A Spatially Resolved Thermodynamic Assessment of Geothermal Powered Multi-Effect Brackish Water Distillation in Texas

Computational analysis for a multi-effect distillation (MED) plant driven by solar energy in Chile

Exergy cost and thermoeconomic analysis of a Rankine Cycle + Multi-Effect Distillation plant considering time-varying conditions

Correlations for estimating the specific capital cost of multi-effect distillation plants considering the main design trends and operating conditions

Integrating desalination with concentrating solar thermal power: A Namibian case study

This chapter addresses the description and thermodynamic analysis for the integration of desalination plants into the power cycle described in Chap. 4. The systems chosen for this study combine a Concentrating Solar Power plant using parabolic-trough collector technology for electricity generation with various desalination plants, giving rise to what is known as a parabolic-trough concentrating solar power and desalination (PT-CSP + D) plant. The description of the PT-CSP plant, based on the Andasol-1 (Blanco-Marigorta et al., 2011) commercial plant, is detailed in Chap. 4, showing all the model equations. The desalination technologies selected to combine with the PT-CSP plant were multi-effect distillation (MED) and reverse osmosis (RO), as discussed in Chap. 1. On one hand, the simultaneous production of water and electricity using an RO plant connected to a CSP plant seems the simpler option. On the other hand, the integration of a low-temperature MED (LT-MED) plant is an interesting alternative because it allows replacement of the conventional power-cycle condenser by using exhaust steam as the thermal energy source for the desalination plant. However, to satisfy demand, while providing a certain performance, the LT-MED plant inlet temperature should be around 70 °C (corresponding to 0.031 bar absolute), meaning that the steam does not completely expand through the turbine and therefore the power-cycle efficiency is low compared with a stand-alone electricity-generating plant. This is the reason why another alternative to the MED plant, MED with thermal vapour compression (TVC), is considered. In this case, the steam expands completely in the turbine until it reaches the permitted value for the condenser conditions. However, part of the steam circulating through the turbine is extracted and used as high-pressure steam; this, together with the low-pressure steam coming from one of the MED effects, generates the inlet steam required in the first stage of the desalination plant. Moreover, in this study, a new concept of CSP + MED plants is evaluated (which, until now, has not been studied in published works), a thermally fed LT-MED plant with steam coming from a thermocompressor (LT-MED + TVC). In this case, the low-pressure steam (the entrained vapour) used by the thermocompressor comes from the exhaust steam of a PT-CSP plant instead of one of the MED effects. In each of the systems studied, desalinated water production is evaluated as well as the power and efficiency of the dual thermal solar power and desalinated water cycle.

Dynamic modeling and simulation of a solar-assisted multi-effect distillation plant

• The impact of the location parameters in a CSP + PV + MED is analyzed. • Multi-objective optimization is performed to minimize thermoeconomic costs. • The irradiation and distance have the most significant impact on the costs. • Cost maps of the thermoeconomic cost of electricity and water are presented. This research work presents the assessment of the impact of the solar irradiation, the distance from the coast, and the altitude of the location for a Concentrated Solar Power + Photovoltaic + Multi-Effect Distillation (CSP + PV + MED) plant for simultaneous power generation and seawater desalination. For that, a comparative analysis of the thermoeconomic cost of electricity and water (TCE and TCW) at different locations is carried out to determine the most competitive sites where this kind of cogeneration plant can be deployed. Also, multi-objective optimization is performed to assess the optimum sizing that allows reducing the costs. The study considers four Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) levels (from 2000 to 3500 kWh/m 2 -yr), six distances from the sea (from 5 to 100 km), and six altitudes (from 20 to 1000 m.a.s.l.). The results show that solar irradiation has the most significant effect on the TCE and TCW, the distance to the sea affects the TCW considerably, and the altitude has a moderate impact despite its impact is substantially lower than the other two factors. Also, cost maps of the TCE and TCW giving insights about which locations have a higher potential for developing CSP + PV + MED plants are presented. From these maps, it has been found that the potential inland locations to reach TCE and TCW under 100 $/MWh and TCW 2 $/m 3 should have high DNI (at least 300 kWh/m 2 -yr above the coast level), distances from the coast up to 60 km, and altitudes up to 750–1000 m.

Experimental benchmarks and simulation of GAMMA-T for overcooling and undercooling transients in HTGRs coupled with MED desalination plants

Novel polymer film heat exchangers for seawater desalination

Steady state model for multi-effect distillation case study: Plataforma Solar de Almería MED pilot plant

Techno-economic analysis of combined concentrating solar power and desalination plant configurations in Israel and Jordan

This chapter describes the development of a mathematical model of a vertically stacked, forward feed (FF), low-temperature multi-effect distillation (LT-MED) plant. The model was developed by taking into consideration the same design and operational characteristics as the pilot multi-effect distillation (MED) plant at Plataforma Solar de Almeria, in the southeast of Spain. The model has been validated, comparing the results of the model with the experimental data from the pilot plant.

Due to a serious shortage of natural fresh water in many areas all over the world, the seawater desalination has emerged as an effective compensation way to meet the consumption requirements. Due to the good corrosion resistance and low cost, stainless steels have been used extensively to construct the multi effect distillation(MED) plants, especially type 316L stainless steel for the evaporation chambers. However, with the application and development of low temperature MED, there is increasingly need of higher temperature distillation and higher brine concentration in the desalinators to reduce the drainage of hot brine and increase the water production ratio, which may cause more serious corrosion on the stainless steel components in the plants. Pitting corrosion of 316L stainless steel was studied in the concentrated environments of seawater with different temperatures(25, 50, 63, 72, 85 and 95 ℃) and concentration ratios(1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 times) by using cyclic anodic polarization measurement and SEM surface observation. The results show that both pitting potential and repassivation potential of 316L stainless steel decrease linearly with temperature in the concentration ratio range of 1 to 3 times for seawater, but the change of pitting potential is very slight when the solution temperature is higher than 85 ℃ in the case of concentration ratio larger than 2 times. Both pitting potential and repassivation potential reduce linearly with the logarithm of the concentration ratio of seawater in the range of 25 to 95 ℃. It is apparent that increasing temperature and concentration ratio of seawater will deteriorate the pitting resistance of 316L stainless steel noticeably. The influence of temperature and concentration ratio is analyzed on the basis of the point defect model. Nevertheless, the concentration ratio of seawater has a weaker influence on pitting resistance of 316L stainless steel in comparison with temperature as revealed by the pitting potential changes resulted from the concentration ratio around 1.5 times and solution temperature around 72 ℃. Therefore, compared with temperature, the corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel for low temperature MED plants may be relatively tolerant of the adjustment or fluctuation of seawater concentration.

Techno-economic assessment of a hybrid RO-MED desalination plant integrated with a solar CHP system

Energetic evaluation of a double-effect LiBr-H2O absorption heat pump coupled to a multi-effect distillation plant at nominal and off-design conditions