ocean, separated by the so-called thermocline. In the tropical ocean
the difference in temperature between the warm and cold layers of the ocean ranges between
20°C and 24°C. The temperature of the seawater, as a function of depth, is depicted in Figure 1.
The global distribution of the difference between warm surface and deep cold seawater is
illustrated in Figure 2.

7 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 2: Thermal Energy Contained in the Ocean, Global Distribution (source, DOE)

Utilizing the concept of a heat engine this thermal difference can be exploited by a process called
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). The warm seawater acts as the heat source and the
cold deep water as the heat sink. With a vertical temperature difference of 22°C (26°C surface
seawater and 4°C deep seawater) the maximum theoretical efficiency of an OTEC plant is about
8%. Due to irreversibility in the OTEC process actual efficiencies are 3% to 4%. This might seem
small when compared to conventional power plants but OTEC can tap into the vast source of
thermal energy, which is continuously replenished by the sun. Utilizing the OTEC process on a
large global scale has unique advantages since OTEC is the only solar energy conversion
process, which can supply a reliable base load of energy on a global scale; day and night, every
day of the year, independent of cloud cover or prevailing wind speeds.

III. OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION (OTEC) TECHNOLOGY

3.1. History of OTEC

The concept of OTEC is not new. The first documented reference to the use of ocean temperature
gradients for the production of energy was in Jules Verne’s novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues
under the Sea” (Vega, 1999). The first technical developments of OTEC were carried out in 1882
by the French scientist d’Arsonval. In his article “Power from the Tropical Sea” George Claude, a
disciple and colleague of d’Arsonval, describes his own early initiatives to develop different types
of OTEC technology and make the proof of concept tests on the island of Cuba in 1929. (Claude,
1930) Since these early initiatives to utilize the thermal resources of the ocean, there have been
numerous efforts to develop OTEC into a viable renewable energy technology. The period
following the 1980’s being the most active time devoted to OTEC R&D efforts. It is presently
understood that OTEC is ready for commercial applications.

8 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

3.2. OTEC R&D Efforts

Many countries have conducted significant R&D efforts into the developments of different OTEC
concepts and systems components. A significant portion of these efforts was conducted in the
state of Hawaii. The following describes some significant milestones of these efforts:

In 1979 the concept of a Closed-Cycle OTEC (CC-OTEC) plant (refer to chapter 3.3.1.) was
proven in a pilot project in Hawaii. A floating OTEC plant (“Mini-OTEC”, Figure 3), with a gross
power production of 50 kW was deployed off the island of Oahu and operated successfully for a
period of a couple of months, demonstrating the viability of the OTEC concept and providing
important operation experience. In the year 1974 the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii
Authority (NELHA) was founded to support most OTEC R&D in Hawaii. There has been a wide
variety of OTEC related activities, such as longtime corrosion and biofouling for seawater heat
exchangers, scale models of different OTEC process variations and utilization of cold seawater in
aquaculture and in agriculture. NELHA was the site of the first large-scale test of the Open-Cycle
OTEC (OC-OTEC) process (refer to chapter 3.3.1.). This pilot OC-OTEC installation was operated
for over seven years and produced 250 kW of gross power as well as about 200 gallon per hour
of freshwater. Figure 4. shows the OC-OTEC pilot plant at NELHA. Besides R&D efforts in OTEC
process there were extensive tests involving design, deployment and operation of large diameter
seawater pipes, which are crucial elements for every OTEC installation.

3.3. OTEC System Components

A land based OTEC installation has two major systems components, (1) the OTEC process facility
and (2) the seawater piping system.

3.3.1. OTEC Process Facility: In the OTEC process facility the temperature difference
between the warm surface seawater and the cold deep seawater is utilized to create energy and
freshwater. There are two basic processes of OTEC which are described in the following:

Figure 3: Mini OTEC Tests, Hawaii 1979-1989

Figure 4: OC-OTEC pilot plant, including freshwater production, at NELHA, Hawaii

Closed-Cycle OTEC (CC-OTEC): The CC-OTEC process is depicted in Figure 5. A working fluid,
for most OTEC application a mixture of ammonia and water, is contained in a closed-loop, which
includes heat exchangers, a working fluid turbine and a working fluid compressor. In the
evaporator the working fluid is heated by warm surface seawater, which passes over the heat

9 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

exchanger and causes the working fluid to boil. The working fluid steam expands on the turbine,
which transfers the work done to a generator to create electricity. The steam then passes through
the condenser, where the working fluid is cooled by the cold deep seawater, thus returning to the
liquid form. The working fluid is then pressurized by the compressor, downstream from the
condenser. This completes the cycle.

Figure 5: CC-OTEC Process

The Open-Cycle OTEC (OC-OTEC) process is depicted in Figure 6. The Open-Cycle has its name
from the fact that the working fluid, the water itself, is not returned after passage through the
condenser, therefore not completing the loop. Figure 6. depicts the “Claude” OC-OTEC process,
which features a direct contact evaporators and condenser. In the evaporator the seawater is flash
evaporated in a low- pressure containment vessel. The steam passes through a low-pressure
turbine where work is performed and electricity is created. The steam then enters the direct contact
condenser, where the steam condenses on the droplets of the cold deep seawater. Due to the low
pressure in the system gases dissolved both in the warm and cold seawater evolve and have to
be extracted from the low-pressure vessel by means of a vacuum pump, along with not condensed
steam, in order to maintain the low pressure. The usage of the direct contact condenser has the
advantage to avoid the expenses and energy losses associated with heat exchangers, but has
the disadvantage that no freshwater is produced, due to the fact that the steam (which is
freshwater) comes into contact with seawater.

Figure 6: The OC-OTEC Process

3.3.2. Seawater Pipe Systems - OTEC plants derive energy from a relatively small
temperature gradient. Since the thermal driving force is small, the heat transfer surfaces and
quantities of water passing through the system are larger than in conventional steam power plants.
The relatively large water flows necessitate large diameter pipes. OTEC plants generally require
three kinds of seawater flows. (1) the cold water is extracted from a depth of about 800-1000 m,

10 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

where the seawater temperature is about 4 -5°C. Depending on the ocean bathymetry, the cold
water pipes are in general long pipelines, which represent the largest part of investment of a land-
based OTEC installation; (2) the warm surface seawater flow, is extracted form just below the
surface; (3) the mixed water is discharged below the warm surface layer of the ocean to avoid re-
entrainment of the discharge as warm water intake and to mitigate any possible negative
environmental effects.

During the past 25 years there have been considerable R&D efforts involving the design, the
deployment and the operation of large diameter seawater pipes for OTEC and related seawater
applications. Most of these efforts have been carried out in Hawaii. Apart from R&D efforts there
are several commercially operated seawater pipes on the Big Island of Hawaii, which extract deep
seawater for a variety of commercial operations. The largest pipe, which was deployed in 2001 is
a 1.65 m diameter High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. This pipe diameter is the largest
extruded HDPE pipe commercially available at present, but 2 m diameter HDPE pipe will be
available by the year 2004. Pipe designs, which are utilizing diameters larger than 2m, require
new designs and deployment approaches. Such pipe designs are presently developed for the
DOWAF project. (refer to chapter 6.)

IV. MULTI PRODUCT APPROACH OF OTEC

Conventional OTEC designs have focused on energy systems. In the last decade it has been
realized, however, that the full potential of an OTEC installation can be much better utilized if a
multi-product, rather than an energy focus is being applied. Besides energy, these multi-product
OTEC systems can produce freshwater, can utilize the cold deep seawater for air-conditioning
and can provide pathogen- free and nutrient rich seawater to aquaculture and agriculture
operations. Figure 7. depicts the revenue potential of a multi-product OTEC system.

Figure 7: Potential Revenue Streams of Multi-Product OTEC System

4.1. OTEC System including Freshwater Production

The classical CC-OTEC and OC-OTEC process designs cannot produce freshwater in the
configurations depicted in Figures 5 and 6. Figure 8. illustrates two OTEC processes variations,
which can produce both energy and freshwater. In process scheme A. of Figure 8., the OC-OTEC
process is equipped with surface condensers, in lieu of the direct contact condensers, where the
steam, after passing through the low pressure turbine, is condensed by the cold seawater. In
process scheme B of Figure 8., the effluent of a CC-OTEC plant is used in a subsequent
freshwater production cycle, where seawater is flash evaporated and subsequently condensed by

11 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

the cold-water effluent of the energy stage.

Figure 8: Two OTEC Variations to Produce Energy and Freshwater

4.2. Seawater Air-conditioning (SWAC)

In conventional AC-units about 85% of the energy is used to power chillers. In SWAC operations
the cold deep seawater supplies the heat sink in lieu of conventional mechanically driven chillers,
which results in the significant energy savings. This can create a significant cost advantage for
coastal communities and resort developments. To date there are a couple of commercial SWAC
applications around the world with dedicated pipes to extract the cold seawater.

Augmenting an OTEC installation with SWAC creates appealing revenue potential since the
seawater handling system for an OTEC plant has only to be increased in size to provide the flow
for the SWAC operation, thus incurring only incremental costs. The costs involved for such a
SWAC system involve mainly the heat exchangers, to chill the closed chilled freswater loop, and
the chilled water distribution system. The payback period for the capital investment for such a
SWAC system is estimated to be four years or less (Takahashi & Trenka, 1996).

4.3. Aquaculture and Coldwater Agriculture

NELHA and the associated HOST Park on the Big Island of Hawaii is site of over 20 years of R&D
as well as commercial cold seawater applications. There are several seawater pipes, which extract
deep cold water from a depth of approximately 700m. The cold seawater is used to produce a
diverse mix of aquaculture products, such as algae for pharmaceutical applications and food
supplements and culturing salmon, abalone, lobster, several types of fish and edible seaweed,
such as Ogo and Nori. Figure 9. shows different views of the cold seawater operations at NELHA.

12 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 9: Cold seawater applications

at NELHA

Hawaii is the site of the first utilization of cold seawater in agriculture. The earth is cooled by the
seawater effluent of the OTEC plant, which creates unique cold weather plant growth conditions
usually not found in tropical environments. As the roots of the plants are cooled in a controlled
pattern, multiple yield periods and a considerable increment in selected agriculture production can
be achieved. Atmospheric condensation on the pipes of the cold seawater flow provides drip
irrigation.

4.4. Other CSW or WSW Applications

Additional applications involving cold seawater, as well as warm seawater can include creating
unique marine and aquatic environments for coastal resorts or aquariums.

V. NEW OTEC FOCUS ON FW PRODUCTION

In OTEC applications, where freshwater is regarded as the primary product, the OTEC plant has
to be designed to achieve an increased efficiency in the freshwater production capabilities. A
suitable measure to quantify the efficiency of freshwater production in OTEC plants is the ratio of
seawater flowing through the OTEC plant over freshwater produced, SW/FW-ratio. As the cold
seawater flow with the required large diameter seawater pipe is by far the most costly seawater
supply, the CSW/FW-ratio is a more appropriate measure. A large CSW/FW ratio indicates the
need for large cold seawater flow and consequently large diameter pipes have to be used with
associated high costs.

An increase in freshwater production effectiveness can be achieved by utilizing elements of

traditional thermal desalination technologies and combining these with the unique design and
operation requirements of OTEC applications. These unique requirements include considerations
for heat transfer processes under low temperature differences and material selection for the heat
exchanger and for the structure of the containment vessel.

With conventional OTEC systems the plant is sized for the energy system. The freshwater is
produced in a subsequent plant stage. The production rate of the freshwater is thereby dependent
on the production rate of electricity. Applying a freshwater production focus to OTEC, the
desalination process operates parallel to the energy system, rather than in a sequential pattern.
The energy system can therefore be sized independent of the energy system, e.g. to supply only
the required power to operate the seawater pumps as well as other plant power needs.

13 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

VI. DOWAF CASE STUDIE

6.1. Project Objectives and Scope

The Deep Ocean Water Application Facility (DOWAF) Feasibility Study was initiated by the Board
of Water Supply, City and County of Honolulu, in 2002. The DOWAF project will produce the
detailed design, the marketing plan for the multi-product plant as well as the environmental impact
study for the future desalination plant, operating as an integrated OTEC system on the island of
Oahu. It is expected that the actual realization of the plant will start in 2004.

The project’s objectives are to build a sustainable desalination capability for the future water
supply of Oahu. The Hawaiian islands of Oahu are blessed with high-quality supply of freshwater,
originating in the islands large aquifers. Due to growing urban developments and the increasing
infiltration of selected pollutants into the groundwater, there is a need to provide future desalination
capabilities to secure an adequate freshwater supply of high quality. Owing to the long and
successful developments of OTEC in the island, as described before, and the desire to focus on
financial as well as environmental sustainability, a thermal desalination approach related to OTEC
has been selected for the desalination.

The future DOWAF plant will produce 19,000 m3/day (5 MGD).of freshwater in the first phase and
38,000 m3/day (10 MGD) in the final production stage of the plant. Besides electricity for the plant
operation, the DOWAF plant will provide air-conditioning for municipal, commercial and residential
customers. The air-conditioning will be operated as a district energy utility. The plant will further
provide cold seawater to commercial aquaculture and agriculture operations.

6.2. Site Selection

Two candidate sites have been selected for the future DOWAF facility. These sites are illustrated
in Figure 10. For both sites, A and B, a comprehensive design is being carried out, which
addresses technology and engineering aspects as well as detailed financial assessments of the
multi-product OTEC installation. Both sites have good access to cold deep seawater, which means
that the bathymetry of the sites allow for relatively short lengths for the cold seawater pipes, which
are in the order of 4,500m.

Figure 10: Two Sites of the Future DOWAF, Island of Oahu, Hawaii

Site A is adjacent to Oahu’s largest power plant, which has a capacity of 700 MW and discharges

14 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

cooling seawater at an average flow rate of 850 MGD at 30°C. The DOWAF plant will use the
warm power plant effluent to increase the efficiency of the desalination process by increasing the
temperature of the seawater feed water. Site A is in proximity of large costal resort, which
represents a good potential for SWAC. Site B is located inside an industrial park. At site B there
is no thermal augmentation of the seawater intake water and therefore the warm surface seawater,
at a temperature between 24°C (winter months) and 27°C (summer months), is the only thermal
source for the OTEC process. Adjacent industrial installations provide good potential for SWAC
and industrial cooling with the plant effluent. In addition, cold storage facilities can be served by
cold seawater refrigeration. Site B offers access to land, which is suitable for cold seawater
agriculture and aquaculture.

6.3. DOWAF Plant Systems:

The basic flow diagram of the process plant is depicted in Figure 11. The process plant is similar
for both sites A and B, with some exception since the heat transfer characteristics differ due to the
thermal augmentation of the warm seawater supply at site A. The cold and warm seawater is
supplied to both the power and the desalination cycle in a parallel flow scheme. If the power cycle
is not available due to maintenance or other operational reasons, the desalination process can
operate independently, powered by electricity from the utility grid.

The energy system comprises a CC-OTEC process utilizing a commercially tested power cycle,
which operates with a mixture of ammonia and water as the working fluid. The desalination cycle
utilizes a

MED process design with two sequential modules, comprising 5 effects in the first module and 3
effects in the second module. The basic design approach is depicted in Figure 12. Warm seawater
is flash evaporated and heats the cold seawater intake of the first effect. By condensing on the
vertical tubes the steam heats the water inside of the tubes. This generates the steam for the
subsequent effects. Due to the low temperatures problems associated with scaling are negligible.
Structures inside the steel containment vessels are mostly made of low-cost seawater resistant
plastic.

Figure 11: Basic Flow Diagram of the DOWAF Process Plant

15 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 12: Flow Scheme of the Thermal Desalination Process

Due to the low process pressure gases, dissolved in the warm and the cold seawater, come out
of solution and have to be expelled from the system by the vacuum pump system, in order to
maintain the low system pressure. Seawater has the tendency to outgas more readily than
freshwater (Zapka, 1989). For OTEC applications it is assumed that the water outgases close to
100%. Since this places a high power burden on the system a pre-deaeration system is applied
which removes about 90% of the gases upstream of the plant and re-injects the gases downstream
(Zapka and Krock, 1992)

The combination of MED, multi-module approach, heat transfer area and flow ratio of warm versus
cold seawater results in a CSW/FW ratio of 25. This is a favorable CSW/FW ratio, when compared
to other OTEC systems with freshwater capabilities, which require CSW/FW ratios in the order of
about 70 to 140. The low CSW/FW ratio results in cost reductions of the cold seawater pipe, since
the required pipe diameter is reduced. The WSW/CSW ratio is adjustable in the range from 1.0 to
1.5.

6.4 Seawater Piping System

The seawater piping system handles three kinds of seawater flows; (1) the cold deep seawater,
(2) the warm seawater intake and (3) the seawater discharge for the mixed effluent of the plant.

For Site A the warm seawater is extracted from the discharge well of the power plant. Therefore
the warm water intake pipe is the interconnecting piping between the power plant and the DOWAF
plant. The discharge from the DOWAF plant uses the existing discharge outfall system of the
power plant. The effluent of the DOWAF plant is mixed with the warmer effluent of the power plant.
This results in a lower total effluent temperature, than for the power plant operation alone. For Site
B the warm and the effluent seawater pipes have to be provided by means of large diameter
seawater pipes. The coldwater pipe is a similar design for both sites A and B.

The pipe design for the different seawater flows builds on previous design and operational
experiences at NELHA, which included HDPE pipes of up to 1.65 m diameter as well as Fiberglass
Reinforced Pipes (FRP) with a diameter of 2.6 m diameter. The pipes for DOWAF cross the surf
zone by means of micro tunneling, originating from a vertical pit at the inland location of the plant.
The micro tunneling terminates in a depth of 35 m some 300 m off the coastline. For depths of
less than 60 m, the pipes are attached to the ocean bottom with anchors or are bolted down. For
the remainder of the length, where the seawater pipes touch the ocean bottom, the pipes are
weighted down by means of concrete pipe supports at distances which range from 10 to 15m. For

16 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

certain sections of the pipe alignment, the pipe floats supported by buoyancy elements and is held
to the bottom by anchor cables. The intake structures of the pipes feature pipe elements, which
avoid entrainment of marine life.

The governing design criteria for the intake pipes is buckling due to the pressure difference
between outside ambient water pressure and inside lower pressure, which is a result of the suction
exerted on water inside the pipe due to pumping. In order to secure the pipes against buckling the
water flow velocity in the pipes is limited to 1.3 m/sec. In addition, the pipe is fitted with stiffening
rings in the near shore region, where the pressure difference between exterior and interior
pressures attains the largest value.

6.5. Summary of Technical Performance data:

Technical data of DOWAF is presented in Table 1.

6.6. Preliminary Financial Analysis

The financial analysis for both sites are averages and summarized in Tables 2. The annual cost,
revenue and profit projections are given in Figure 13.

