Technical and economical design and optimization of a solar-biodiesel collector system to supply electricity and drink water in AbuMusa Island

Abstract

A hybrid renewable energy system including microalgae cultivation ponds to produce biodiesel. The necessary heat for the biodiesel production system is provided by microalgae through a solar parabolic linear collector, and the water temperature of the ponds, which is supplied from the sea, is provided by a geothermal system. Additionally, the linear collector is utilized to supply the necessary heat for the solar water desalination system. All the simulations of the mentioned renewable systems, except for the solar collector, were carried out separately in ASPEN HYSYS software, and the solar collector was simulated in Fortran software. The results were utilized in the ASPEN HYSYS. The simulation results show that to supply 225 kW of power through a diesel generator, 492 microalgae cultivation ponds are needed and the share of biofuel in the power supply is 5 %. The biodiesel reactor produces fuel at a cost of 1.45 $/L and has an efficiency of 79.8 %. Also, by simulating the solar collector in the Fortran and using its results in solar water desalination, the minimum and maximum produced drinking water are 358 l/h in August and 609 l/h in October, respectively. The price of water produced is 3.45 $/m3.