Multi-effect Desalination Unit Research Articles

Can injecting additional green hydrogen result in environmentally friendly solar-biomass integration? Comprehensive comparison and multi-objective optimization

The present work proposes an innovative system for decarbonizing the energy mix and accelerating the worldwide green transition process. The system is driven by a biomass digester integrated with the supercritical carbon dioxide cycle for power generation and a multi-effect desalination unit for drinkable water production. At the heart of this concept is additional hydrogen injection through a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer based on photovoltaic panels. The suggested innovative model's techno-environmental, sustainability, and economic aspects are assessed and compared with a similar system without hydrogen injection. Then, a comparative multi-criteria optimization is applied to find the most optimal conditions from various facets based on the genetic algorithm with machine learning techniques. Afterward, the system’s performance at different optimal conditions is analyzed and compared by evaluating the most significant techno-economic, environmental, and sustainability indicators. The parametric assessment comparing different models indicates that the proposed novel model, including increased hydrogen injection, surpasses the basic system in terms of performance efficiencies, emissions, and energy costs. In the first optimization scenario, the proposed method demonstrates robustness by achieving higher water production of 1456 kg/s, a lower total cost of 118 $/h, and a higher net power of 1.1 MW than the design condition. When considering the sustainability index, energy cost, and emission metric as the optimization objective, their values are altered from 0.81 to 0.85, 92.5 $/MWh to 89.7 $/MWh, and 64.2 kg/MWh to 53.6 kg/MWh. The results further show that when prioritizing the sustainability index, energy cost, and emission as objectives, all components perform better from the energy conversion quality aspect compared to the scenario where water production, total cost, and net power are the optimization objectives. Finally, it is observed that the combustion chamber and solar panels are the worst components from the irreversibility aspect because of the highest exergy destruction rate.

Eco-friendly multi-heat recovery applied to an innovative integration of flue gas-driven multigeneration process and geothermal power plant: Feasibility characterization from thermo-economic-environmental aspect

Sustainable production presents a viable approach that provides an environmentally friendly and integrated method for polygeneration objectives. This method can make the most significant impact in improving the effectiveness of conventional power plants. Furthermore, using renewable energy sources to modify the configuration of conventional power plants is imperative for implementing this methodology. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to suggest a new method for attaining sustainable production in a power plant by integrating an environmentally friendly multi-heat recovery system. This innovative system allows for the efficient use of the power plant's flue gas for a polygeneration process and a geothermal power plant. The integrated setup comprises various components such as a multi-effect desalination unit, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, a cooling and heating generation subsystem, a liquefied natural gas regasification unit, a geothermal-based subsystem utilizing a flash-binary geothermal power plant, a Kalina cycle, and a heating generation unit. The study simulates this process using Aspen HYSYS software and conducts a comprehensive energy, exergy, economic, and environmental analysis. According to the results, the assessment reveals that the total energy and exergy efficiencies amount to 64.82% and 88.57%, respectively. The energy cost index is recorded at 0.028 $/kWh, alongside a specific CO2 emission of 0.211 kg/kWh. This value shows a notable reduction of 59.33% compared to a system reliant on biomass fuel. Parametric assessments are additionally conducted, whereby variations in performance metrics are predicted to exhibit the process performance.

Comprehensive optimization of an integrated energy system for power, hydrogen, and freshwater generation using high-temperature PEM fuel cell

Modern energy conversion technologies with low or no emissions are needed to achieve sustainable development goals. This research examines the thermodynamic and exergy-economic features of a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A cutting-edge, integrated energy system uses high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells, an organic Rankine cycle, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, and a multi-effect desalination unit. This setup generates electricity, hydrogen, and fresh water. Methanol-steam reformation produces hydrogen for the fuel cell. The recommended cycle drives an organic Rankine power producing cycle using 120–200 °C waste heat from high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell to power water electrolysis and hydrogen generation. An integrated method incorporates energy and exergy balances and cost analysis to assess the proposed system's exergetic, economic, and environmental impacts. The suggested integration delivers high energy and exergy efficiency at an acceptable cost and environmental effect. According to parametric research, boosting the fuel cell's working temperature decreases production costs and carbon dioxide emissions per mass. Raising current density has positive technical and environmental impacts. As the current density increases from 0.4 to 0.8 (A/cm2), the net power generation increases to 46.67% and the exergy efficiency increases from 64.5% to 68%. An increase in multi-effect distillation motivate steam pressure from 200 to 600 kPa results in an increase in the daily freshwater generated from 111.68 m3 to 116.41 m3. For environmental protection and output optimization, fuel utilization ratio must be reduced. The ideal system's exergy efficiency, product unit cost, and environmental impact are 65.78%, 86.28 ($/h), and 4.33%, respectively.