6.7. Web-based Project Information and Educational Portal

Projects utilizing natural resources require building support with different stakeholders, such as
the public and governmental decision makers. Since the DOWAF requires considerable financial
investments, which will be sought in the private investment sector, as well as public sector support,
a Public Private Partnership is regarded as a favorable setting to secure the success of the project.

Table 1: Summary of Technical Performance Data

17 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 13: Annual Cost, Revenue and Profit Projections

A project web site is being developed and will be made available by the summer of 2003. The web
site will offer online forums for technology & engineering as well as for more general topics related
to the processes applied. One forum will be available for invited OTEC experts to partake in design
reviews and exchange views on various topics relevant to the multi-product approach of the
DOWAF installation.

Table 2: Cost and Revenue Analysis, Averaged for Sites A and B

18 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Another forum focuses on the general public. This forum contains selected design and technology
information as well as educational content about the multi-product OTEC in general, and the
desalination aspect in particular. There will be educational offerings in form of short courses to
enable the community to effectively learn about the technology involved and the aspect of
achieving financial and environmental sustainability. The content will be presented in an array of
interactive media and will be delivered exclusively through the web. It is planned to involve local
schools in the creation and hosting of the educational offerings. In addition to the educational
offerings there will be a FAQ section. The third forum will be targeted at the public decision makers.
Since there will be a wide array of permit requirements as well as environmental concerns, the
public decision makers will be offered the possibility to address questions and get first hand
information.

VII. CONCLUSION

Integrated OTEC systems provide financially and environmentally sustainable systems to utilize
the thermal energy of the tropical ocean to produce freshwater, electricity and air-conditioning.
Applying a multi-product approach for OTEC system generates good revenue potential for near
shore communities, resorts or commercial operations. The discussion in this paper has shown
that the desalination capabilities of OTEC systems can be enhanced to produce freshwater at
competitive rates. Since the operating power of the integrated plant is derived from the ocean in
form of renewable energy, no fuel costs arise. The desalination process applied combines
traditional desalination technologies with heat transfer and seawater handling experience from
OTEC and can therefore take advantage of a considerable body of knowledge. In order to enhance
the public awareness of and support for the innovative and sustainable desalination technologies
and the multi-product OTEC approach, a web based information and education portal is developed
and made available.

VIII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wants to acknowledge the generous support of Dr. Marc M. Siah, who was instrumental
to launch the featured DOWAF project. The support and the vision to engage in this innovative
technology by the sponsor of the DOWAF project, the Board of Water Supply, City and County of
Honolulu, is deeply acknowledged. The author wants to acknowledge the permission to use
illustration by the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authorities, PICHTR, Makai Ocean
Engineering and Fritz Alt. The contributions to this paper which resulted from cooperations with
OTEC experts Drs. Desikan Bharathan, Hans Krock and Joe van Ryzin as well as with Fritz Alt
are acknowledged.

IX: REFERENCES

1. Claude, Georges (1930) “Power from the Tropical Seas”, Mechanical Engineering, No. 12,
Vol. 52 Hubbard, H.M. (1991) “The Hidden Costs of Energy”, Scientific Ame rican, April
1991, (36-41)
2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) website, http://www.nrel.gov/otec/what.html
accessed on March 14th, 2003
3. Takahashi, P. and Trenka, A. (1996) “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion”, John Wiley &
Sons., New York
4. Vega, L.A. (1999) “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion”, PICHTR Report, Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Zapka, M.J. (1988) “gas Exchange in Seawater with Special Emphasis on Open-Cycle

19 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion”, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hawaii at Manoa,

Honolulu, Hawaii
6. Zapka, M.J. and Krock, H.J. (1992) “Seawater Pre-Deaerator for Open-Cycle Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion Applications”, U.S. Patent No. 5,096,544, Research
Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii

20 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SUSTAINABLE WATER
DESALINATION BY MEANS OF A
SOLAR PV-T POWERED MED-VC
TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Jiajun Cen, Lauren Beck, William Janssen, Leon Awerbuch

Presented at the 2019 IDA World Congress, Dubai, UAE, October 20-24

This paper presents specific solutions for a novel solar-powered multi-effect distillation
with vapour compression (MED-VC) which can operate 24/7 with simple hot water
storage.

21 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SUSTAINABLE WATER DESALINATION BY MEANS OF A SOLAR PV-T

POWERED MED-VC TECHNOLOGY

Authors: Jiajun Cen1, Lauren Beck2, William Janssen3, Leon Awerbuch4,

1 Desolenator B.V., the Netherlands, jiajun@desolenator.com & Imperial College London, Department of
Chemical Engineering, London UK.
2 Desolenator B.V., the Netherlands, lauren@desolenator.com
3 Desolenator B.V., the Netherlands, william@desolenator.com
4 International Desalination Consultancy Associates LLC/LET, USA, letleon@comcast.net

Presenters: Jiajun Cen

ABSTRACT SUMMARY
A transformation in the energy and water sector has begun. The momentum toward low-carbon
energy and desalination generation - driven by our need for secure, affordable and sustainable
energy supply - will see the days of fossil fuel domination fade into obscurity.

This paper presents specific solutions for a novel solar-powered multi-effect distillation with vapour
compression (MED-VC) hybrid technology which can operate 24/7 with simple hot water storage.
The technology uses an optimized Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) system to harvest solar electricity
and solar thermal energy to drive the desalination process. The system has several unique
solutions:

• By cooling the PV-T panel with distilled water we increase the efficiency of solar electricity
generation, while reducing the problem of scaling and fouling in the PV-T and piping system;
• Aside from solar electricity, the system also harvests thermal energy that is stored in hot
water;
• The hot distillate is delivered by pipelines to the Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) unit and
flashed to generate steam continuously in all effects;
• The cooled distillate is pumped back to cool the PV-T system;
• Solar electricity is used to drive Vapour Compressor (VC) to increase output and efficiency
of the MED unit;
• Excess solar electricity is stored in sustainable and fully recyclable NiFe Batteries to power
the MED-VC system during the night.

The design proposed has low operational costs, owing to the use of solar as input energy, and
low maintenance costs due to the innovative design reducing the effect of scaling and fouling and
lack of reliance on chemicals. Unlike conventional solar desalination systems, the proposed
method can run continuously 24/7 and off-the-grid as additional energy storage capacity for both
thermal energy (as a hot water) and electrical energy (in recyclable battery) are installed. The
desalination plant is sized to maximise production during the daytime, producing around 80 m3
during day-time and reduced rate of up to 20 m3 during night-time. The design is validated using
a mass and energy balance and modelled in the Aspen Plus software. This steady-state model
allows the sensitivity of the proposed design to be investigated and then optimized. The effect of

22 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

various design parameters has been investigated such as PV-T output water temperature, flash
steam temperature and steam economy. Results showed that a MED with 4 effects and 1000
Desolenator panels, was sufficient to produce 100 m3 per 24 hours. The thermal storage of hot
water and electricity during the night time allowed for reliable and predictable distilled water
production 24/7. The optimized design specification is shown.

Key words: Solar powered desalination, MED-VC hybridisation, Electricity and water storage

23 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

With the need to find novel solutions to the looming shortage of potable water supply, the nexus
of renewable energy and desalination have emerged to a critical crossroad for sustainability. A
transformation in the energy and water sector has begun. The momentum toward a low-carbon
energy economy (driven by our need for secure, affordable and sustainable energy & water
supply) - will see the days of fossil fuel domination fade into obscurity. Addition of new water
desalination capacity has become more sustainable and often powered by renewable energy
sources such as solar and wind. However, the intermittent nature of solar and wind makes it
challenging to make water desalination fully powered by renewables. This is because the electrical
power grid, becomes unreliable and unstable when the renewable penetration is higher than, say,
70% of the total energy mix. The water desalination world is in need of a desalination technology
that can run 24/7, potentially off-grid and at minimum cost. To fulfil these needs, Desolenator has
developed a solar Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) energy powered multi-effect distillation with
vapour compression (MED-VC) technology for seawater desalination.

MED is an established technology for desalinating seawater [2] and large fossil fuel power MED
desalination plants are in operation to deliver high purity desalinated water with specific power
consumption of 1.0-1.3 kWh/m3 of distillate, significantly lower than MSF typically 4 kWh/m3 or
RO with 3.3 kWh/m3. MED utilises the falling film evaporation to obtain high heat transfer
efficiencies [3-4]. Compared to MSF, MED operates with a low top brine temperature which
minimises scale and corrosion [4] and has a higher overall heat transfer coefficient within a typical
effect [5]. This combination of lower energy consumption and intrinsic durability due to reduced
operational temperatures compared to MSF as well as no requirement for pre-treatment for the
seawater feed, unlike RO and ED, makes MED ideal for desalination at scale [6]. Secondly, MED’s
ability to run with a partial load make it an ideal technology to integrate with PV-T as it can handle
fluctuations in energy delivery caused by unpredictable weather. To improve the efficiency of the
MED further, it can be combined with vapour compression (i.e. MED-VC) [7-8].

We propose the use of Desolenator’s patented solar PV-T technology [1,11] to produce the
required thermal and electrical power for the MED-VC process [9]. The process involves running
distilled water through an insulated reservoir under standard PV panels, transferring heat to the
water, whilst generating electricity. The novelty of the proposed approach is two-fold. Firstly, the
electricity received will power a mechanical compressor to perform vapour recompression and the
steam produced from flashing the hot water from the PV-T system will drive the distillation process.
The addition of the mechanical vapour compression to the design ensures that the footprint of the
PV-T system is kept to a minimum by recycling vapour from the last effect to the first effect.
Secondly, the storage of the thermal and electrical energy received from the PV-T technology
allows for night-time operation. During the night, thermal energy stored in hot water that is placed
in a insulated storage tank and electricity from a chemical battery will be used. The coupling
between a PV-T system and MED-VC is via a distilled water pipeline loop. Using distilled water
rather than potable or saline water has the distinct advantage that it will prevent scaling and fouling
inside the PV-T system, prolonging its lifetime significantly. The PV-T system heats up the cool
distilled water it receives. This hot water is sent to a flash tank to produce steam to drive the
desalination process. Electricity received from the PV-T system is used to the MED and auxiliary
equipment such as pumps, electronics and compressors.

The fact that this technology can be designed completely standalone makes it highly applicable to
coastal areas globally and in particular islands and developing countries such as India, where
there is a high solar radiance, but the electrical grid is not reliable and stable enough to power
traditional desalination plants [10].

24 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

2. METHOD

The novel PV-T MED-VC hybrid conceptual design was validated theoretically using a mass and
energy balance and Aspen plus simulation software. The model was then used to perform a
sensitivity analysis on various parameters to optimize the design. The features of the design are
shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Technology Overview

The working principle of the Multi-Effect Distillation (MED-VC) process is straightforward. Feed
water (e.g. brackish- or seawater) is sprayed on top of a bundle of hot tubes in the first effect such
that a fraction of the feed water evaporates. This hot vapour is then used to heat a bundle of tubes
in the second effect and the process repeats. The bundles in the first effect is heated using steam
from (1) flashing of water from the hot water storage tank which is fed during day-time by the PV-
T system and (2) compression of a fraction of the vapour produced in the last effect of the MED.
The feed needs to be preheated before it is spayed inside the effects using (1) a fraction of the
vapour generated in the effects and (2) heated brine and distillate. Every consecutive effect
operates at a lower temperature and pressure than the previous effect. This minimises scale
formation as the most concentrated brine is find in the effects with the lowest temperatures.
It is critical to ensure that the heat transfer surface is uniformly wetted, thus avoiding deposition of
solids on dry spots. In the unlikely event of a leaking tube, the vapour would leak into the brine
chamber where vapour is being produced. The leaked vapour alongside the newly produced
vapour will be carried into the next effect.

From last effect the distillate is divided into two streams: (1) a product stream is provided to
consumers and (2) a condensate stream is pumped back to solar PV-T system.

The proposed solar-powered MED-VC desalination method is simple, efficient and sustainable.
The required electrical and thermal energy is provided by a solar PV-T system. The proposed
design is shown in figure 2. The input feed water is seawater and the output water is distilled water
with a Total Dissolved Solid between 10- 20ppm.

25 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 2: Illustration of the proposed PV-T-MED-VC design

2.1 MASS AND ENERGY BALANCE OF PV-T MED-VC HYBRID DESIGN

The production was maximized during daylight hours to produce 80-100 m3 of distilled water.
During night-time, the production is reduced to about 45% of the full capacity. A feed flow rate of
456 m3 of seawater per day is fed into the MED to achieve the objective of 100 m3 of drinking
water while also producing 356 m3 of brine, giving the recovery factor as approximately 28%.
Taking environmental conservation into consideration, the concentration gain in the brine stream
compared to the seawater inlet stream is set to a maximum of 1.4 times that of seawater.
Desolenator’s PV-T technology has a surface area of 1.6 m2 per panel, and with a conservative
solar irradiance of 5.5 kWh/m2, one can produce ~5 kWh (thermal + electrical) per panel and
providing up to 52L of water per day of up to 95oC [11]. Approximately, 1000 Desolenator PV-T
panels are required to provide the required electrical and thermal energy to produce 80-100 m3
per 24 hours of distilled water.

2.2 ASPEN PLUS SIMULATION OF PV-T MED-VC

The process is set up in the simulation based on the mass and energy balance. In the simulation,
each effect carries out four processes that have been modelled separately in: evaporation of the
seawater to brine and water vapour, condensation of the distilled water vapour to pure liquid,
flashing of the brine and flashing of the distilled water. In the simulation, the PV-T is modelled as
a simple heater block.

3. RESULTS

3.1 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION

We have performed a sensitivity analyses of the flow rate and temperature of the hot water coming
from the PV-T system to produce steam that feeds the MED-VC system. Based on these results
we optimised the operational conditions for the proposed method.

26 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

3.1.1 OPTIMISATION OF FLASH STEAM TEMPERATURE AND TEMPERATURE

Reducing the flashed steam temperature from 70℃ to 60℃ allows the effects to run at a reduced
temperature which means less preheating of the seawater feed and reducing the output
temperature of the PV-T to 95℃ to 80℃. This can minimize scaling inside the system which helps
extend the lifespan of the device. However, the lower the temperature in each effect, the higher
the demand on the vacuum system causing higher pumping rates. The minimum temperature in
the last effect cannot be any lower than 40℃, due to the temperature of the incoming seawater
and vacuum system, without cooling systems. With a difference in temperature between the
effects maintained at 5℃ in the simulation, there is an applied constraint that the first effects lowest
temperature is 55℃, and the lowest flashed stream temperature is 60℃. The graph in figure 3
shows the sensitivity of the mass of steam produced (in kg) for the corresponding flash
temperature and PV-T output temperature. Reducing the flash temperature from 70℃ to 60℃ and
reducing the output temperature of the PV-T to 95℃ to 80℃ produces the same mass of steam
with the added advantages as previously mentioned.

Figure 3: Flash steam production that can be used to drive the MED process plotted versus the temperature of the
flash steam. Results of several PV-T hot water temperatures are shown.

3.2 OPERATIONAL MODES

The purpose of the hot water and cool water storage tank is firstly to buffer the solar thermal
energy in the form of hot water for later use, e.g. during low solar activity and night operation to
allow production of distilled water without halting and secondly to recapture as much waste heat
as possible.

4. CONCLUSION

A design for solar powered MED-VC technology for seawater desalination has been presented.
The proposed design has built-in energy storage that allows the production of distilled water to be
24/7 with no reliance on the grid. The simulation of the PV-T MED-VC in Aspen Plus software
made it possible to optimise the process. The process has built-in energy storage to account for
the fluctuations of PV-T thermal and electrical outputs caused by variations in radiation and
external temperature. The steady-state simulation demonstrates the capability to produce 100 m3
per day of distilled water from 1000 panels. The optimised design specifications are given in Table
1.

27 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

During daytime production is maximised to achieve a target of around 80 m3. During night-time
operation, thus when the PV-T system is not producing solar energy, the MED is kept under
minimum maintaining conditions (up to 45% of the maximum production rate). During these times,
distilled water for flash steam production will be sourced from the hot water storage tank which
has been filled during the day and maintained at the temperature of the PV-T output temperature
of 85 oC. In case there is little thermal energy from solar, excess electricity produced by the PV-
T system during the day will be used to preheat the water from the cold-water tank to the hot water
tank.

Table 1: Optimized design specifications

The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility, in terms technology and economic
competitiveness of this PV-T MED-VC system. To further improve the efficiency, the MED-VC can
be coupled with novel high temperature nanofiltration membrane softening technology to allow
high recovery and minimise environmental impact of thermal desalination.

The integration of this technology with MED-VC has not been done before. We see the novelty of
this technology lying in the use of Desolenator’s patented PV-T technology to produce the required
thermal and electrical power to drive the MED-VC process. The advantages of the proposed is
twofold. Firstly, the electricity received will power a mechanical compressor to perform vapour
recompression and steam produced will drive the MED process. This process of MED-VC is patent
pending, the novelty lies in the combination of steam feed from vapour compression as well as
hot water coming from the PV-T system. Secondly, the storage of thermal energy received from
the PV-T for night-time operation via an insulated storage tank allows 24/7 production of distilled
water and entirely off grid. The storage of hot water at 90 oC is simple in comparison to molten
salt or other thermal storage options. The energy recovered from solar panels is transmitted as

28 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

hot water by pipeline to the MED to provide steam to drive the process together with VC. The cool
condensate is return by pipeline to the solar PV-T system and a fraction is delivered to consumers.

We are demonstration this technology at DEWA and once this is completed, we plan to expand
the process to its full commercial potential and expect that this will dramatically reduce CAPEX
and OPEX and will be clearly more competitive in comparison with Reverse Osmosis
technologies.

REFERENCES

1. Janssen, W. F. J. (2015). Method and device for treating a fluid. Retrieved from
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2015/0251923.html

2. L. Awerbuch. (2016) Focus on Water & Energy Nexus, New solutions for Solar
Desalination,Presentation at The Saudi Water & Electricity Forum 7 -9 February 2016,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

3. H. Raach, J. Mitrovic, (2007) Simulation of heat and mass transfer in a multi-effect

distillation plant for seawater desalination

4. V. N. Slesarenko, (2003) Comparison of the efficiency of MSF and thin-film desalination

plants, Desalination 158 (1–3) 295–302.

5. G. Kronenberg, Cogeneration with the LT-MED desalination process, Desalination 108 (1–
3) (1997) 287–294.

6. Sommariva, C. (2008) Utilisation of power plant waste heat steams to enhance efficiency
in thermal desalination, Desalination 222 (1–3) 592–595.

7. Ophir, A., & Lokiec, F. (2005). Advanced MED process for most economical seawater
desalination.Desalination, 182(1–3), 187–198

8. H. T. El-Dessouky, H. M. Ettouney, F. Al-Juwayhel, (2000) Multiple Effect Evaporation—

Vapour Compression Desalination Processes, Chemical Engineering Research and
Design 78 (4) 662–676.

