Combined concentrated solar power plant with low-temperature multi-effect distillation

Mohammad Al-Addous,Mustafa Jaradat,Mathhar Bdour,Johannes Wellmann,Zakariya Dalala

doi:10.1177/0144598720913070

Mohammad Al-Addous, Mustafa Jaradat + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0144598720913070

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Abstract

This study analyzes a technological concept for simultaneously generating power and desalinating water in a Middle East and North Africa country. An innovative, low-temperature, multi-effect desalination (LT-MED) process integrated with a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant was assessed and analyzed. A combined power and seawater desalination plant was modeled for the city of Aqaba by the Red Sea in Jordan. Parabolic-trough collectors using indirect steam generation with thermal energy storage connected with power and desalination blocks were designed. The designed plant was modeled and simulated using EBSILON Professional, a discrete energy balance simulation software, under several operating conditions, to analyze the results. An economic feasibility analysis of the combined CSP+LT-MED plant was also conducted. The simulation results showed the broad variability of the cogeneration system in terms of electricity generation and water production. The output power of the CSP plant without water production reached 58.7 MWel in June. The output power accompanied with distilled-water production with a mass flow rate of 170 m3/h was approximately 49.5 MWel. Furthermore, the number of desalination stages had the strongest influence on distillate production but limited the operational flexibility of the power plant due to the temperature gradients within the desalination stages. The distilled-water mass flow reached 498 m3/h for 10 stages. The research showed that the design successfully worked with up to €78.84 million, earned from selling the produced electricity. However, owing to highly subsidized water tariffs in Jordan (80% less than the actual cost), the integration of water desalination into the CSP plant was not economically feasible.

Highlights

Forty-seven percent of the world’s population are expected to be living in areas of high water stress by 2030 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010)
The performance of the cogeneration plant was analyzed for its electrical power generation in the concentrating solar power (CSP) plant and its distillate production as a function of the direct normal irradiance (DNI), number of stages, condensation pressure, and waste steam mass flow rate
Performance and cost analyses of a CSP applying Parabolic-trough collectors (PTCs) with thermal energy storage (TES) were carried out, and EBSILON software was used to evaluate the performance of the designed CSP plant with an annual average DNI exceeding 5.5 kWh/ m2/d

Summary

Introduction

Forty-seven percent of the world’s population are expected to be living in areas of high water stress by 2030 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2010). It is readily apparent that the MENA region lies in the red zone with a level of physical water stress exceeding 70% according to the United Nations world water development report 2019 (World Water Assessment Programme, 2019). Jordan is ranked as the world’s second-poorest country for water with an annual per capita water availability of 147 m3/year, which is far below the international water poverty line of 500 m3/year. This issue is deteriorating because of rapid population increase, changes in living standards, increased economic activities, and pollution (World Bank, 2017)

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