Comprehensive analysis and optimization of a low-carbon multi-generation system driven by municipal solid waste and solar thermal energy integrated with a microbial fuel cell

Abstract In this article, a novel multi-generation plant is addressed and assessed from the energy, exergy, exergoenvironmental and exergoeconomic points of view. The multi-generation plant is composed of two main units: one unit for energy production and another unit for carbon capture and methanol synthesis. Biomass fuel, solar energy and seawater are the main nutrients in the plant. Steam, Brayton, organic Rankine and Kalina cycles have been employed to generate electricity. A linear Fresnel collector-driven solar farm is considered as an auxiliary heat source. In addition, an integrated desalination unit based on a multi-effect desalination unit, a microbial fuel cell and a reverse osmosis unit has been installed in the multi-generation plant. The proposed structure for the offered multi-generation plant is designed under a new configuration and layout that had not been reported in the publications. From the outcomes, the multi-generation plant can produce 69.6 MW of net electricity, 0.53 kg/s of methanol, 0.81 kg/s of oxygen gas, 73.8 kg/s of fresh water and ~0.015 kg/s of hydrogen gas. Under such performance, the offered multi-generation plant can be 51.72 and 27.5% efficient from the points of view of energy and exergy, respectively. Further, the total cost rate and environmental impact of the plant are ~3378 US$/h and 294.1 mPts/s, respectively. A comparative analysis is developed to exhibit the superiority of the planned multi-generation plant. A five-objective optimization is also developed to achieve the optimum design data and outcomes of the plant.

Development of a hybridized small modular reactor and solar-based energy system for useful commodities required for sustainable cities

The current study develops a hybridized small modular nuclear reactor and solar-based system designed specifically for sustainable communities in metropolitan areas to meet their power, heat, clean fuel, fresh water and food requirements. Both floating-type and bifacial-type photovoltaic arrays are integrated with a high-temperature gas-cooled small modular reactor. In the integrated system, a Rankine cycle subsystem for power generation, a solid oxide electrolyzer for hydrogen production, a pressure swing adsorption unit with ammonia reactor for nitrogen and then ammonia production, a multi-effect desalination unit for freshwater generation, and heat recovery units in order to provide heating to residential area, food drying facility, greenhouse, and fish farm facilities. For both floating and bifacial PV options, the 120 MWp PV modules are considered and integrated with two small modular reactor units at 250 MWth capacities each, 500 MWth in total. A thermodynamic analysis, which is based on energy and exergy approaches, is carried out. The time-dependent analyses are carried out for floating-type PV and bifacial-type PV options for the cities of Istanbul in Turkey; Barcelona in Spain; Los Angeles (LA) in the United States; Tokyo in Japan; and Toronto in Canada by using their hourly meteorological data, source and load capacities in a typical meteorological year. Among ten cases, between 112835 and 146180 tonnes of ammonia are generated in a typical year while meeting the heating and power requirements of sustainable communities in metropolitan areas. Among ten cases, the average overall energy and exergy efficiencies are found as 41.04% and 46.88%, respectively. The hybridization of such nuclear and solar systems achieves unique advantages by preventing intermittencies compared to the renewable-alone systems, reducing carbon emissions compared to fossil-based systems, and lowering the levelized costs of energy compared to the nuclear energy-alone systems.

Solar driven desalination system for power and desalination water production by concentrated PVT and MED system

Abstract In this paper, a thermodynamic study of the combination of Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal (CPVT) and Multi Effect Desalination (MED) system was conducted. CPVT produces electricity, and the heat produced in CPVT is used for the MED system. Engineering Equation Software (EES) was utilized to simulate this system. The effect of CPVT parameters (area, concentration ratio, and average solar radiation) and MED parameters (effect number and temperature of heating steam) were investigated on the produced heat, produced power, exergy destruction, total mass flow rate (FR) of desalinated water, total FR of feed water, heating steam FR and total brine FR. The range of changes for CPVT surface, concentration ratio, and average solar radiation was considered from 2000 m2 to 20000 m2, from 5 to 15 and from 400 W/m2 to 1100 W/m2, respectively. Based on obtained results, as the surface area of the solar panel, the ratio of concentration, and average solar radiation increase, the heat produced increases. Transferring this heat to the MED unit increases the total FR of desalinated water. But it has no significant effect on the Gain ratio (GOR). As the surface area of the solar panel increases from 10000 m2 to 12000 m2, the average radiation intensity increases from 800 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2, and the concentration ratio increases from 10 to 12 in effect the number of 4 and steam temperature of 70 °C, the total mass FR of desalinated water increases by 29 %, 23 %, and 20 %, respectively.