9. M. A. Sharaf, A. S. Nafey, L. García-Rodríguez, (2011) Thermo-economic analysis of solar

thermal power cycles assisted MED-VC (multi-effect distillation-vapour compression)
desalination processes, Energy 36 (5) 2753–2764.

10. T. V. Arjunan, H. Ş. Aybar, N. Nedunchezhian, (2009) Status of solar desalination in India.

Renewable and Sustainable, Energy Reviews 13 (9) 2408–2418.

11. J. Cen et al. (2018), Experimental study on a direct water heating PV-T technology, Solar
Energy, Solar Energy (176), 604-614 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.10.062

12. Fudholi, A., Sopian, K., Yazdi, M. H., Ruslan, M. H., Ibrahim, A., & Kazem, H. A. (2014).
Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PV-T) water collectors. Energy Conversion
and Management, 78, 641–651. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.11.017

29 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY

SEAWATER DESALINATION
Authors: Toru Kannari, Yoshiaki Miho, Yuji Saito, Rencai Chu, Yoshiharu Horita

Presented at World Congress/Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC), Perth,

Western Australia September 4-9, 2011

This paper describes the use of TEG (thermoelectric generator) to increase the operating
efficacy of solar desalination systems.

30 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY SEAWATER DESALINATION

Authors: Toru Kannari, Yoshiaki Miho, Yuji Saito, Rencai Chu, Yoshiharu Horita

Presenter: Toru Kannari

Deputy General Manager – Sasakura Engineering Co., Ltd – Japan

Abstract
Solar powered desalination of sea water is a highly attractive next generation concept. However,
a number of areas need further work: construction and maintenance costs are still high and
operational stability requires improvement.

A promising new solution to raise the operating efficiency of solar desalination systems is the
addition of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) module to the system. In this configuration, solar heat
is collected and concentrated in the solar thermal collector and used to generate steam, which is
used as the heat source for the thermal desalination unit. To optimize the system, TEG modules
are attached across almost the entire surface of the heat exchange wall of the steam generator.

A TEG module is composed of multiple elements each of which consist of two different
semiconducting materials connected together as a “thermocouple” in order to convert heat directly
into electricity. 7 to 15% of the energy that penetrates through the TEG module is converted to
electricity, depending on the degree of the temperature difference (290~480 degrees C) between
the heat media side and the steam vaporizing side.

The vaporization system used in this configuration can concurrently generate steam and electricity
simultaneously without the need for a steam turbine generator. Part of the electricity generated by
the TEG module is used for operating the heat desalination unit. The surplus electricity generated
can be supplied directly to the grid or to the R.O. desalination plant for further production of water.

This system has no moving part, is easy to operate and is highly reliable. In addition, if a thermal
storage system is used (such as a molten salt system), 24 hour operation can be achieved. This
system is thought to be the best configuration for satellite systems of 5,000 or 20,000 tons/day
capacity. Furthermore, the combination of this TEG technology with a trihybrid NF/RO/MED is
expected to be more efficient in the utilization of heat and electric power and is considered to be
one of the most suitable systems for next generation seawater desalination with sustainable
energy source of Solar Thermal Energy.

31 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

Solar energy is available everywhere in the world but abundant in desert area where no water is
available except seawater. Therefore, a use of abundant solar energy to produce water from
seawater water is the most desirable combination in this particular area. Solar energy can be
collected by means of solar cell or mirror changing to electrical power or thermal energy.
Considering ease of storage of the energy, thermal energy is preferable than electrical energy in
order to use energy in 24 hours basis to operate desalination plant.

TEG is a phenomenon to generate electricity by difference of temperature without mechanically

moving parts such as pump or motor. TEG, thermoelectric generation, has been found its idea
long time ago but never been applied to the water desalination field. Application of TEG has been
studied to save energy from waste heat, most of the cases applied to gas phase but additional
cooling water is required to gain temperature difference and therefore efficiency is not so high.
The application to seawater desalination is to use energy at low temperature side will save a lot
of energy compared to wasting the energy at low temperature side, resulting increase of TEG total
efficiency of the system. Consequently, solar energy is now applicable because of high TEG
efficiency of the total system. This paper describes an application of TEG to desalination plant
using sustainable solar thermal energy.

2. TERMOELECTRIC GENERATION

A TEG (Thermoelectric generation) module is composed of multiple elements each of which

consist of two different semiconducting materials connected together as a “thermocouple” in order
to convert heat directlt into electricity. 7 to15% of the energy that penetrates through the TEG
module is converted to electricity, depending on the degree of the temperature difference (250-
450℃) between high temperature side and low temperature side.

Figure 1: Schematic of a thermoelectric generation element and its module

One of typical application recover electrical energy from exhaust gas of car muffler is shown in
Fgure-2. by installing thermoelectric modules surrounded outside surface of muffler where
exhaust gas at temperature of 440℃, temperature difference of about 400℃ can be obtained to
outside temperature of 50℃. Using this difference of the temperature, it is intended to generate
/recover electricity about 10% of energy from exhaust gas. Consequently, energy/fuel
consumption can be improved about 10% with this application.

32 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 2: Energy recovery from a car muffler

This configuration may be applicable as heat source is originally wasted. However the most of the
feed heat (90%) is still exhausted as exhaust gas and cooling water. It is preferable to use feed
heating energy more, in order to improve its total energy recovery if applied to the vauable heat
source.
One of the soluion to improve its total efficiency of TEG can be to use low temperature side energy
for desalination heat source. If the energy at low temperature side can be used fully, then original
source of enrgy can be valuable heat source including sustainable solar thermal energy.

3. SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANT

Thermal energy required for industrial infrastructures have been produced and obtained by heat
from combustion fossil fuel. In other word, basic infrastructures to support industry and civil
fundamentals have been maintained by combustion of fossil fuel.
One of solution to substitute such fossil fuel is to use solar energy as following configuration shown
in Figure-3.

Figure 3: Principle of a Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plant

Solar heat is of concentrated solar light by mirrors and changed to thermal energy resulting
following benefits.

33 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. The solar heat can be replaced completely with fossil fuel energy
2. The solar thermal energy can be easily storage
3.
This should be noted that the solar energy is nearly eternally available and obviously sustainable.
The technologies to collect or concentrate solar light will be summarized in four major means from
different mirror type of view.

1. Parabolic trough
2. Linear Fresnel
3. Dish/Engine
4. Central receiver

Trough and Fresnel type reaches concentrated temperature to approximately 350℃ and have
been installed and in operation in various areas. Central tower type recently developed can reach
temperature to 650℃.

Figure-4 shows two different central receiver types, solar tower type and beamdown type. Solar
tower type is installed in big solar field with many of two-axis tracking mirrors (heliostats)
concentrating energy to central receiver at tower top. Instead of collection of tower top, other
central receiver type with down beam type is under development in order to concentrate solar
energy at ground level to improve efficiency and easy operation and maintenance. Cavity type
thermal energy concentrator is installed at ground level collecting solar beam by reflecting heliostat
mirror then reflecting again for further concentrate energy by multi-ring central mirror to the
concentrator.

Figure 4: Central receiver solar tower type (left) and Beam down type under R&D (right)

4. SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT

Several configurations for desalination plants using thermal energy from concentrated solar power
have been developed and applied. Following major applications are available.

1. Use heat sourse for distillation type desalination such as MED or MSF. In general,
auxiluary fuel and power from other source are required.
2. Change thermal energy to electrical power then use electricity for RO type desalination
plant. Auxilary fuel is required to increase steam pressure for power generation.
3. Combined heat and power to generate power with auxiliary fuel and heat to use for
desalination plant.

34 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 5: Typical configurations for desalination powered by CSP

All of the above cases require energy from outside either power from grid or auxilary fuel.

5. THERMOELETRIC CONVERSION DESALINATION

Figure-6 shows new configuration employing thermoelectric conversion system to desalination

plant, consisting of solar field, thermal energy storage, heat plant with thermoelectric conversion
system, MED using generated steam and RO using generated electric power from TEC.

Figure 6: New configuration for solar energy desalination with thermoelectric generation system

Typical features can be seen from this configuration of solar energy application to MED
desalination plant.

1. Solar thermal energy is stored in thermal medium to keep temperature at approx. 550℃
and supplied to steam generator. Thermal energy transferred to the steam generator is
returned to storage for re-circulation of energy.
2. Steam generator where thermoelectric conversion element is installed between high

35 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

temperature side and low temperature side generates electric power using temperature
difference and generate steam in the low temperature side at the same time. The
vaporization system used in this configuration can currently generate steam and electricity
without need for a mechanically driven steam turbine generator.
3. Generated steam is supplied to MED type desalination plant for heating source.
4. Generated electrical power by TEG modules can be used within desalination plant and the
surplus electricity can be supplied to grid for outside use or used as a power source for RO
type desalination.

It can be seen that most of the energy produced by sustainable solar energy is used without loss
of energy.

6. WATER COST EVALUATION

Water costs are evaluated in following various cases using solar energy and shown in Figure-7.

1. Solar thermal + TEG + MED/RO

2. Solar PV + RO
3. Solar thermal + steam turbine power generation + RO
4. Solar thermal + steam turbine power generation + RO + MED

Figure 7: Cost comparison with various solar system configurations

Water cost was evaluated including initial cost of solar system, power generation together with
desalination system and operation and maintenance cost. The evaluation is also carried out at
different capacities of energy obtained from solar thermal system because of changing of
efficiencies of the mechanical equipment etc. TEG efficiency was set at 7 percent though the
evaluation that was understood practical even now.

From the above comparison, “Solar thermal TEG with MED and RO” system is found the lowest

36 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

water cost at smaller capacity of 10-30 MW thermal energy, which is equal to producing
desalinated water of approximately 20,000 tons/day at completely isolated condition without any
other source of energy from outside such as fuel and electricity from grid.

7. SUMMARY

his paper described new approach to apply solar thermal energy to desalination system, which
uses thermoelectric generation (TEG) module installed in steam generator. This steam generator
can generate electrical power without moving part and simultaneously generate steam enough to
produce desalinated water, resulting minimum loss of solar energy. In addition, desalination plant
can easily achieve 24 hours continuous operation using molten salt system for thermal energy
storage.

Result of the cost evaluation shows that application of new configuration is feasible at medium
size of desalination plant capacity, which is about 20,000m3/d and less. This size will be suitable
for satellite plant for remote areas, where desert and seawater are available. And this configuration
will fit the nature of the solar powered desalination plant as no energy source from outside is
required. The efficiency of thermal/power generation, applied in this evaluation was set at practical
figure of 7% and therefore higher power generation efficiency could be achieved easily in the near
future.

Furthermore, the combination of this TEG technology with trihybrid NF/RO/MED is expected more
efficient in the utilization of heat and electric power and is considered one of the most suitable
systems for next generation seawater desalination technology.

37 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

PV SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES AND

DESALINATION: ECONOMIC
ANALYSIS
Authors: Mohamed A. Darwish, Hassan K. Abdulrahim, Ashraf S. Hassan, Abdelnasser
A. Mabrouk

Presented at the International Desalination Association World Congress on Desalination

and Water Reuse 2015/San Diego, CA, USA.

This paper presents the general design aspects of an autonomous (PV-SWRO system
and power storage batteries.

38 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

PV SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES AND DESALINATION: ECONOMIC

ANALYSIS

Authors: Mohamed A. Darwish, Hassan K. Abdulrahim, Ashraf S. Hassan,

Abdelnasser A. Mabrouk

Presenter: Mohamed A. Darwish, PhD.

Principle Investigator – Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute
(QEERI), Qatar Foundation – Qatar
habdelrehem@qf.org.qa

Abstract

Water scarcity is a real problem in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), where water demands
are far beyond renewable fresh water resources. The use of solar energy to produce desalted
seawater, called solar desalination, provides free clean and secure energy source, minimizes
reliance on fossil fuels, reduces greenhouse gases emission, and provides sustainable source of
potable water. The high solar intensity in GCC encourages the idea of utilizing solar energy to
solve the water scarcity. It is unfortunate that application of solar desalination still restricted to
small-scale systems designed for remote areas because of its high cost. Solar desalination
involves combining solar radiation conversion to heat or electricity with desalination plants.

One form of solar desalination is photovoltaic (PV) operated seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO)
desalting system. The declining cost of the PV modules, besides its low operation and
maintenance cost with no moving parts are some of the PV advantages. Many PV operated
SWRO desalting systems were built, but for small capacities, mainly in the range of 1–5 m3/day.
The SWRO is the leading desalting system, worldwide, as it consumes much lower energy
compared to distillation methods. Driving the SWRO desalting system with PV proves to be
technically and economically feasible for remote areas with access to sea or brackish water. The
PV operated reverse osmosis desalting system includes PV array, batteries with charge controller,
inverter, controlling system to manage the generated power and use it in running the load (RO
pumps) on daily bases (6-8 hours per day).

In this paper, general design aspects of an autonomous (PV-SWRO) system and power storage
batteries are presented. The design includes, besides the PV arrays, batteries which are used to
solve the PV system principal problem of varying output of the PV due to unequal sun intensity.
Daily and annual fluctuations in solar insolation necessitate storing excess energy for later use.
Batteries have three main functions in a stand-alone PV system: (a) Autonomy–by meeting the
load requirements at all times, including at night, during overcast periods, or during the winter
when PV input is low or absent, (b) Surge-current capability –by supplying, when necessary,
currents higher than the PV array can deliver, especially to start motors or other inductive
equipment, and (c) Voltage control–thereby preventing large voltage fluctuations that may damage
the load. An economic analysis is presented by considering the short life of batteries and inverters
compared to the PV array, and limited working hours during sunshine. A typical small plant design
is presented as example.

39 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

Water scarcity is a real problem in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) block, including Saudi
Arabia (SA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Water demands in
GCC are far beyond renewable fresh water resources. The ratio of consumed water per capita to
renewable fresh water resources per capita is 39 in UAE, 11 in SA, 12 in Qatar, 63 in Kuwait, 4.4
in Bahrain and 1 in Oman, [1]. Groundwater (GW) is over-extracted to satisfy parts of demands,
thus the GW is depleted at much higher rate than replenishing, and its quality is deteriorated.

Desalted seawater (DW) plays major share in satisfying fresh water demands, especially
municipal water (e.g. 99% in Qatar, and 96% in Kuwait, and 66% in Saudi Arbia). The share of
DW to total water withdrawal is 79% in Bahrain, 75% in Qatar, 69% in Kuwait, 67% in UAE, 44%
in Oman, and 14% in SA. It is only in the GCC where DW has that high share of total water
withdrawal.
Demands for DW are always on the rise due to increases in population and standard of living.
More desalting plants are continuously needed and added. DW production is expensive and
consumes too much fuel, especially in the GCC where DW is produced by the highly energy
consumed thermally operated desalting plants. The consumed fuel cost represents good share of
the total DW cost. All GCC, except Qatar, are struggling to secure the natural gas (NG) needed to
run their cogeneration power desalting plants (CPDP), which produce both electric power and DW.

Dependence of DW on burning fossil fuel produces greenhouse gases, mainly CO2; and
negatively affects marine environment by discharging brine of of 50% higher salinity and higher
temperature ( 10οC) than seawater. There are claims that the Arabian Gulf water salinity and
temperature have increased about 2 percent over the last 20 years, [1].

Using solar energy to produce DW, called solar desalination, provides free clean and secure
energy source, minimizes reliance on fossil fuels, reduces greenhouse gases emission, and
provides sustainable source of potable water. The high solar intensity in GCC encourages the
idea of using solar energy to solve the water scarcity. It is unfortunate that application of solar
desalination still restricted to small- scale systems designed for remote areas because of its high
cost. Solar desalination involves combining solar radiation conversion to heat or electricity with
desalting plants.

2. DESALINATION SYSTEMS

Desalting methods are mainly operated by:

a) Thermal energy in the form of relatively low pressure (LP) steam besides auxiliary pumping
(electrical) energy. These systems include mainly used multi stage flash (MSF) and multi
effect desalination (MED), both conventional or thermal vapor compressed (TVC) systems;
and
b) Mechanical or electric power (EP) operated system including seawater reverse osmosis
(SWRO), electro-dialysis (ED), and mechanical vapor compression (MVC) desalting
systems.

2.1 RO and ED Desalination Systems

Membrane desalting systems include SWRO and ED. In SWRO system, seawater is pressurized
against semipermeable membranes that allow almost pure water to permeate, and not salt with
EP used to drive the system’s pumps. The main problem of SWRO, Fig. 1, is the required
extensive pretreatment to avoid

40 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

or decrease the membrane’s fouling. The feed water pressure (Pf) to the membranes can be in
the range of 60-70 bar (depending on the feed water salinity, and membranes characteristics).
The brine leaving the membranes is at high pressure, about 2 or 3 bar only less than Pf. The
energy of this brine can be recovered by energy recovery device (ERD), (e.g. reversed centrifugal
pump working as a turbine, Pelton wheel, and pressure exchanger). The specific consumed
energy is in the range of 4-6 kWh/m3 depending on the feed water salinity and the ERD type. The
share of RO membrane process is rapidly increasing with the time compared to distillation
processes as it consumes much less energy, and thus less cost.

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of SWRO Plant Components

In the ED desalination process, direct current (DC) is applied across flowing saline water to drive
ions across anions and cations exchange permeable membranes, and then dilutes the coming
saline water. The energy required for the ED depends on the initial salinity of feed-water. It is
mainly applied to desalt brackish water, but its application to high salinity water is promising.

Photovoltaic (PV) cells can operate the electrically driven desalting systems, (e.g. SWRO and
ED).

2.2 Stand-alone photovoltaic (PV): An Overview

PV is an EP generating system of wide range capacity (from few Watts to 100 MW), and operating
at any service voltage. A stand-alone PV system, Figure 2a, includes PV solar arrays converting
solar energy directly to direct current (DC), storage (mainly batteries) system, and power
conditioning system (PCS); and not connected to EP grid. PV modules generate EP during
daytime only, and have long life of operation (about 20 years).

Batteries store the EP produced by the PV array in order to be used as required by system load
and to establish the operating voltage of the PV array. Batteries ensure constant flow and pressure
to the load (SWRO desalting unit here), Figure 2b, and thus higher efficiency and water production.

41 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Batteries are needed as the PV system output does not always coincide with the required electrical
load, and are used in most stand-alone PV system. Batteries increase the total capital investment
as well as operating cost.

The most used batteries type is the lead-acid type that needs replacement on two years on the
average. Batteries are easily damaged if over discharged.

Figure 2a: Stand-alone PV system operate autonomously are designed to meet specific electric load

Figure 2b: Stand-alone PV system operating SWRO system, Ref [3] with modification

The PCS includes inverters converting DC to alternating current (AC), charge controller protecting
batteries from over-charging, load controllers, and maximum power point (MPP) trackers. The use
of inverter is not necessary when the load needs DC only. The AC system is more convenient for
users, but less efficient. Figure 2c shows block diagram of standalone PV power generation
system model.

