Hybridization — a new trend in desalination

Abstract

A challenging problem that faces planners, designers and operators of power–desalination projects is the optimum selection of power and desalting technology in order to optimize the joint production of water and power by the utility. Previously the basis of selection was minimal costs for standalone, baseload production of water and power. Currently, the optimal design of a dual-purpose plant should take into account the individual site demands for electricity and water expressed in terms of the power to water ratio (PWR), the total network situation, the cost of energy, capital costs of plants and then the design is optimized for the lowest cost alternative, depending upon the ratios of water to baseload power and peak to baseload electricity demand. Due to the high cost of power– desalination plants, the Gulf countries are considering feasible alternatives with minimum investment and operating costs and optimal supply of water and power. However, the optimization problem is complicated by the significan...