Energetic, exergetic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic analysis of solar dish-integrated water desalination system with various nanofluids

Abstract

Global demand for freshwater is increasing due to population growth and water scarcity. Traditional desalination systems are characterized by their high energy consumption, resulting in low efficiency and elevated costs. It is crucial to explore sustainable and eco-friendly desalination system to address these problems. Present study explores the impact of Al2O3 and ZnO nanofluids on a solar dish integrated water desalination system (SWDS). Performance evaluation includes energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic perspectives. Compared to SWDS with water, annual freshwater productivity increased by 20.13% (Al2O3) and 12.56% (ZnO). SWDS with Al2O3 nanofluid exhibited the highest energy and exergy efficiency of 20.76% and 4.32%, respectively. Energetic parameters revealed a minimum energy payback time of 0.91 years and a maximum energy production factor of 27.18 for SWDS with Al2O3 nanofluid. The lowest cost per liter (CPL) was US$0.050 for Al2O3 nanofluids, while the highest CPL was US$0.0547 for ZnO nanofluid. The maximum exergoeconomic parameter was 2.50 kWh/US$ for SWDS with Al2O3 nanofluid. SWDS with Al2O3 nanofluid demonstrated the highest net CO2 mitigation of 72.54 tonne, with corresponding carbon credits of US$2124.08 (energy) and US$423.92 (exergy). The Al2O3 nanofluid-based SWDS demonstrated superior performance in energy and exergy perspective. Furthermore, Al2O3 nanofluid-based SWDS showed enhanced cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability when compared to water-based SWDS.