Typical PV peak output to irradiated power on the array surface is 0.12 - 0.14 kW/m2. The PV
output to peak output is about 0.7-0.8, batteries discharge to charge power is 0.8-0.9, typical
inverter AC power output to DC power input is 0.85-0.95, and typical line efficiency is 90% (i.e.
10% loss), see Figure 2b. Using efficiencies from Figure 2b,

Total efficiency = 0.8(PV)×0.8(battery)×0.9(inverter)×0.9(line)  0.5

42 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

A first step to check the viability of using PV to drive SWRO desalination system is to find data
about electrical load required for the SWRO desalting system and the site solar irradiance, and
temperature. Many stand-alone PV operated SWRO desalting systems were built, but for small
capacities, mainly in the range of 1–5 m3/day. Stand-alone PV systems are commonly used
independently from other EP supply systems or backup applications in remote areas to feed the
load with DC or AC.

The electrical load, consumed EP, and peak load have to be estimated to decide the PV system
capacity and operation. An inrush current, several times higher than rating current, flows into a
rotating machine such as motor at the start of operation has to be assumed. Inrush current, input
surge current or switch- on surge is the maximum, instantaneous input current drawn by an
electrical device when first turned on. The assumption of the rush current is necessary to specify
the DC of PV (or battery) inverter to AC.

Figure 2c: Power generation model with battery, [4]

The power input to a PV system is the solar irradiance, luminous power per unit area in kW/m 2.
The sum of the direct and diffuse components is called the global irradiance. Integration of
irradiance over a time period (usually a day) gives the energy received per unit surface in that
period of time is called insolation, and has kWh/m2.units. The term Solar Peak Sun hours is also
introduced to calculate power generation of PV modules, see Figures 3a and 3b.

Figure 3a: Solar irradiance and insolation, from Ref. [3] with modification

The solar irradiance and climate data for Doha, Qatar are given Figure 4a, and Figure 4b. The AC
electrical load, for 10 m3/d SWRO desalting system, as example, is mainly that used for the high
pressure (HP) feed water pump to the membranes. The feed to this pump for typical recovery ratio

43 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

of 1/3, (RR = product/ feed), is F = 30 m3/d, and HP pumping to the membranes is P = 64 bar, i.e.
6400 kPa, and typical 0.75 pump efficiency ( pump). The plant needed electrical power (total AC
load) is about 1.3 of the HP pump load, or about 4 kW. The ratio of PV peak power capacity to AC
electrical load kW is about 2 or 8 kWp, see Figure 2b.

Wp, HP = F(in m3/s)×P(in kPa)/pump = [30/(3600×24)]×(6400)/0.75 = 2.963 kW

Figure 3b: Solar peak sun hours presentation, [3]

For PV modules of 100 W/m2 peak power density, and peak power output of 8 kWp for site
exposed to 1000 W/m2 irradiance, the required modules area is 80 m2 if the net PV efficiency is
10%. The PV modules can receive more energy/m2 if they are tilted an angle equal to the latitude
angle. Daily global irradiance and environmental temperature are affecting the PV current output.
Doha, Qatar climate data give average daily insolation equal to 5.33 kWh/(m2.d), and 7.4
kWh/(m2.d) in June and 3.2 kWh/(m2.d) minimum daily in December, Figure 4a.

2.3 Solar Data for Doha, Qatar

Doha location has 25.27 latitude angle, 51.52 longitude angle, and climate data of 39.2οC
maximum (max) temperature (T), and 17.1οC minimum (min) T. The average daily insolation data
are figure 4a. Two angles are used to define the solar ray to any point on earth. The first angle is
the solar azimuth, (Ψ) defined by the angle measured clockwise on the horizontal plane from north
pointing coordinate axis to the projection of sun’s central ray. The second is altitude angle, ()
which define as the angle between the central ray from the sun and horizontal plane containing
the observer.

Both angles are shown in Figure 5a. The solar array is usually oriented to face south or southwest.
The relation between the solar azimuth and altitude for 30 latitude is given in Figure 5b. Figure
5c shows the minimum required separation distance between PV array rows or other obstructions
depend on latitude, high of the obstruction, and the time of day and year to avoid shading.

2.4 PV Modules

The PV technology is rapidly growing with declining price. Costs of solar modules account for 40-

44 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

50% of total PV system cost. The module prices, vary with the module technology (thin film
modules are generally cheaper than c-Si), module model and manufacturer, its quality, as well as
the origin country. For example, the US pricing data show among ~50,000 PV systems installed
in 2012 the residential and small commercial (≤10 kW) cost was $5.30/W, large commercial (>100
kW) was $4.62/W, and utility- scale (crystalline, fixed-tilt, >2 MW) was $3.35/W (capacity weighted
average), [8].

A photovoltaic or “solar cell” is a semiconductor device that directly converts sunlight to DC

electricity. The materials most commonly used in PV manufacturing are mono-crystalline silicon
(Si), multi- crystalline Si, and compounds of cadmium sulfide (CdS), cuprous sulfide (Cu2S), and
gallium arsenide (GaAs). These cells are packed into modules, which produce a specific DC
voltage and current when

illuminated. The PV cell and array model is presented in electrical equivalent circuit as shown in
Figure 6, is represented by the PV equation, [9]:

______ ______ Where I and I are the photovoltaic output and

saturation currents of array respectively and Vt is the thermal voltage of array, Rs is the series
equivalent resistance Rp is the parallel equivalent resistance, a is the diode ideality factor, Vpv
and Ipv are the photovoltaic output voltage and current respectively current generated from the
light.

Figure 4b: Ambient daily high and low temperature by month in Al-Khor, Average Weather for Doha, Qatar, [5]

45 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Table 2: Abu Dhabi latitude and longitudinal angles are 25 15ºN and 51º 34ºE, [6]

Figure 5a: Sun diagram representing the sun altitude and azimuth angles for specific day and latitude, [7]

46 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 5b: Relation between azimuth and altitude angle in summer, winter for 30o latitude, [7]

Figure 5c: The minimum required separation distance between PV array rows or other obstructions depend on
latitude, high of the obstruction, and the time of day and year to avoid shading, [7]

Figure 6: PV cell represented in electrical equivalent circuit, [9]

A silicon solar cell produces, under intense sun, more than 30 mA/cm2. So, a commercial cell of

47 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

12.5 × 12.5 cm2 gives about (12.5×12.5×30/1000) 5A of DC, at a voltage lower than 0.5V, giving
less than 2.5 W of electric power. This is too low, and as a result, several cells are to be associated
to add generation capabilities. About 30-36 PV solar cells are connected to build a module, several
modules are connected to form a panel, and several panels form an array. For a module of 36 (or
72) cells conned in series, and each cell produces about 0.5V in sunlight, it gives 18V (or 36V),
Figure 6a, and enables the panel to charge 12V (or 24V) batteries. The 36 panel with 18V will
charge the batteries better than the 30-cell panel, but it needs control to avoid over-charging.

The main electrical and mechanical characteristics of a typical mono-crystalline silicon module
are: 85W maximum power rating, 22V open-circuit voltage (VOC), 5A short-circuit current (ISC),
18V voltage at maximum power, 4.7A current at maximum power, 1188 mm length, 530 mm width,
44 mm, depth, and 7.5 kg weight. The power rating of PV modules is typically given in Watts peak
(Wp) and refers to the maximum power output under standard test conditions. The output voltage
of PV modules typically matches the charging voltage of a 12V battery, allowing for voltage losses
in cables and control equipment.

The array is arranged to match the requirement of specific voltage or current for their operation.
The solar panels are the heart of a complete PV solar system. Other parts include mounting
structures carrying the modules in direction of the sun. A PV array could be mounted on a sun
tracking system, Figure 7b, if the additional cost is justified. The PV power outputs depend on
sunlight intensity and temperature, and thus vary with time. Therefore, the DC output delivered to
batteries or load is to be controlled for a smooth operation of the PV system. The control
components are called charge regulators, see Figure7c.

PV electrical parameters are determined at standard test conditions, i.e. 1000 W/m2 solar
irradiance, 25°C cell temperature and air mass (AM) 1.5 solar radiations. Rated specifications are
determined from the maximum power point (MPP) of the illuminated I-V characteristics. Three
parameters characterize the performance of the PV, and these are: the short-circuit current (Isc ),
open-circuit voltage (Voc ) and the maximum power point (ImpxVmp ). The maximum power
attained by a PV cell is (ImpxVmp). Another parameter is called fill factor (FF), Defined by:

Typical module (Solar Swiss AG SSM-200M5(EU) characteristics are given in Figure 8a - 8d. In
order to guarantee performance specifications of modules, modules are sealed for protection
against corrosion, moisture, pollution, and weathering.

Figure 7a: Typical arrangements of commercial Si solar cells; module of 36 cells array, and 3 modules forming panel,
[10]

48 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 7b: Tracking modes; (c) General photovoltaic system, [10]

Individual modules may have cells connected in series and parallel combinations. In series
connection, the voltage is the sum of those of the individual devices; in a parallel connection, the
currents add up. In

a commercial module, the cells are usually connected in series. Maintaining operation close to the
MPP is known as maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is critical to the efficient operation of a
PV-RO system.

2.4 The Reverse Osmosis Desalting System: An Overview

The specific consumed energy by the RO system is directly related to feed water salinity. Feed
water pretreatment in the SWRO system is a critical part to eliminate (or to minimize) the effect of
the fouling which affects the performance and reliability of the process. Other main advantages of
the SWRO are modularity (flexibility in capacity expansion), operation at ambient temperature,
short construction period, and low consumed energy compared to distillation systems. The pumps
of the SWRO are usually operated by AC, and this necessitates the use of inverter. Batteries also
may be required to sustain the operation, when solar energy is not sufficient (or smooth its
operation when PV output fluctuates). Therefore, the PV system includes PV arrays, batteries, a
controller, inverter(s) and several types of load.

49 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 8d: Voltage-power characteristics at different temperature and constant irradiance of 1000 W/m2 € at constant
temperature (25ºC) and different irradiance in W/m2 for the solar Swiss AG SSM200M5 € PV module

50 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Table 3: Several PV/RO installed plant, Al Nashar [3]

3. BATTERIES

Batteries are used in stand-alone PV systems to avoid energy fluctuations that cause pressure
and flow variations in the SWRO desalting system. Batteries are the weakest component in the
PV stand-alone system and significantly affect both performance and economics of the PV system.
Problems of using batteries include: About 20% loss from charging to discharging energy, i.e. PV
system loses about 20% of EP produced by PV due to their usage.

Combination of batteries with PV array is shown in Figure 9.

The cost of batteries replacement and required capacity increase due to low efficiency are high
economic burden on the PV system. Batteries performance is degraded fast and need
replacement every two years or less especially at high temperatures. Even a battery block
represents only 8% of the initial cost of a new PV system; it represents 23% of the total system
cost when considering the replacement of batteries during the total life time of the system (20
years).

51 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 9: Standalone PV system charging batteries, and provides DC to an inverter to produce AC, [7]

Lead-acid batteries with deep discharge type are the most used type in stand-alone PV system
although they have high capital, operational, and maintenance costs. Deep cycle battery is
designed so that up to 20% of the rated amp-hours can be removed on regular daily basis without
damage or unduly shortening life. Batteries circuits are usually equipped with charge controller to
protect overcharging. Their charge- discharge can be considered reversible, and performs reliably
over a wide temperature range.

A lead-acid battery of nominal 12V, for example, consists of 6 lead acid cell of 2 V each. The
voltage per cell ranges between 1.75 V low limit and 2.4V upper limit. So the battery voltage range
from minimum voltage of 10.5 V to maximum voltage is 14.4V. A lead-acid battery has lead (Pb)
as negative electrode, lead oxide (PbO2) as positive electrode, and diluted sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
as electrolyte.

The overall battery reaction is shown in the following equation, [11].

The terminal voltage of the battery depends on the battery’s state of charge, as well as
temperature, and electrolyte specific gravity, and capacity, [5]. The terminal voltage is the voltage
across the terminal at any time, whether the battery is charging or discharging, or in open circuit.
The specific gravity is the ratio of electrolyte solution density to that of water.

3.1 Charge Controller Operation

Batteries charge controller prevents batteries damage resulted from overcharging. It limits the
voltage or current delivered by the PV to the battery, i.e. PV should not generate voltage or current
exceeding the controller input voltage and current limits. The controller also provides batteries
protection from being

over-discharged by disconnecting the battery from load at low battery voltage and state of charge
(i.e. at allowable depth of discharge limit). Low voltages disconnect (LVD) is the battery voltage
set point when the controller disconnects the battery from load at the maximum depth of charge.
In addition, load reconnect voltage (LRV) is the voltages that load are reconnected to battery. The
batteries terminal voltage depends on the state-of-charge, the type of battery and the temperature.
Also voltage variation during charge and discharge of battery is given in Figure 10a. Two terms
are used about the battery charge: the first is state of charge, percentage of the available battery
capacity compared to full charged state; and the second is the depth of discharge, or percentage
of capacity removed compared to full charged state. Typical allowable limit of depth of discharge
is 75-80% for deep cycle batteries. Battery charge is achieved in three stages (bulk, absorption
and float), Figure 10b. In the bulk stage, the charger delivers all available PV current to batteries,

52 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

and battery terminal voltage increases as the battery charges. The absorption stage starts when
the battery terminal voltage reaches the bulk voltage setting and is kept the same, and charging
current gradually decreases as the battery state of charge continues to increase. The float stage
starts after the absorption charge time as the battery terminal voltage is reduced to the float voltage
setting, which is lower than the bulk voltage setting. In float stage, the batteries continue to charge
at a reduced current level. If the load requires current, excess PV array current will flow to the load
while the batteries provide any additional current requirements. The batteries should be protected
against over-discharged if the PV array does not provide sufficient daily charge to meet the daily
load requirements. If more than 80% of full charge is removed from deep-discharge lead-acid
batteries and the batteries are left in that state for several weeks or months, the batteries are
permanently damaged. The LVD monitors the battery state-of-charge (SOC) and disconnects the
loads from the batteries if the battery SOC decreases below the 20% level. Some smaller charge
controllers.

Figure 10a: Profile of battery voltage during charge and discharge, [5]

3.2 Storage capacity and efficiency

The capacity of a battery (energy storage) is expressed by its ampere hour (Ah) capacity. Ah is
the current in amp × hours during which current flows from the battery, or kWh. As example, the
12V battery rated at 60Ah over 20 hours means it can deliver 3A per hour for 20 hours, or
(12×60/1000=)0.72 kWh. The battery usable capacity is always less than rated capacity. The Ah
capacity (AhC) is a measure of how deeply a battery is discharged, and is expressed by the time
integral of the product of discharge current from fully charge (i.e. depth of discharge (DOD=0) to
DOD = 60%, i.e. 3×20×0.6

=36 Ah is discharged. The Watt-hour capacity (WhC) or energy capacity is the time integral of the
product of discharge current and voltage from fully charge (DOD=zero) to (DOD=60%). The
ampere hour efficiency of a battery ( Ah) is the ratio of the number of ampere hours delivered
during discharge to that needed to return to its original condition, ( Wh) is the ratio of the number
of watt hours delivered (energy delivered) during discharge to that needed to return it to its original
condition. This means that Ah = Σ(discharge Ah)×100% / Σ(charge Ah)

As an example if at DOD 60%, the summations of discharge Ah = 36 at DOD = 60% and charge
Ah = 44.4, then Ah = (36/44.4)×100 = 81.8%; and if Σ discharge Wh is 445 Wh and Σ charge
Wh is 695 and both at DOD=60%, then Wh = Σ(discharge Wh / Σ(charge Wh) = 445/695 = 64%

53 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 10b: Advanced battery charges and controller use multi-stage charging algorithm, [7]

4. REFERENCE STAND-ALONE PV OPERATED SWRO DESALTING PLANT

A schematic diagram for a typical PV powered SWRO pilot plant in a remote area in Gran Canaria
(Las Palmas-Spain) operating system is shown in Figure 11Figure [12], and presented as
reference plant here with some modifications to suit seawater conditions and irradiance in Doha,
Qatar. The system has 10 m3/d product capacity (about 3m3/d for 6h of operation) with 1/3
recovery ratio (D/F), and 64 bar feed pressure. The high pressure feed pump EP was calculated
before, and is equal to 2.963 kW.

W(HP) = F(in m3/s)×P(in kPa)/ (pump) = [30/(3600×24)] ×(6400) /0.75 =2.963 kW  3kW

Similarly, the EP required to operate the intake pump and several pretreatment pumps is 1.0 kW,
and cleaning pump is 0.75 kW (operating only once the plant is stopped). Therefore, the EP load
ranges from 0.75 – 4.0 kW. When 64 modules, each of 120 W capacity, are used, PV array
nominal peak capacity would be 7.716 kW. The ratio of the pumps load (4.0 kW) to the PV power
output (7.68 kWp) is almost equal to the multiplication of invertor (0.9), batteries (0.8), and charger
regulator (0.9) efficiencies, and PV power output to nominal peak output (kW/kWp) equal to 0.8.
The daily PV peak output is 64×0.12×6 = 46.08 kWh for 6 hours daily operation. For an average
daily insolation 5.122 kWh/m2, as example in Doha, Qatar, and 12% PV efficiency, the required
area is 46.08/(0.12×5.122) = 75 m2.

Some details of this case are presented here. The unit produces about 3 m3/d, on average 6h/day
operating, and it can be efficiently extrapolated to other productions or qualities. The system’s
mean EP rate around 46 kWh/d, with the installation’s global yield in the period at around 83%.
The PV-RO system has a fully automatic control system which manages the power generated and
uses it in running the SWRO system on a daily basis, with average of 8 operating h/d in the
summer and 6 h/d in winter (7

h/d annual average). The autonomous (PV-SWRO) system, not connected to the grid, and power
storage batteries, has 415 L/h production capacity, and 64 bar seawater feed pressure to the
membranes.

Batteries are used to solve the PV daily and annual fluctuations in solar insolation and the need
to store excess energy for later use. Batteries are the most cost-effective solution for energy
storage for small- to medium-sized autonomous power systems. A battery stores electrical energy

54 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

in the form of chemical energy. For a PV-battery system to function effectively, the electrochemical
processes must work in both directions, i.e., the system must be rechargeable. The batteries have
three main functions in a stand- alone PV system: Autonomy–by meeting the load requirements
at all times, including at night, during overcast periods, or during the winter when PV input is low
or absent, (b)- Surge-current capability –by supplying, when necessary, currents higher than the
PV array can deliver, especially to start motors or other inductive equipment, and (c)-Voltage
control–thereby preventing large voltage fluctuations that may damage the load.

Figure 11: Diagram of the PV-RO system [12]

The site has mean annual solar radiation, 2.044 kWh/m², 7.8 m/s mean annual wind speed, 23.5ºC
mean annual temperature, 65-70%, mean relative humidity 65-70%. The SWRO is designed
capacity of 10 m³/d (24 hours), permeate mean conductivity value of less than 1,000 μS/cm and
5.5 kWh/m³ specific consumed energy and has two parallel lines of 6 spiral-wound membranes
each (2.5”×40”). The pre- treatment includes cartridge filter 25μm, and cartridge filter 5μm. The
feed water high-pressure pump has feed flow of 1250 L/h, 1000 psi maximum pressure, and is
driven by 3 kW motor, and high pressure switch 67 bar cut-out pressure. The RO membranes are
enclosed in 12 tubes (SW-2540) of 2 m. long. The PV generating EP is 7.7 kWp. The PV field
consisting of sixty-four 120Wp modules, power accumulation consists of thirty-eight 385 Ah 2V
vessels, a 75 A regulator, 7.7 kW inverter and a protection panel with which we separate and
protect the panel lines, also including the battery output protection fuses. The PV field is connected
to and provides its power to a bank of accumulators. This process is controlled by a regulator, a
device in charge of managing the charge process, preventing the batteries becoming over or
undercharges with a view to lengthening their lives as much as possible. Each time the regulator
cuts off the charge process, the power provided by the PV generator is lost. This factor is used to
design the plant’s control program that can practically eliminate these charge cut-out periods, thus
making the best possible use of the solar energy available. The accumulators keep the input
voltage to the inverter stable and, make it possible to make use of the surplus radiation in the
middle of the day, when more power is supplied by the PV system than is consumed by the plant.
This surplus is

later used to operate the system in the early and late hours of the day, when the process is
inverted. This means that the charge regulator never cuts out the charge process, and there is
100% use of the solar energy available. The direct rated voltage of the photovoltaic system, which
is 48V, is transformed by the inverter into 220V (AC) to adapt it to the plant’s operating voltage.

55 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

The power storage capacity of the bank of batteries, 19 kWh, is fully optimized, making the
installation technically and economically viable. The nighttime use of the battery capacity is not
recommended, since this wastes part of the power stored.

The system has a cleaning system that operates when it is shut down on a daily basis to prevent
the brine from being in contact with the membranes all night by flushing process. A centrifugal
cleaning pump, pumps around 300 L of product water (from the cleaning tanks) at a pressure of
about 3-4 bar for flushing process.

To estimate the cost of the PV system, $6/Wp is assumed for the PV system, or (4.8×6000=)
$28,880, and the cost of the SWRO is $2,000/(m3/d) for the small size system. This gives the 10
m3/d SWRO cost as $20,000. For 6h of operation and 3 m3/d product output, the total cost for one
m3/d is $16,267/m3.

The PV-SWRO system has confirmed technical viability. However, its economic viability is doubtful
when compared with conventional centralized desalting processes. Its use is justified only in
remote areas with no grid connections.

5. CONCLUSION

The use of PV to operate DPs is very expensive and is limited only to remote areas with no water
resources, and water is transport is very expensive. The capital cost of solar energy supplied
directly to thermal operated DPs is also very expensive. Using SPP operated by PTC, and using
its EP output either to drive SWRO has the minimum capital cost. Also using SPP to produce EP
driving SWRO and extracted steam driving MED is also cost effective.

6. REFERENCES

1. Tarek El Sayed, and Johnny Ayoub, Achieving a sustainable water sector in the GCC,
http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Achieving-a-sustainable-water-
sector-in- the-GCC.pdf

2. Ali M. El-Nashar, (2009), Desalination with renewable energy - A Review, in Renewable

Energy, in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Developed under the Auspices of
the UNESCO, Eolss Publishers, Oxford, UK, [http://www.eolss.net] [Retrieved November 21,
2014]

3. MANUAL for Solar PV Training MANUAL for Solar PV Training, Department of Energy
Renewable Energy Management Bureau, (2009), http://community.irena.org/rbsvc25562
4. /attachments/rbsvc25562/TestBoard1/66/1/Manual%20for%20Solar%20PV%20training-
DOE.pdf

5. PV-3 Department of Energy, Renewable Energy Management Bureau, Guideline for

Application of Photovoltaic Power Generation System, June 2009, gwweb.jica.go.jp/km/
FSubject0901.nsf/3b8a2d403517ae4549256f2d002e1

6. P Govinda Rao and May Mohd Saeed Al-alshaikh Al-Kuwari , Assessment of solar and wind
energy potential in Qatar, Second joint Qatar-Japan Environment Symposium, 05-06 February
2013, Doha-Qatar, https://www.jccp.or.jp/international/conference/docs/ 14assessment-of-
solar- and-wind-energy-potential-in.pdf

56 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

7. AC Energy & Cost Savings, National Renewable Energy lab, PVWATTS,

http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/calculators/pvwatts/version1/International/pvwattsv1_intl.cgi

8. Willias Brooks, James Dunlop (2012), NABECP PV, Installer resource guide,
http://www.nabcep.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NABCEP-PV-Installer-Resource-Guide-
August-2012-v.5.3.pdf

9. David Feldman, Galen Barbose, Robert Margolis1, Naïm Darghouth, Ted James, Samantha
Weaver, Alan Goodrich, and Ryan Wiser, Photovoltaic System Pricing Trends: Historical,
Recent, and Near-Term Projections 2013 Edition, http://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/
files/presentation.pdf

10. Tulika Dutta Roy (2013), Simulation and Analysis of Photovoltaic Stand-Alone Systems, M.Sc.
thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering National Institute of Technology, Rourkela,
Rourkela-769008, Odisha, India, http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/5257/1/211EE2130.pdf

11. G. Schumm, SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY CONVERSION, in Renewable Energy

Systems and Desalination, from Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources, Eolss
Publishers, Paris, France, [http://www.desware.net] [Retrieved November 25, 2014]

12. Ola Al-Qasem, Jafar Jallad, Experimental Characterization of Lead–Acid Storage Batteries
used in PV Power Systems, International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical,
Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization), Vol.
3, Issue 4, April 2014, http://www.ijareeie.com/upload/2014/april/0B_Experimental.pdf

13. T. Espino, B. Peñate#, D. Henríquez, J. Betancort, G. Piernavieja, Seawater desalination plant

by reverse osmosis powered with photovoltaic solar energy. A supply option for remote areas,
http://www.renovae.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download
&gid=15&Itemid=44, accessed Nov. 24, 2014

57 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

WATER FROM THE SUN: THE BEST

PV/CSP/RO COMBINATION TO
MINIMIZE THE WATER COST IN A
SELF-STANDING SOLAR
DESALINATION PLANT
Authors: Emilio Ghiazza, Guido Laguzzi, Francesco Bevilacqua

Presented at the International Desalination Association World Congress on Desalination

and Water Reuse 2015/San Diego, CA, USA.

This paper provides a technical and economical evaluation for different desalination
configurations (PV/RO alone, CSP/RO alone, hybrid PV/CSP/RO).

58 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

WATER FROM THE SUN: THE BEST PV/CSP/RO COMBINATION TO

MINIMIZE THE WATER COST IN A SELF-STANDING SOLAR
DESALINATION PLANT

Authors: Emilio Ghiazza, Guido Laguzzi, Francesco Bevilacqua

Presenter: Emilio Ghiazza, Dr.

Technical Director – Fisia Italimpianti – Italy
emilio_ghiazza@fisiait.com

Abstract

The production of water exploiting the energy from a high capacity factor solar power plant is an
extremely interesting topic, especially when considering a self-standing installation in the climate
and economic conditions of a location such as the GCC Countries. The hybridisation of solar
photovoltaic (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), and Reverse Osmosis (RO) technologies for
such an application is a promising collaboration. The low cost of PV and high availability of CSP,
integrated with thermal energy storage (TES), and the high efficiency of RO, promise to deliver
fresh water at a lower cost than with PV/RO or CSP/RO alone. The paper analyses the possible
configurations (PV/RO alone, CSP/RO alone, and a hybrid PV/CSP/RO plant) both from the
technical and economic point of view, to find the solution more economically viable for cheap water
generation. The identification of optimum solar / water plant configurations, given current
technologies, costs, specific location and economic conditions, is carried out by a proper
methodology for the minimization of water unit cost. As a result, it is demonstrated how a hybrid
configuration leads to a remarkable reduction in the levelised cost of water (LCOW) in comparison
to CSP-RO alone and PV-RO alone, respectively. The paper also shows how, despite the fact that
PV-CSP integration increases capital costs, nevertheless it allows a reduction in LCOW in
comparison to CSP-RO.

59 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

The share of renewable energy technologies in the water production is steadily increasing. The
causes of this trend are numerous and can be mainly attributed to several global challenges, which
include the need of alternative sources of energy, climate change and sustainable development,
stimulating technological advancements in the sector. One of the most promising sources for the
production of water by clean energy is solar energy, the most abundant energy resource on the
planet, with approximately 885 million TWh of energy reaching the planet surface every year.
There are two main types of solar energy technologies that can be used for water desalination:
solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP). The economic viability of hybridizing
these technologies with RO lies in the possibility of combining the lower unit cost of PV with the
energy storage capability of CSP, thus reaching the best compromise among PV rated power,
CSP rated power and CSP storage capacity, which leads to the minimum possible levelized cost
of water (LCOW).

2. SOLAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

While PV converts solar energy directly into electricity, through the photovoltaic process, and is
one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies in the world today, CSP converts solar
energy into electricity through a thermoelectric process, and has the benefit of higher availability
when combined with thermal energy storage (TES).

The PV plant consists of an arrangement including solar panels, inverter, as well as cabling.
Nowadays, PV installations can be set up as a working system both on in a smaller configuration
and a commercial scale. The fall in cost of solar panels manufacturing in the last decade, makes
this technology not only affordable but often the cheapest way to bring electricity access to people
who do not live near power transmission lines.

Unlike the PV plant, concentrating solar power plant (CSP) usually features a field of parabolic
solar collector assembly. It also consists of a power block as well as thermal energy storage. The
heat transfer fluid (HTF), generally molten salts, flows through the parabolic collectors. The
heating of this fluid allows to create steam to drive a turbine and generate electricity. CSP is
commonly used in large-scale power plants.

The main advantage of a CSP power plant over a solar PV power plant is due to the possibility of
storing heat, allowing electricity to be generated also after the sun has set.

Before entering in more detail in the search for the best way to couple solar technologies with
water production, it is useful to define precisely some concepts, which will constitute the basis for
the technical-economic optimization process described in the next chapters, with the help of the
following diagram:

60 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

In the diagram, where the horizontal axis represents the time, the Power [MW] is given by the
values on the vertical axis, while the Energy [GWh] is given by the areas underlying the curves.

The top of the vertical axis is the Rated Power of the solar plant (PV or CSP), while the horizontal
straight red line sets the level of the Maximum Usable Energy (area underneath the line), which is
given by the RO plant power demand for the PV plant, and by the TES capacity for the CSP plant.

Deducting the Parasite Losses from the solar plant Rated Power, we get the Maximum Electrical
Power (horizontal straight black line) and the corresponding Maximum Energy Production (area
with green diagonal lines).

Through the solar plant Efficiency, from the Maximum Energy Production the Actual Energy
Production is derived (area beneath the bell-shaped blue curve).

Deducting the Dumped Energy (area with blue dense diagonal lines) from the Actual Energy
Production, we reach eventually the amount of Effective Energy Output from the solar plant to the
RO plant or to the TES (area with green dense diagonal lines).

The Capacity Factor (CF) is defined as the ratio between The Effective Energy and the Maximum
Usable Energy.

The Oversizing is defined as the ratio between the Maximum Electrical Power of the solar plant
and the Maximum Usable Energy.

3. PLANT CONFIGURATION RO + PV

Let’s now take into account a basic and quite common configuration, where an RO plant is
associated with a solar plant based on PV technology. If a grid is available, the choice of coupling
PV and RO is reasonably the most convenient one, due to the lower unit cost of PV, and to the
fact that the grid compensates for the lack of an energy storage.
However, when we apply this case to a self-standing plant, where no grid can act as storage of
energy, the energy produced by PV can be fed to the RO plant for a very limited period during
daytime. This drastically reduces the amount of water produced with respect to the nominal size
of the RO plant, thus increasing the LCOW.

61 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

4. HybridIZING Solar PV & CSP

Let’s now instead take into account a rather new configuration, where the RO plant is associated
with a hybrid solar plant based on both PV and CSP technology. In the case of a self-standing
plant, this solution allows to feed the RO plant by energy from PV during daytime, while the CSP
feeds the energy storage, which will be used in turn to feed the RO plant during nighttime. This
allows to increase the amount of water produced up to (or near to) the nominal size of the RO
plant, thus decreasing the LCOW despite the higher unit cost of CSP / TES.

62 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

5. WATER AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE COST

In order to set a technical-economical benchmark for an off-grid seawater reverse osmosis plant
powered by a hybrid solar plant including a parabolic trough and photovoltaic cells, the share
between the three technologies must be carefully optimized. In order to minimize the LCOW, it is
necessary to take into account CAPEX and OPEX of the three sections of the plant, as functions
RO capacity, RO power consumption, PV rated power, CSP rated power and CSP storage
capacity.

As far as the RO plant is concerned, for the purpose of the feasibility study presented in this paper
the following characteristics have been assumed:

63 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Starting from the case of PV + RO, and considering different values for the PV plant rated power,
the single variable optimization method leads to the following results:

It can be seen that, in such a case, the RO plant is able to produce less than 40% of its capacity,
and consequently the minimum achievable LCOW is calculated at about 1.5 $/m3.

Considering instead the case of CSP + RO, we have now to consider different values both for the
CSP plant rated power and for the thermal energy storage (TES) capacity. Therefore, a two
variables optimization method has to be applied, leading to the following results:

In this case, the RO plant is able to produce its full capacity, and the minimum achievable LCOW
is calculated at about 1.1 $/m3.

The solution is much better, but is not the best one, as demonstrated in the following.

When coming to the most general situation of coupling PV, CSP and RO, the minimum achievable
LCOW has to be found as a function of several independent variables, namely the total rated
power of PV + CSP plants, their percentage split, and the CSP thermal energy storage capacity.

By a multivariable optimization method, the following results are found:

64 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

This is the best case ever, where the RO plant is able to produce its full capacity, and the minimum
achievable LCOW is calculated lower than 1.0 $/m3.

In this optimum configuration, the total rated power is split between PV and CSP with a share of
57% PV / 43% CSP, with an oversize factor of 1.6 (PV) and 1.1 (CSP). The dumped energy is
minimized to the minimum possible extent for both PV and CSP, while the TES is maximized to
the maximum possible extent with respect to the CSP rated power, to allow the RO plant to
produce its full capacity.

The water cost components in the different cases are shown in the diagrams below:

65 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

The easy case of coupling PV and RO when a grid is available is reported just for comparison
purposes. It’s worth considering that, with the same boundary conditions, in such case the LCOW
could be settled at about 0.65 $/m3, only 33% less than in the best solution for the presented case
of a self-standing plant.

All the above calculations and results have been carried out on the basis of the assumptions and
parameters outlined in Appendix A, where more details about the optimization process are also
reported.

6. CONCLUSIONS

This feasibility study shown in this paper refers to a water production plant of 10,000 m3/d,
coupling solar energy to SWRO desalination. Several technological configurations have been
taken into consideration, with the following results:

a. PV + RO with Grid – it is the preferable solution, but not applicable to a self-standing plant,

66 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

due to the constraint of electrical grid availability. The LCOW is lower than in the cases
where a grid is not available.

b. PV + RO – it is the easier solution, applicable to a self-standing plant, but due to the lack
of an energy storage, either the PV plant is oversized with respect to the RO plant, or the
RO plant is strongly underutilized with respect to its rated capacity. Consequently, the
LCOW is higher than in the other cases where a grid is not available.

c. CSP + RO – it is an alternative solution, applicable to a self-standing plant, taking

advantage from the possibility of having a thermal energy storage. The investment cost for
the solar plant is higher than in the case of PV, but the RO plant can be utilized at full rate
through the year. The LCOW is lower than in the previous case, due to the higher water
production.

d. PV + CSP + RO – it represents the best possible solution, providing that the total rated
power of PV + CSP plants, their percentage split, and the CSP thermal storage capacity
are carefully optimized. When applied to a self-standing plant, it takes advantage both from
the lower unit cost of PV, and from the possibility of having a thermal energy storage of
CSP. The LCOW is the lowest possible for all the cases where a grid is not available.

7. REFERENCES

1. Guédez R., Topel M., Spelling J., and Laumert B., Enhancing the Profitability of Solar
Tower Power Plants through Thermoeconomic Analysis Based on Multi-objective
Optimization, Elsevier Energy Procedia, Volume 69, 2015, Pages 1277-1286.

2. Guédez R., Topel M., Conde I., Ferragut F., Callaba I., Spelling J., Hassar Z., Pérez-
Segarra C.D., and Laumert B., A Methodology for Determining Optimum Solar Tower Plant
Configurations and Operating Strategies to Maximize Profits Based on Hourly Electricity
Market Prices and Tariffs, ASME Journal of Solar Energy Eng., Vol. 138, 2016.

3. Guédez R., Spelling J., and Laumert B., Enhancing the Economic Competitiveness of
Concentrating Solar Power Plants through an Innovative Integrated Solar-Combined Cycle
with Thermal Energy Storage, ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power,
Volume 138, 2015.

4. Guédez R., Larchet K., Dent J., Green A., Hassar Z. and Laumert B., A Techno-Economic
Analysis of Hybrid Concentrating Solar Power and Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants for
Firm Power in Morocco, Submitted to the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering,
2016.

5. Guédez R., Spelling J., Laumert B. and Fransson T. Optimization of Thermal Energy
Storage Integration Strategies for Peak Power Production by Concentrating Solar Power
Plants, Elsevier Energy Procedia, Volume 49, 2014, Pages 1642-1651.

6. Musi R., Grange B., Sgouridis S., Guédez R., Amstrong P., Slocum A., and Calvet N.,
Techno-Economic Analysis of Concentrated Solar Power Plants in terms of Levelized Cost
of Electricity, Proceedings of International SolarPACES 2016.

67 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Appendix A

Economic / Financial assumptions

RO plant
Unit Cost 1,100 $/(m3/d)
Fixed O&M 0.250 M$/y
Variable O&M 3.5% % of CAPEX

PV plant
Unit Cost 1.26 $/W
Fixed O&M 0.050 M$/y
Variable O&M 1.5% % of CAPEX

CSP plant
Unit Cost 5.2 $/W
Unit Cost TES 0.14 $/Wh
Fixed O&M 0.16 M$/y
Variable O&M 1.5% % of CAPEX

IR 5% -
Lifetime 25 y
NPVF 14.1 y
Exchange rate €/$ 1.12 -

Case RO + PV with Grid

RO plant

Yearly water Production 3.65 Mm3/y

Capacity factor 100.0% -
PV plant
Rated Power 7.28 MWel
Maximum Electrical Power 6.08 MWel
Maximum Energy production 53.2 GWh/y
Efficiency 24.0% -
Energy production 12.8 GWh/y
Dumped Energy 0.0% -
Yearly Energy Output to SWRO 12.8 GWh/y
Capacity factor 100.0% -

68 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Case RO + PV

RO plant
Yearly water Production 1.28 Mm3/y
Capacity factor 35% -
PV plant
Rated Power 3.22 MWel
Maximum Electrical Power 2.69 MWel
Maximum Energy production 23.6 GWh/y
Efficiency 24.0% -
Energy production 5.7 GWh/y
Dumped Energy 21.0% -
Yearly Energy Output to SWRO 4.5 GWh/y
Capacity factor 35% -

Case RO + CSP

RO plant

Yearly water Production 3.65 Mm3/y

Capacity factor 100% -
CSP plant
Rated Power 3.11 MWel
Maximum Electrical Power 2.80 MWel
Maximum Energy production 24.5 GWh/y
Efficiency 53.0% -
Energy production 13.0 GWh/y
Dumped Energy 2% -
Yearly Energy Output to SWRO 12.8 GWh/y
Capacity factor 100% -
Storage Capacity 63.2 MWh
Storage Capacity - IN 22.6 h
Storage Capacity - OUT 43.3 h

69 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Case RO + PV + CSP

RO plant

Yearly water Production 3.65 Mm3/y

Capacity factor 100% -
PV plant
Rated Power 2.74 MWel
Maximum Electrical Power 2.29 MWel
Maximum Energy production 20.1 GWh/y
Efficiency 24.0% -
Energy production 4.8 GWh/y
Dumped Energy 11.4% -
Yearly Energy Output to SWRO 4.3 GWh/y
Capacity factor 33.4% -
CSP plant
Rated Power 2.07 MWel
Maximum Electrical Power 1.86 MWel
Maximum Energy production 16.3 GWh/y
Efficiency 53% -
Energy production 8.6 GWh/y
Dumped Energy 1.4% -
Yearly Energy Output to SWRO 8.5 GWh/y
Capacity factor 66.6% -
Storage Capacity 42.1 MWh
Storage Capacity - IN 22.6 h
Storage Capacity - OUT 28.9 h

70 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR STEAM TURBINE DRIVEN HP

PUMP FOR SWRO PLANT
Authors: Justin Robert Paden, Thomas Altmann, Sambhu Mitra

Presented at the International Desalination Association World Congress on Desalination

and Water Reuse 2015/San Diego, CA, USA.

This paper provides a technical and economical evaluation of steam turbo driven HP
pumps and electric motor driven HP pump. The medium pressure steam is made
available from a solar steam generating plant.

71 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR STEAM TURBINE DRIVEN HP PUMP FOR SWRO PLANT

Authors: Justin Robert Paden, Thomas Altmann, Sambhu Mitra

Presenter: Justin Robert Paden, PhD

Sr.Manager-Desalination, ACWA Power, Dubai, UAE. Email address:
jrobert@acwapower.com

Abstract

Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants currently working with the latest Energy
Recovery Device (ERD) requires around 3.5 to 4kWh of electrical energy to produce of one cubic
meter of fresh water. The High Pressure (HP) pump is one of the most important and the highest
power consuming auxiliary equipment in the SWRO plant. The power consumption of the HP
pump is around 70 to 80% of the total power consumption of any SWRO plant. With increase in
the SWRO plant unit capacity, the power capacity of HP feed pump is also increasing. The
proposed system utilizes a Steam Turbine (ST) driven coupling for the HP pump used in the
SWRO plant, to replace the electric motor along with the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), which
is normally used in the SWRO plant. This type of SWRO HP pump along with the steam turbine
is named simply as “ST-driven RO HP pump”.

The purpose of this study is to understand the technical feasibility and benefits of using steam
turbine driven HP Pumps in a SWRO plant, also to make an economic comparison between a
SWRO plant operated by an electric motor driven HP pump with speed regulation by VFD and a
HP pump driven by steam turbine coupling. The techno-economic analysis considers that the
Medium Pressure (MP) steam required to drive the turbo-driven HP pump is made available from
a solar steam generating plant. The exhaust steam from the Turbo-driven SWRO HP pump is
condensed by the feed seawater the SWRO plant, thus the seawater gets preheated before it is
feed in to the SWRO membrane for desalting. This preheating effect will further reduce the energy
consumption of SWRO plant. Furthermore, this process when integrated with a Multiple Effect
Distillation (MED) unit, utilizing the exhaust steam from the turbo-driven SWRO HP pump will
produce additional fresh water. Also, this integration simultaneously condenses the exhaust steam
from the turbine and preheats the feed seawater which is in turn the feed to the SWRO plant. The
similar concept is even also applicable for Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) system.

The rationale behind the techno-economic study is that, the capex of Steam generating CSP plant
is lower than an electricity generating CSP plant operating at higher pressure and temperature.
For this reason, at the first instance a direct solar steam generating system with a linear Fresnel
reflectors is considered for this study. It is observed from the techno-economic analysis that the
SWRO plant configured with a ST-driven RO HP pump endorses the technical advantages when
comparing with the SWRO plant operated by an electric motor driven HP pump with speed
regulation by VFD. Furthermore, this system possesses economic advantages when hybridized
with MED unit.

72 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

ACWA Power International (ACWA Power) is a developer, investor, co-owner and operator of
plants with a generation portfolio of 15,731MW of power and 2.37 million m3/day of desalinated
water using various technologies. ACWA Power has more than a decade of experience in
developing, building, owning and operating several desalination plants throughout the GCC
nations. The desalinated water produced is mainly used as drinking and industrial purpose. ACWA
Power fully acknowledges that burning fossil fuel to generate power and water has a negative
effect on the environments and contributes to climate change. In response, ACWA Power was
one of the first companies in Saudi Arabia to declare a voluntary target of adding 5% power
generation from renewable sources to its assets portfolio over the coming five years. To contribute
towards the Renewable and Sustainable path, ACWA Power has conducted a number of studies
to utilize the renewable energy for producing desalinated water in a novel way. In this paper, one
of the recent study made by the ACWA Power technology team on the subject of seawater
desalination using renewable energy is presented.

1.1 Background

Desalination by Reverse Osmosis (RO) process is one of the available methods used for
producing fresh water from the saline water, sourced either from the ground or river or sea. In the
present-day seawater desalination technology, reverse osmosis is in competition with the thermal
processes such as, multi- stage flash (MSF) and multi-effect distillation (MED) for large scale
production of desalinated water. The choice between these two technologies depends on the
quality of raw water, type of plant (stand alone or dual purpose), energy costs (electricity and
steam), etc…. In the recent years hybrid desalination system combining reverse osmosis
desalination with thermal technology is also getting momentum particularly in the Gulf region.

Desalination is an energy intensive process. The energy requirement for a SWRO plant is very
much site specific and the nature of the project.RO is a pressure-driven process, with the pressure
used for separation by allowing fresh water to move through a membrane, leaving the salts behind.
The function of this HP pump is to raise the pressure of the pretreated feed water to the level
appropriate for the membrane and for the feed water being used. The pressure required depends
on many parameters like seawater Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
and the other compositions, required boron level to be maintained in the product water (depends
on the local country standards), average seawater temperature, distance between the seawater
intake and the plant location, etc. The power consumption of HP pump is around 70 to 80% of the
total power consumption of a SWRO plant. For this study purpose, it is assumed that the seawater
reverse osmosis desalination plants operating with the latest energy recovery device requires
around 3.5 to 4kWh of electrical energy to produce of one cubic meter of fresh water. This
assumption is valid for most of the commercially operating SWRO plants in the Middle East region.
The high pressure pump is one of the most important and the highest power consuming auxiliary
equipment in the SWRO plants. With the increase in the SWRO plant unit capacity, the power
capacity of HP feed pump is also increasing. The proposed system utilizes a steam turbine driven
coupling for the HP Pump in SWRO plant, replacing the motor along with the VFD.

1.2 SWRO HP feed pump drives

The choice for HP pump driven mode plays an important role in the operational economy of the
entire SWRO plant, especially for a solar desalination plant. Configuration of high pressure
pumping system in RO systems the feed pressure required to produce design output capacity
fluctuates with feed water

salinity, temperature, degree of membrane surface fouling and membrane compaction. The last

73 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

two parameters are usually bundled together into a “flux decline” factor (FDF), which reflects
membrane permeability decline with time. To accommodate variability of required feed pressure
with time, without necessity to throttle high pressure pump or power recovery turbine, a flexible
high pressure pumping system is required. The suitable equipment should be able to process
constant flow in the projected range of feed and concentrate pressures without significant losses
of transformation efficiency. The flexibility on the feed water supply side is usually achieved by
incorporating a VFD into electric motor unit that drives the high pressure pump. The proposed
system utilizes a Steam Turbine (ST) driven coupling for the HP pump, to replace the electric
motor along with the VFD, which is the normal practice in the present day SWRO plants. The
steam turbine driven pump coupling finds many industrial applications, one of the key application
is in power plant boiler feed pump, which has been in practice for several years in the power
industry. There are many factors which governs the selection of driving modes of the HP Pump in
a SWRO plant, such as source of electrical/thermal energy, type of pump, number of pumps,
operational reliability, number of equipment involved, capital cost and complexity of the system
circuit, etc. Among the above factors, source/cost of the energy is one of the most important factor
when choosing the driving mode for HP Pump.

1.3 Steam turbines as SWRO HP pump drives

Steam turbine drivers are prime movers that convert the thermal energy of steam into mechanical
energy through the rotation of a shaft. Steam turbines are well-suited for pump drive service for a
number of reasons. First is their ability to operate across a wide speed range. This enables the
pump to do two things: operate at the pump's most efficient speed and match the system head
curve at varying pump flows, thus reducing throttling losses [1]. When operating at low speed,
turbines reduces the radial reaction in centrifugal pumps operating at low flows. Turbines do not
fail when overloaded, have high starting torque, and are rugged and reliable. Turbines are non-
sparking and explosion proof device when comparing with the electric motor. Thus Steam turbines
are a reliable and flexible driver for pumps.

1.4 Advantages of using CSP steam in ST-driven HP pump

The rationale behind this study is that, from the energy perspective the cost of process stream,
when it is sourced from a CSP plant to drive the steam turbine couple HP pump should logically
be economically than an HP Pump receiving electricity from a CSP plant. This is because the
capex of Seam generating CSP plant is lower than an electricity generating CSP plant operating
at higher pressure and temperature. For this stated reason, at the first instance a direct solar
steam generating linear Fresnel (LFR) system without thermal storage is considered for this study,
however a hot water/steam accumulator is considered to take care of the small transient
conditions, maximum for 30min. The LFR system is based on a large arrays of modular Fresnel
reflectors which directs the sunlight to a stationary receiver kept at some meters height. This
receiver contains a steel absorber tube and a so-called second stage reflector which re-directs
the rays which did not directly hit the absorber. In the absorber tube, the concentrated sunlight is
converting water to superheated steam with temperatures up to 450°C driving a turbine to produce
electricity or utilize for the process requirement

2. ST-DRIVEN SWRO HP PUMP PROCESS

The schematic representation of turbo-driven SWRO-HP pump process is shown in figure 1. The
MP steam from the solar field is fed in to a steam turbine, this will convert the thermal energy of
steam into mechanical energy through the rotation of the shaft. The exhaust steam from the turbo-
driven HP pump

74 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

is condensed in a condenser using the seawater, which is used as the feed to the SWRO plant.
The feed seawater picks up the latent heat from the steam during the condensation process,
thereby the seawater gets preheated [2] & [3]. Furthermore this process when integrated with a
MED unit, utilizing the exhaust steam from the “ST-driven SWRO HP pump” will additionally
produce fresh water. In the MED integrated hybrid plants, the steam from the turbine is condensed
in the 1st effect of the MED evaporator. This heat of condensation in the 1st effect will be utilized
to produce the vapour from the seawater, which is sprayed over the tube bundle. The vapour
generated in the 1st effect of MED evaporator will further multiplied in the other effects to reach
the desired Gain Output Ratio (GOR)/ Performance Ratio (PR) of the MED plant. The final
condenser in the MED plant condenses the vapour produced in the last effect of the MED
evaporator, also simultaneously preheats the feed seawater which is in turn used as the
evaporator make-up and also as feed to the SWRO plant.

Figure 1: Schematic of Turbo-driven SWRO-HP pump process

For the required load variation in the HP pump; the turbine governor varies the steam flow in order
to maintain the proper relation between turbine loads i.e. the turbine shaft power and the HP pump
loads i.e. the HP pump shaft power to hold the unit at synchronous speed.

75 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 2: Schematic of Turbo-driven SWRO-HP pump integrated with MED system

3. TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

A techno-economic analysis is conducted to see the feasibility of using turbo-driven HP pump for
the SWRO plant and also to compare its economics with a conventional SWRO plant operating
with HP pump powered by an electric motor, regulated by VFD. Furthermore, the study is extended
for a Dihybrid mode of desalination plant with a MED unit. The following two options were used
for the techno-economic evaluation;

a. Case-A: SWRO plant with ST-driven RO HP pump

b. Case-B: SWRO plant with ST-driven RO HP pump hybridized with MED Unit

For the above cases, the key parameters considered are highlighted blow in Table 1. To compare
the above cases under the same ground, it is assumed that, the steam feed to the steam turbine
is sourced from a LFR system producing saturated steam at 50bar(a) pressure. The LFR system
is considered without thermal storage, however a hot water/steam accumulator is considered to
take care of the small transient conditions, maximum for 30min. In both the cases the auxiliary
power is extracted from the grid.

S.No. Description Unit SWRO SWRO+MED

1 Net Total Capacity of the plant m3/day 60,000 60,000
SWRO 100 90
2 Plant Capacity ratio by technology in
% MED 0 10
3 SWRO Plant Capacity m3/hr 2,500 2,250
4 MED Plant Capacity m3/hr 0 250
5 Seawater Red sea Red sea
Temperature-Design (Avg.) °C 30 30
Salinity (TDS) ppm 42000 42000
6 SWRO plant parameters
RO plant Recovery % 41 41

76 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Salinity (TDS)-After 1st pass ppm 300 300

Seawater requirement for RO plant t/h 6098 5488

7 Pumping Power for HP

pump (@100% load)
Seawater volume flow to HP pump m3/h 2671 2404
Head required at the inlet of RO m of H2O 704.5 704.5
membrane
Break horse power (Shaft power) MW 6.35 5.71
Specific power consumption (Shaft kWh/m3 2.54 2.54
power)
8 Steam Turbine
At inlet
- Steam pressure bar (a) 50.0 50.0
- Steam temperature °C 450.00 450.00
At exhaust
- Steam pressure bar (a) 0.080 0.35
- Steam saturation temperature °C 41.5 72.7
Mass flow rate of steam t/h 30.01 33.12
Specific steam consumption per m3of
(t/h)/m3 11.82 13.05
permeate
9 Steam Condenser / Seawater
Preheater
Shell side: Dry/Wet steam condensing
to
liquid
- Mass flow rate t/h 30.01 NA
- Pressure bar (a) 0.08 NA
- Condensation temperature °C 41.5 NA
Heat load th 19.8 NA
MW
Tube side: Seawater
- Mass flow rate t/h 6098 NA
- Temperature-in °C 30 NA
- Temperature-out °C 32.9 NA
- Seawater ΔT rise across the °C 2.9 NA
condenser
Power required to overcome the ΔP
10
across the condenser circuit
Power required MW 0.20 NA
Specific power consumption kWh/m3 0.08 NA
11 Total Electrical Power Requirement
Total specific Electrical kWh/m3 0.78 0.77
Power consumption
MW 2.0 1.9
12 Steam requirement for vacuum
system

77 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

- Mass flow rate t/h 0.30 1.66

- Pressure (after PRV) bar a 18 18
- Temperature (assumed as °C 240 240
superheated)
MED Unit (Without Steam Transformer
13
and TVC)
Seawater feed to final condenser t/h NA 5488
Net PR
kgdist/2326kJ NA 7.36
(Without the vacuum system steam)

Table 1: Process Parameters and analysis summary

In the above table, “NA” refers to Not Applicable.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From the techno-economic analysis, it is found that a SWRO system configured with a HP pump
coupled to a steam driven turbine and integrated with MED system possess the technical
advantages in comparison with a conventional SWRO plant operating on HP pump coupled with
electric motor & VFD. Furthermore an economic advantages is seen when the ST-driven RO HP
pump is hybridized with a MED system in a 90:10 ratio producing additional fresh water. This
hybrid desalination plant also helps in achieving a better quality of freshwater. The reason behind
this concept being not popular in the conventional power plant is that the specific steam
consumption per kW is less, so it is convenient to

produce electricity and use it in the motor. Undoubtedly, raising the steam parameters is the main
driving factor in the efforts to increase efficiency in solar plants, thus improving the power unit
efficiency results in a reduction in steam consumption per kW of power generation, which involves
a reduction in the foot print of the soar field, feed water and other auxiliaries. Generally, an effect
of an increase in the steam parameters is an increase in the solar steam generation unit cost,
however, the reduction in the specific steam consumption (mass of steam/kW) compensates for
the increased specific energy of the steam (enthalpy of steam/kg).

5. CONCLUSIONS

The integration of solar thermal system with the SWRO/BWRO desalination plant looks to be a
promising solution for fresh water and energy scarcity in arid areas compatible with the
environment. This technological milestone means, a sustainable added value for the local
communities.

Similar concept can also be established for a BWRO system to bring down the TDS of feed water
approximately from 5000 to 500 ppm, for a remote location, where the power transmission from
the power plant is challenging.

Future studies on the Turbo-driven RO-HP pump for desalination plant may be oriented towards,
the techno-economic analysis of the system using different CSP technology and for different
thermal energy storage options. Also, the impact of different steam pressure and temperature on
the combined plant performance and the plant hybridization ratio i.e. the ratio between SWRO and
MED may be studied.

78 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

6. REFERENCES

1. Michael A.Cerce, Selecting steam turbines for pump drives, proceeding of the
international12th pump user symposium, 2003, pp 107-116.

2. AWWA (American Water Works Association), Water Desalting Planning Guide for Water
Utilities, ISBN: 978-0-471-47285-8, 2004, pp 85 – 87.

3. Donald T. Bray, U.S. Patent No: 4,046,685, (1977).

79 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR POWERED SEAWATER

DESALINATION - A CASE STUDY
Authors: Fulya Verdier, Heinz Ludwig, Johannes Kretschmann

Presented at the International Desalination Association World Congress on Desalination

and Water Reuse 2015/San Diego, CA, USA.

This paper presents a case study with a focus on the feasibility of solar powered seawater
desalination.

80 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

SOLAR POWERED SEAWATER DESALINATION - A CASE STUDY

Authors: Fulya Verdier, Heinz Ludwig, Johannes Kretschmann

Presenter: Dr. Fulya Verdier

Desalination Expert, Project Manager – Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG – Germany

Abstract

The paper presents a case study with a focus on the technical feasibility of solar powered seawater
desalination.

Seawater desalination has been widely applied to counter the water scarcity in the world - at least
at the coastal areas where seawater is within reach. Over the last decades, there have been
remarkable improvements achieved in many aspects of seawater desalination technology,
including its energy efficiency. However, it still remains energy intensive.

Given the world’s steadily growing population and increasing potable water demand, solar
powered desalination appears promising. The case study aims to investigate how solar power
technologies can be used to produce potable water by means of seawater desalination in the
future. Rather than considering different individual renewable energy technologies for seawater
desalination, the study will focus on concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. Especially in
certain areas of the world, where there is water scarcity and also abundant availability of solar as
a renewable energy source, the approach of the study can be useful.

Based on typical water demand figures of medium-sized cities, seawater desalination plants
deploying the most economical commercial desalination technologies such as Multi Effect
Distillation (MED) and Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) will be designed and further their
energy requirement will be assessed. This is the major design input for the CSP plant from the
desalination plant. To evaluate the effects of varying solar resource potentials, different solar
irradiation classes depending on the location of the CSP plant will be taken into consideration.

The assessments and results of the case study include technical feasibility as well as economic
aspects. Conclusions will follow on the possibility to overcome the water scarcity by means of
solar powered seawater desalination.

81 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

Unconventional water supply methods such as seawater desalination are applied more and more
in water-scarce coastal countries. In terms of finding sustainable solutions to water shortage in
the long term, it is worth investigating how to integrate renewable energy sources to supply the
seawater desalination plants which are still energy intensive. Due to the fact that there is generally
a high solar resource potential in areas where water is scarce and the fact that concentrated solar
power (CSP) plants can be equipped with a thermal energy storage and a back-up fuel system,
thus offering constant energy supply for desalination processes, CSP technology has been
selected for the purpose of the case study.

The aim of the paper is to discuss major techno-economical aspects of seawater desalination in
connection with CSP plants for a generic case. The paper focuses on the most economic
conventional seawater desalination technologies based on multi-effect distillation (MED) and
seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) in combination with concentrated solar power plants serving
as energy source. The following plant configurations are evaluated at coastal and inland sites:
• Dual-purpose plant (MED-CSP plant) co-located at the coast with sea water cooling.
• Stand-alone RO-plant and CSP plant co-located at the coast with seawater cooling
• Stand-alone RO-plant located at coast and CSP plant located inland with air cooling.

When it comes to combination of desalination and CSP plants, there are certain requirements and
limitations to be considered during the design of such plants. Their coupling raises additional
challenges to the whole plant, as they communicate with each other and the solar resource is
fluctuating. As such, the interfaces between both plants have a great influence on both the plant
design and performance. One of the major requirements of desalination is the constant energy
supply due to constant water demand. Thus, desalination plants work at best at base load. This
means that, depending on the applied technology, desalination plants require constant steam
and/or electricity supply. Due to the seasonal and daily fluctuations of the solar resource, both
thermal energy storage systems and co-firing will have to be taken into account, in order to cover
the whole energy demand.

2. SELECTION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR DESALINATION AND CSP PLANTS

The appropriate selection of the technologies highly depends on the objectives and boundary
conditions of specific projects. The case study is based on conventional technologies to achieve
the following goals:
• The priority is given to potable water production
• The capacity of the desalination plant should be capable of serving medium-size cities
• Surplus electricity will be fed into the existing electricity grid
• There is no obligation for a cogeneration plant, so both plants can be either co-located or stand-
alone depending on the feasibility
• Energy efficiency plays a major role in the whole plant (water + power)
• Environmental impacts will be minimized.

2.1 Selection of Desalination Technologies

Commercial desalination technologies can be classified mainly based on the desalination

processes either thermal desalination using distillation such as multi-stage flash (MSF) and multi-
effect distillation (MED) or membrane-based desalination such as reverse osmosis (RO)
technology. To apply different

82 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

desalination technologies (thermal and membrane) in the case study while respecting the energy
efficiency of each technology, MED and SWRO are selected to be combined with CSP plants1. In
the following sections technical working principle and major characteristics of the selected
technologies especially in terms of their energy requirement are highlighted.

2.1.1 Multi-effect Distillation

Multi-effect distillation (MED) process is based on evaporation and subsequent condensation. The
required steam is typically added to the first, hottest effect from an externally source. Basically,
every heat source providing a sufficient amount of heat typically at 65°C or higher is suitable.

The produced steam from seawater in one effect is further used in the subsequent effect for the
evaporation of seawater. This procedure is repeated from effect to effect with progressively
decreasing temperature and pressure due to temperature differences required for the heat transfer
as well as further process and equipment imperfections. The steam produced in the last effect is
led into a final condenser, where seawater is used as a coolant. Depending on the seawater
temperature level, a part or all of the pre-heated seawater is fed into the MED unit whereas the
remainder is discharged to the sea.

In addition to the heat, the MED as well requires electrical energy, but to a smaller extent
approximately 1.5 to 2.5 kWh per m³ distillate. The electrical energy is predominantly used to
elevate the seawater and to distribute it across the heat exchanger tube bundles by means of
spraying. Theoretically, a thermal desalination plant can be designed to feature a broad range of
performance ratios (PR)2. In practice, the balancing of capital expenditure versus operation
expenditures (where energy costs play a major role) resulted in most cases in a PR of around 8
to 10 kg/2,326 kJ. However, even higher PR values can be attained (up to 17 or even higher
especially with the MED-TVC type of process)3.

The integration of MED to the power plant process is based on the fact that since the low pressure
(LP) steam mass flow through the steam turbine is much higher than the one needed for supplying
the MED plant with heat, the steam turbine is equipped with an extraction for the 0.3 bar steam to
the MED4 units. The remaining steam is expanded in the last rows of the low pressure part of the
condensing extraction turbine and condensed in a condenser. The condensates from the MED
units and from the condenser are pumped back into the water steam cycle of the power plant.

2.1.2 Reverse Osmosis

The reverse osmosis technology based on membranes allows fresh water to pass through while
ions, the basic elements of salt, are retained. The driving force of the reverse osmosis process is
pressure. The higher the feed water salinity and the lower the seawater temperature, the more
pressure is required. The pressure is generated by high pressure pumps delivering typically some
55 to 70 bar. Thus, the SWRO process can be operated on electricity, only and thus it is quite
independent and can be built as a stand-

1. Compared to MSF, MED process offers significant potential for cost savings especially
regarding the energy consumption of the plant.
2. Performance ratio (PR) is defined to be the amount of distillate in kg that is produced per
2,326 kJ of heat supplied from outside to the process. In addition to the design specifics,
operation specifics have an influence on the PR as well such as seawater temperature,
fouling and scaling on heat exchanger surfaces, and leakages.
3. Another frequently used performance measure is gain output ratio (GOR) which is defined
to be the ratio of the distillate mass flow to the mass flow of steam provided to the process.

83 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

4. Plain MED process without thermal vapor compression (TVC) alone plant. Today’s high
energy efficient SWRO plant recovers the energy contained in the concentrate by means
of energy recovery systems.

The typical recovery ratio, i.e. the permeate flow related to the seawater flow fed into the reverse
osmosis section, is some 40% to 45%, depending on the sea water salinity. A higher salt content
in the feed water requires a higher working pressure and lowers the possible permeate recovery
rate (permeate to feed ratio). Requirements for a particularly low level of total dissolved solids
(TDS), chloride and boron content in permeate might lead to additional part-stream or full capacity
membrane treatment of the permeate, resulting in a two-pass configuration, consisting of the main
seawater desalination stage (high pressure) and a second low pressure system.

RO plants are very sensitive to feed water impurities, therefore their removal and treatment in the
feed water requires an adequate water pre-treatment system. Accordingly, the project specific
seawater conditions on site will influence the design and the costs for the pre-treatment system.
If direct intake is selected for seawater extraction, the required pre-treatment prior to RO becomes
more intensive and important. The selection of the appropriate pre-treatment method depends on
several factors i.e. feed water quality, space availability and RO membrane requirements. Besides
conventional pre-treatment with one or two stage floc-filtration techniques, or in case of quite low
seawater quality sedimentation or Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) prior to filtration, membrane
filtration such as Microfiltration (MF)/Ultrafiltration (UF) can alternatively be applied for pre-
treatment of seawater prior to SWRO.

2.2 Selection of CSP Technology

There are several types of solar power plants (SPP) all having the primary objective of generating
(green) electricity. Solar power plant technologies can be divided into two groups: PV power
plants, using photovoltaic modules to convert solar irradiation directly into electricity, and solar
thermal power plants, generating electricity (indirectly), via intermediate conversion into heat and
mechanical energy. As mentioned above, this paper will focus on concentrated solar power (CSP)
technology, also known as concentrated solar thermal (CST) technology.

CSP technology has been selected, as many arid regions offer a great solar resource potential
and because CSP technology offers two major advantages. First, all CSP concepts have the
perspective of expanding their solar operations to base load using thermal energy storage (TES)
in combination with larger solar fields. Solar heat collected during day-time can be stored in TES
systems based on various materials (e.g. molten salt, concrete or ceramics) depending on the
CSP technology. During times with no or insufficient solar irradiation, thermal energy can be
extracted from the storage to run the power block and hence the desalination plant continuously.
Second, CSP plants can be operated in combination with fossil and renewable fuels like fuel oil,
gas and biomass. This hybrid operation has the potential to increase the value of CSP technology
by increasing its availability and decreasing its generation cost by making more effective use of
the power block. The possibilities of combining CSP plants with TES systems as well as the
hybridization with fossil and renewable fuels are resulting in fundamental advantages compared
to photovoltaic SPPs or wind turbines, which suffer from the lack of cost-effective bulk electricity
energy storage.

The four main types of CSP plants developed and tested so far are parabolic trough, Fresnel
trough, central receiver (solar tower) and parabolic dish. While parabolic and Fresnel trough
systems use single axis tracking collectors (linear-focusing), central receiver and parabolic dish
systems use dual-axis tracking (point-focusing). Out of the four CSP technologies, parabolic
trough is currently the by far most mature CSP technology and is therefore used for the case
study.

84 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

A parabolic trough power plant consists of a solar field with many parallel single-axis-tracking
parabolic trough collectors, a heat transfer fluid system, a steam generation system, a Rankine
steam turbine/generator cycle, and optional thermal storage and/or fossil-fired backup systems. A
heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated up to (currently) 393°C as it circulates through the absorber
tubes and returns to a steam generator of a conventional steam cycle. The principal schematic of
a parabolic trough power plant is depicted below (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Schematic Parabolic Trought Power Plant

2.2.1 Solar Field - Parabolic Trough Collectors

The solar field of parabolic trough power plants is made up of a large number of single-axis-
tracking parabolic trough collectors. The solar field is modular in nature and comprises many
parallel rows of solar collectors, normally aligned on a north-south horizontal axis and connected
to collector loops. Each solar collector has linear parabolic-shaped mirrors that focus the sun’s
direct beam radiation onto a linear absorber pipe located at the focus of the parabola. The
collectors track the sun from east to west during the day to ensure that the sun is continuously
focused on the linear absorber. A heat transfer fluid (HTF), which is today synthetic oil, is heated
up to (currently) 393°C as it circulates through the absorber and returns to a steam generator of a
conventional steam cycle.

2.2.2 Thermal Energy Storage

In order to increase the operating hours5 and hence their availability, concentrated solar power
plants can be equipped with a thermal energy storage system in combination with an oversized
solar field. Due to the oversized solar field, additional solar heat is generated during the sunlight
hours and the thermal energy storage system can be charged. The oversizing of the solar field is
indicated by the so-called solar multiple (SM), which is the ratio of the solar heat generated at the
design point and the solar heat required for rated gross power generation. Thus, a solar multiple
of 1.0 means that the solar field is not oversized and generates exact the required solar heat to
operate the power block at rated capacity. The case study includes an oversized solar field with
SM 2.0, allowing for an additional (night-time) operation of approximately 7.5 full load hours at
design conditions.

5
Also referred to solar full load hours in this paper

85 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

The indirect two-tank molten salt thermal energy storage is currently the state-of-the-art storage
system for parabolic trough power plants. In order to store thermal energy, hot HTF from the solar
field is diverted to the oil-to-salt heat exchangers, where its thermal energy is transferred to the
molten salt, which heats up while it is pumped from the cold to the hot storage tank. During night-
time or times of reduced radiation, the charging process is reversed and salt from the hot tank is
pumped to the heat exchanger, where the salt returns its thermal energy to the cold thermal fluid
arriving from the solar steam generator. The thermal fluid heats up to keep producing steam for
the turbine, while the cooled salt accumulates again in the cold tank.

2.2.3 Power Block

The power block of the CSP plant is based on the conventional power plant technology and only
slightly modified to meet the special requirements of a solar thermal power plant. While in normal
CSP plants wet or dry cooled condensing turbines are used, back-pressure or extraction
condensing turbines (0.3-
0.35 bar) are applied in case of the combination of a CSP plant and MED. In case the LP steam
mass flow is higher than the one needed for supplying the MED plant with heat, the steam turbine
is equipped with a steam extraction feeding the MED units and the remaining steam is further
expanded.

3. DESIGN CONDITIONS

Concerning the desalination plant design, the feed water quality and the product water quality to
be achieved at the end of the desalination process are the two key parameters. The CSP plant
design is mainly dependent on the solar irradiance potential and ambient or seawater temperature
at the selected site, which has an impact on the power cycle efficiency. To allow for comparability
of the results of the different plant configurations of solar powered desalination plants, the following
parameters/conditions are taken as basis.

3.1 Desalination Plant Design Conditions

3.1.1 Seawater quality

Appropriate design of desalination plants requires a representative seawater sampling analysis to

cover the daily, monthly and seasonal fluctuations in seawater quality. The most relevant seawater
quality parameters for the case study are seawater temperature within a range of 20-35 °C and
total dissolved solids (TDS) between 41,000 and 43,000 mg/l.

3.1.2 Product water quality

The product water quality at the end of the desalination process is specified as 200 mg/l of TDS
(max.), 1 mol/m³ (50 mg/l CaCO3) of alkalinity (max.), a slightly positive Langelier Saturation Index
(LSI) of +0.3, including a maximum value of boron concentration of 2.0 mg/l.

3.2 CSP Plant Design Conditions

3.2.1 Solar irradiance

Due to the concentration, CSP technologies can only make use of the direct normal irradiation
(DNI) and CSP plants require high DNI levels for cost-effective operation. A reasonable economic
performance of concentrating solar power plants is given at sites with an annual DNI of more than
2,000 kWh/m²/y. The case study considers moderate and high solar resource levels and

86 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

distinguishes between coastal and inland locations6:

• Coastal sites: 2,000 - 2,400 kWh/m2/y
• Inland sites: 2,400 - 2,800 kWh/m2/y.

3.2.2 Ambient and Seawater Temperature

Depending on the location of the CSP plant, either dry cooling (inland location) or once-through
cooling is deployed.

As the CSP plant has to be located next to the MED plant, only coastal sites with once-through
cooling are considered for the CSP with MED combination. Since SWRO plant requires only
electricity as stand-alone plant, which can be supplied through the electricity grid, both coastal7
and inland8 CSP site locations are investigated.

As the condensing temperature has a significant impact on the power cycle efficiency, seawater
cooling yields in a much better power plant performance, especially considering the high ambient
temperatures in desert regions during the summer months. Thus, it should always be assessed
whether higher DNI values (more solar full load hours/year) in case of inland sites can compensate
lower power cycle efficiencies due to the high ambient temperatures and dry cooling, which in
addition increases the own consumption of the CSP plant.

4. PRELIMINARY DESIGN

As indicated in the previous sections, the study aims to compare different desalination
technologies powered by CSP plants located at different sites. If an MED plant is selected to
produce potable water via steam supply by the CSP plant, both plants need to be located at the
same site since steam cannot be transported over long distances. This condition implies the
necessity of a dual-purpose plant (MED- CSP). Contrary to MED, a SWRO plant is quite
independent of the CSP plant location since it can be sourced by electricity from an existing grid.
In this case, the SWRO being located at the coast allows for the location of the CSP plant
elsewhere e.g. at inland sites with higher DNI potential.

The selected desalination plant capacity of 100,000 m³/d can be supplied by a state-of-the-art
parabolic trough power plant without any limitations. The evaluated DNI classes are 2,000 - 2,400
kWh/m²/y for coastal and 2,400 - 2,800 kWh/m²/y for inland sites. A solar multiple of SM 2.0 has
been selected, which means that all considered CSP plant configurations are equipped with a
thermal energy storage system of moderate size. As additional back-up fuel, natural gas has been
selected, due to lower environmental impacts compared to other fossil fuels. Natural gas will be
fired whenever additional heat is required to maintain constant electricity and heat supply to the
desalination plant.

4.1 Preliminary Design of MED Plant

6
In the case study it is assumed that the solar potential is in general higher for inland locations than for coastal areas. A typical
difference of 400 kWh/m2/y is assumed between the two.
7
To provide direct comparability to the MED option
8
To provide direct comparability of location choice of CSP plant in case of power supply to SWRO

The MED plant in its plain configuration consists of 3 units and 14 effects based on GOR of 12 as
shown in Table 1 [1]:

87 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Table 1: Preliminary design parameters of the pain MED plant

88 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Based on the preliminary design parameters presented above, the specific thermal and electrical
energy requirements of the case study MED plant with a daily potable water production of 100,000
m³/d amounts to 1.55 kWh/m³ of electrical energy9 and 52.6 kWh/m³ of thermal energy10. The
total land requirements for the MED have been calculated to 15,000 m² for the selected plant
configuration.

4.2 Preliminary Design of SWRO Plant

For this case study, the pre-treatment is proposed to consist of one-stage floc-filtration. The
SWRO plant design details are summarized in Table 2 including major process components [1].

Table 2: Preliminay design parameters of the SWRO Plant

89 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Resulting from the preliminary design presented above, the specific energy consumption of the
SWRO plant is 3.6-3.9 kWh/m³ based on the corresponding seawater salinity and temperature
range, showing that slight differences in salinity and temperature may have impacts on the SWRO
design and the energy consumption.

9
Including seawater pumping, evaporation, post-treatment without potable water pumping.
10
The approximate equivalent specific electricity of the thermal energy amounts to 4.5 kWh/m³. This value depends on prevailing plant
operating conditions at specific plant location.

Compared to the MED plant, the SWRO requires a much larger footprint of 60,000 m², given the
additional land requirement of the pre-treatment plant as well as the waste water treatment plant
with sludge removal system.

4.3 Preliminary Design of CSP Plant

The capacity of the CSP plants with thermal energy storage are designed to power the MED or
SWRO desalination plants with a daily water production of 100,000 m³/d. Concerning the CSP-
MED combination, first, the required heat from the turbine is calculated, which is required by the
MED plant at steam temperature of 73 °C in order to design the CSP plant accordingly. The MED
plant with 14 effects, corresponding to a gained output ratio (GOR) of 12 is installed as presented
above. Based on the required heating steam mass flow at the outlet of the turbine (at 73°C, 0.35
bar), the gross electricity production Pl,gross is calculated 108 MWe. The internal plant electricity
consumption is the sum of the losses in the solar field, storage, turbine and the MED desalination
plant. The turbine efficiency is a function of capacity and condenser design temperature. Once the
efficiency of the turbine and Pl,gross are calculated, the solar field and the thermal energy storage
can be designed.

Table 3 provides an overview of the preliminary plant design and performance for moderate DNI
and different cooling options [2]:

Table 3: Overview of the CSP plant design and performance data in combination with MED and SWRO plants at sites
with moderate DNI (2000-2400 kWh/m3/y)

90 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

As shown in Table 3 the total land requirements for the selected CSP plant configuration and
locations are between 4.6-4.9 km2.

The results show that in case of SWRO desalination the internal electricity consumption is higher
compared to MED desalination, due to the higher electricity consumption of SWRO. However, the

efficient cooling with seawater in case of the SWRO at the coast requires a smaller solar field
compared to the MED case. In case of SWRO and an inland location of the CSP plant, the lower
efficiency due to the dry cooling negatively affects the size of the solar field and of the storage.
Nevertheless, the DNI in the two inland cases is assumed to be higher than on the coast site,
resulting in a higher number of solar operation hours (in the third case of SWRO-CSP with dry
cooling also in less fuel consumption). In case of a higher annual DNI, the sum of solar full load
hours per year, leads to a higher solar share in the electricity production as shown in Table 4 (only
the differences compared to Table 3 due to higher DNI value are indicated). This, in turn, reduces
the fossil fuel load hours, meaning lower demand for additional natural gas consumption [2].

Table 4: Overview of the CSP plant design and performance data in combination with MED and SWRO plants at sites
with high DNI (2,400-2,800 kWh/m3/y)

5. FINANCIAL ASPECTS

5.1 Specific Expenditures (CAPEX and OPEX)

The capital cost estimates of the desalination and CSP plants are based on the consultant’s 11
extensive experience in execution of desalination and CSP projects and on a summary of
evaluations covering a large number of desalination projects worldwide. Additionally, recent
market and competition tendencies have been taken into consideration as well as the latest bids
and evaluations.

The capital cost estimate should represent an accuracy of approximately 25% and includes
equipments such as mechanical, electrical and instrumentation and control equipment; as well as
civil works; auxiliary systems; site and infrastructure development costs; project development
costs including project management and consultancy services. In general, the capital cost
estimate for all options is based on international prices for the equipment and no import taxes or
duties are considered. The costs also include all costs for engineering, transportation, construction
as well as commissioning.

Costs that are not included in the capital cost estimates are:
• cost of land
• potable water conveyance facilities outside the plant boundary.

An overview of CAPEX and OPEX of desalination plants (MED and SWRO) using solar thermal

91 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

energy is given in Table 5, followed by Table 6 on the CSP plant:

11
The term consultant in this paper represents Fichtner Engineering and Consulting, located in Stuttgart, Germany.

Table 5: Overview of the CAPEX and OPEX of desalination plants using solar thermal power

Overview of specific CAPEX and OPEX of Desalination

Plants
Maximum seawater salinity (TDS) mg/l 43,000
Maximum seawater design temperature °C 30
Cooling air design temperature inland °C 45
Specific electricity consumption of SWRO kWh/m 3
3.6 – 3.9
3
Specific electricity consumption of MED kWh/m 1.5
5
Specific electrical heat consumption of MED kWh/m3 4.5
Specific OPEX SWRO without energy consumption US$/m3 0.35– 0.39
3
Specific OPEX MED without energy consumption US$/m 0.3
2
Specific CAPEX SWRO US$/(m3d) 2,155
Specific CAPEX MED 12 US$/(m3d) 3,136

Table 6: Overview of the CAPEX and OPEX of CSP (solar thermal) power plants

Overview of specific CAPEX and OPEX of CSP

Plants
Specific CAPEX Solar Field (incl. HTF system + civil) US$/m2 420
Specific CAPEX Thermal Energy Storage US$/MWhth 77
Specific CAPEX Back-up Boiler US$/kWe 378
Specific CAPEX Power Block US$/kWe 1,54
0
Specific CAPEX Dry Cooling US$/kWe 434
Specific CAPEX Wet Cooling US$/kWe 150
Specific Fuel Cost US$/MWh 65
OPEX13 Rate of CSP and Power Block (of CAPEX) % /y 2.0

5.2 Levelized Electricity Cost (LEC) and Levelized Water Costs (LWC)

The calculation of the levelized electricity and water cost is based on the following financial
constraints:

• interest and insurance charges during construction and commissioning

• exchange rate is 1 € / 1 US$ = 1.4 (cost estimates are in US$ of 2010)
• a useful lifetime of 25 years has been considered according to consultant’s experience of
similar projects
• a discount rate of 6 %/y has been considered
• an annual availability of some 94% for the desalination plant has been considered
• costs for steam to MED plant are calculated according to an equivalent electricity
approach14

92 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

• fuel cost (NG)15.

12
Including proportionate cost for integration into power plant, overall plant infrastructure, auxiliaries, intake and outfall facilities
13
Including operation and maintenance and fuel costs
14
For the evaluation of the heat cost, a typical condensing power cycle (condensation temperature is function of seawater
temperature) is compared with an equivalent power plant with steam extraction at 73 °C. The main assumption is that the two plants
(MED and SWRO) represent the same net electricity production and therefore they have a different design. As a consequence of this,
the electricity generation losses of the MED-CSP plant in comparison to the reference condensation system are higher. In turn, this
has an influence on the specific heat cost of the MED.
15
Based on a crude oil price of 110 US$/barrel the corresponding price for natural gas was assumed to be equivalent to 85% of crude
oil

The calculated LECs for the CSP plants [2] range between 23-24 US$ cent/kWh for the sites with
moderate DNI levels of 2,000-2,400 kWh/m³/y. In case of SWRO-CSP with wet cooling, the LEC
is the lowest with 23 US$ cent/kWh, although the LEC in case of SWRO-CSP with dry cooling is
only slightly higher with 23.3 US$ cent/kWh. The most expensive electricity generation at a price
of 23.7 US$ cent/kWh is calculated for the co-generation plant of MED and CSP at the coast.

For sites with higher DNI levels of 2,400-2,800 kWh/m2/y the LEC are consequently lower. The
electricity cost is around 21.7 US$ cent/kWh for SWRO-CSP with wet cooling, 21.8 US$ cent/kWh
for SWRO-CSP with dry cooling and 22.3 US$ cent/kWh for MED-CSP plant with wet cooling.
Generally better sites lead to higher solar share and higher solar full load hours, resulting in less
additional fossil fuel firing and consequently a lower electricity generation price. The LEC are
calculated at the plant boundary, thus are no tariffs but production costs, only.

The calculated LWCs are as follows [1]: The MED plant produces potable water at about 2.0
US$/m³ at sites with 2,000 kWh/m²/y DNI (based on LEC at 23.70 US$ cent/kWh). If the site has
a higher DNI potential up to 2,400 kWh/m²/y, the LWC goes down by 0.1 US$/m³ to 1.9 US$/m³.

MED water production costs are higher than SWRO for which LWCs between 1.65-1.69 US$/m³
are calculated at sites with moderate solar irradiance, while the price is increasing with increasing
seawater design temperature (20-35°C), considering a LEC of 23.0 US$ cent/kWh. At inland sites
with higher DNI up to 2,800 kWh m²/y the LWC can be reduced to 1.61-1.63 US$/m³, within the
given seawater temperature range. In case the same CSP plant is operated without co-firing
natural gas, assuming the SWRO can be powered through the national grid when the CSP power
plant is not operating, the LWCs are further reduced to 1.31-1.32 US$/m³, considering an
electricity price of 4.1 US$ cents/kWh.

Due to high impact of the LECs on the LWCs of desalination plants in the order of 50%, the today’s
expensive electricity from CSP plants will put burdens on the water prices as well. Compared to
conventional desalinated water prices, the calculated LWCs are almost double of what is being
charged by the desalination plants today. However, there is no doubt that fossil fuel prices will
further increase, making conventionally desalinated water more costly, while the costs for CSP
technology are expected to decrease significantly, as the technology is at the beginning of its
learning curve and there is potential for additional economies of scale.

6. CONCLUSIONS

The paper discussed techno-economical aspects of combining desalination with CSP plants.
Different desalination technologies such as MED and SWRO sourced from CSP plants are
considered in the evaluation. The final selection of the appropriate desalination technology is
however highly project- specific. If there are special conditions prevailing such as demanding

93 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

seawater quality at high seawater salinity and temperatures, and further, if there is low pressure
steam available or strict footprint limitations, MED can provide an attractive solution. On the other
hand SWRO appears more promising in regards with flexibility of location as a stand-alone plant
and better economics. Although the case study is based on preliminary design considerations
only, the results show sensitivities between variations in plant configuration and location and the
related costs. Considering long operation time of a desalination plant combined with CSP, these
impacts can become significant not only in the investment costs but also in the operation costs
during plant operation period.

Particularly if CSP can overcome its limitations in the next years by technology improvements,
adapting the technical lessons learned from implemented plants and allow for e.g. cheaper heat
storage or higher steam temperatures to enable higher power plant efficiencies and hence
competitive electricity production costs, the share of solar powered desalination can grow over the
next years. As a first step, the described concepts could be deployed in regions where electricity
prices are already high and at locations which are not connected to the national grid, making use
of the advantages of CSP technologies due to the thermal energy storage and co-firing potential.
A subsequent step-up to full supply of desalination by renewable energies would also make
desalination sustainable, while gradually decoupling the increasing desalination capacities from
fossil fuel sources.

7. REFERENCES

1. Verdier et al. 2011: Verdier, F., Baten, R., Ludwig, H.: Desalination Using Renewable
Energy - Desalination Potential, MENA Regional Water Outlook, 2011.

2. Verdier et al. 2011, Verdier, F., Trieb, F., Moser, M., Fichter, T.: Desalination Using
Renewable Energy - Energy Requirement, MENA Water Outlook, 2011.

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge special thanks to the World Bank for financing the Middle
East North Africa (MENA) Regional Water Outlook to be published in 2011 on desalination using
renewable energy which provided the basis of the presented case study.

94 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

CASE STUDY OF MANUFACTURE

AND OPERATION OF MOBILE SOLAR
POWERED DESALINATION UNIT
Authors: Yahya Alzafin

Presented at the International Desalination Association 2019 World Congress,

“Crossroads to Sustainability,” Dubai World Trade Center.

This paper provides information on how the integration of solar energy and RO was
successfully achieved in a working mobile solar desalination unit prototype.

95 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

CASE STUDY OF MANUFACTURE AND OPERATION OF MOBILE

SOLAR POWERED DESALINATION UNIT

Authors: Yahya Alzafin

Presenter: Yahya Alzafin,

Vice President (Power Generation and Water Production Plant) Dubaı
Electricity & Water Authority, UAE

Abstract

Water is vital for all forms of life. As part of UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) initiatives, in
collaboration with DEWA (Dubai Electricity & Water Authority), to support areas of humanitarian
crisis affecting easy access to potable water, a project was undertaken to manufacturer a solar
powered, mobile desalination unit that could desalinate brackish water. As both solar
(photovoltaics, PV) panel and Reverse Osmosis technologies are mature, the challenges faced
were mainly integration of these technologies, unit mobility and ease of operation and
maintenance. Levelized cost of producing potable water with the manufactured unit needed to be
kept reasonably low.

In this paper, the author provides insights on how integration of solar energy with Reverse
Osmosis technology was successfully achieved in a working prototype mobile solar desalination
unit (MSDU). The design process started identifying a readily available solar panel and pump
system. This was then matched to a single 3-element membrane vessel and elements from DOW
corporation using Dow’s ROSA software. A mobile skid was later on suitably sized. Solar PV panel
driven pump system and mobile frame design were outsourced. The solar panels were supported
by frames that could be tilted manually to maximize capture of solar energy.

The 100% solar powered mobile unit achieved water production capacity of 7.7 m3/day (7700
liters per day) meeting World Health Organization (WHO)’s quality standards for potable water. It
could thus support daily water requirement of a minimum of 500 persons at the rate of 15 liters
per person per day for survival, according to WHO’s technical note no. 9 on drinking-water,
sanitation and hygiene in emergencies. It was road tested and registered at traffic department.
The unit was put into extended operation period of 1 year. It was operated by one operator and
required minimal maintenance. It proved to be highly reliable and sustainable.

96 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

1. INTRODUCTION

People need access to clean drinking water to be healthy and survive. One third of the world
population lacks this access. This is expected to affect 2/3 of the population within 20 years. This
paper describes our successful efforts of developing mobile solar desalination unit as part of UAE
Water Aid campaign. This contributes to Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Using both
internal expertise & external technology know-how, we researched the technical feasibility of using
latest available & reliable technical components and pre-assembled packages to develop and
construct, as a “Pilot Project”, one small scale mobile solar powered potable water production skid
using brackish water that is available from ground wells. Such wells like in Dubai / UAE and similar
desert countries close to sea shore are typically providing a water feed that cannot be used directly
as potable water source without adequate treatment. This is an innovative solution purely working
on renewable energy to satisfy the needs of community in far and remote areas where access to
conventional energy and water is very limited.

2. SELECTION OF TECHNOLOGY

The two main proven methods desalting saline water are through thermal distillation and reverse
osmosis.

Osmosis is a natural process where low salinity water moves to high salinity water through
semipermeable membrane the driving force is the osmotic pressure. Reverse Osmosis is the
opposite process where a large enough applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure
and to drive the flow from high salinity to low salinity side across a semipermeable membrane.

In distillation, saline water is heated to form a vapor, and then condensed on a cool surface and
collected, leaving the impurities behind.

Owing to its simplicity, the PSDU employs desalination of brackish water using reverse osmosis
(RO) system powered by solar PV (photovoltaic) panels to make clean potable water.

3. DESIGN CONCEPTUALIZATION

The design concept considered aspects such as portability, minimum human intervention,
minimum chemical handling, ease of operation, simplicity of design and cost effectiveness.

The design process was as follows:

a. Fast and proven methods and systems were used. A solar PV panel driven well pump
system was identified and matched with a simple RO system design.
b. The design parameters and selection of RO system membranes were identified using
Dow’s software system called ROSA. A design using three low energy RO membrane
elements was chosen. A production of 3 M3/day was initially selected at 30% recovery
rate.
c. Four PV panels of ~205W at STC were found needed to power the well pump to meet flow
and pressure requirements of the RO system.
d. The above steps included design margins as this was an R&D project. A schematic
diagram showing process design is shown in figure-1.

97 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

Figure 1: PSDU process design

4. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

A. WORKING PRINCIPLE

1. A submersible pump powered by Solar Panels is used to pump brackish water from the
ground well and directly pass though sand filter, cartridge filter and reverse osmosis (RO)
membrane for purification and obtaining clean water as permeate.
2. The permeate produced from the membrane vessel is blended with small amount of feed
water to ensure availability of necessary minerals in the product water and then passed
through ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system to make the water bacteria free and stored in
the Permeate Tank, on board.
3. The high concentrated water having residual salts from the membrane pressure vessel is
piped away as Reject.
4. The potable water is passed through chlorine tablet feeder device for getting residual
chlorine around 0.3 ppm, to ensure that the water is protected from recontamination during
storage.

B. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Following electrical design was followed:

1. The submersible pump is powered through 4 numbers of 205 Wp PV panels which

develops 820Wp at STC (i.e. Standard Test Condition: AM = 1.5, E = 1,000 W/m², cell
temperature: 25 °C).
2. The submersible pump is selected such that it produces enough pressure and flow
required to sustain RO process for around 7 hours of the day time.
3. The supply pump is operated through 2x200Wp PV panels.
4. Both the Submersible Pump and Supply Pump are having their dedicated pump controllers

98 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

which varies the speed of the pump depending on available solar energy.
5. The supply pump is operated intermittently to empty the permeate tank when it becomes
full. Thus, when supply pump is not running, the output of 2x200Wp PV panel is diverted
through a changeover switch to charge a battery. The power stored in the battery is used
to power UV Disinfection system through an inverter. Thus, the total number of required
PV Panels was optimized.
6. Using panel tilting arrangement, the inclination angle of PV panels can be adjusted to
follow the Sun movement during the day and thus maximize solar energy harvesting.

C. MOBILITY

To ensure safety and roadworthiness, design and manufacture of a mobile four-wheel skid was
outsourced. A containerized structure was designed and fabricated internally along with panel
carriers and tilting arrangement. The skid panels and branded lamination were outsourced. The
finished unit is shown in figure-2.

Figure 2: The finished PSDU shown in one exhibition in Dubai

5. FEATURES

The MSDU developed by DEWA team is unique and of creative design because of the following:

a. Matched solar power and water capacity in a compact, portable (mobile) and
containerized design.
b. Simplified but durable and sturdy mechanism for adjustment of PV panels’ angles
facilitates harvesting of maximum possible solar energy resulting in optimum yield.
c. The submersible pump is selected such that it produces enough pressure and flow
required to sustain RO process for around 7 hours of the daytime.

99 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

d. The supply pump is operated intermittently to empty the permeate tank when it becomes
full. Thus, when supply pump is not running, the output of 2x200Wp PV panel is diverted
to charge a battery which is used to power UV Disinfection system through an inverter.
In this way, we have optimised the total number of PV Panels required.

The features include the following:

a. Powered only by Solar Energy

b. Set up and operation within hours (plug and play kind of design)
c. No chemical pre-treatment of raw water
d. Operation data of submersible pump and supply water pump are also accessible on the
internet.
e. Can satisfy approximately 513 persons (or 128 households of 4 members) water
requirements per day for survival at 15 Liters per person per day as per World Health
Organization’s Technical Note no. 9 on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in
emergencies, refer the following link:
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2011/tn9_how_much_water_en
.pdf

6. VI. RESULTS

The Mobile Solar Desalination Unit (MSDU-1) was operated 5 days a week from July 2015 to
August 2016. Below is the annual performance report summary. The operational and maintenance
experience with this unit has been very satisfactory and challenges were minimal.

In summary, the work achieved its objectives. The cost was on significantly lower than similar
equipment available in the market.

100 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

101 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy

-

The Essentials
An Initiative of the IDA

102 Issue 3.0: Renewable Energy and Desalination – Solar Energy