Numerical simulation and 4E analysis of a steam methane reforming-based multi heat recovery process, producing electricity, methanol, fresh water, heating, and coolant

Natural gas power plants play a pivotal role in power generation; nevertheless, their waste heat contributes to diminished thermodynamic efficiencies and the release of carbon dioxide emissions. One primary approach involves implementing effective heat recovery strategies to generate various products. The present study suggests a novel approach to heat recovery in different stages utilizing series and parallel arrangements within an environmentally friendly design to enhance controllability while expanding the range of products. The present study includes a steam methane reforming process, a Kalina cycle, a multi-effect desalination unit, a methanol synthesis unit, two organic Rankine cycles, and two ammonia Rankine cycles. The primary objective of this system is to efficiently and concurrently produce electricity, hot water, chilled water, fresh water, and methanol. The findings reveal that the newly devised process exhibits energy and exergy efficiencies of 47.55% and 50.58%, respectively, while the total unit cost of products amounts to 7.69 $/GJ. From an environmental perspective, the results indicate that the proposed structure exhibits a total net emission of 87.1 × 103 kg/h and a CO2 footprint of 0.22 kgCO2/kWh. Ultimately, the economic assessment elucidates that the fixed investment cost, total investment cost, total annual cost, and net present value are equivalent to 373.0 M$, 496.1 M$, 207.5 M$, and 598.6 M$, respectively.

Multi-objective study and optimization of a solar-boosted geothermal flash cycle integrated into an innovative combined power and desalinated water production process: Application of a case study

Zero-emission hybrid renewable energy resources have been introduced as a viable solution for international programs aimed at eliminating greenhouse gases. Consequently, this research is motivated to propose a novel solar-boosted integrated geothermal flash cycle-driven combined system for the simultaneous production of electricity, heating load, and desalinated water. The system comprises the integration of a geothermal flash cycle, a solar power tower, a dual-loop organic flash cycle, a humidification-dehumidification desalination cycle, and a multi-effect desalination unit. The proposed model is evaluated from three perspectives: energetic, exergetic, and economic. A seasonal case study is conducted for Jiangsu, China. The results demonstrate a generated desalinated water rate of 28.46 kg/s, a total exergy destruction of 4517 kW, an exergetic efficiency of 21.9%, and a payback period of 4.74 years. Furthermore, a combined MOPSO and LINMAP method is employed to optimize the proposed model in three scenarios. In the first scenario, the objectives are defined as the exergetic efficiency and the exergy destruction rate of the system, which yield optimal values of 22.39% and 4310.21 kW, respectively. The second scenario focuses on the rate of generated desalinated water and the rate of exergy destruction of the system, resulting in objective function values of 27.94 kg/s and 4451.34 kW, respectively. In the third scenario, NPV and exergy destruction rate are the objective values with obtained values of 1.983 $M and 4420 kW, respectively.

Techno-economic-environmental assessment and AI-enhanced optimization of a gas turbine power plant with hydrogen liquefaction

Most of the power plants in the world are based on gas turbines and many researchers tried to improve their efficiencies. This goal can be attained by the optimum utilization of heat losses. The authors of the present study aim to design, model, and optimize a gas turbine-based multigeneration power plant that uses the maximum possible of input energy to boost the products capacity and improve the efficiency. To decline the hydrogen storage and transportation costs, a hydrogen liquefaction process is applied to liquified the produced hydrogen at the same time. Besides, the power plant stack containing a substantial amount of energy is employed to operate a multi-effect desalination unit. To solve the main functions of the model, a programming code is developed. Then, the objective functions of the model are optimized using a machine learning model coupled with a genetic algorithm. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the fuel mass flow rate plays a pivotal role on total cost rate and hydrogen production rate; however, does not affect the exergy efficiency. Applying such a design for heat recovery, leads to 3.27% improvement in exergy efficiency rather than similar studies. The optimization results indicates that the LCOE is declined by 8.16% and normalized emission of CO2 is mitigated by 5.82 kg/GJ.

Modeling and Energy Analysis of the Hybrid Performance of Solar Dish Concentrator Integrated with Multi-Effect Desalination Unit

Modeling and Energy Analysis of the Hybrid Performance of Solar Dish Concentrator Integrated with Multi-Effect Desalination Unit

A new solar and wind integrated sodium fast reactor with molten salt to generate multiple useful outputs with hydrogen

The current study proposes the integration of renewable and nuclear energy systems in a hybridized manner to produce multiple useful outputs with synergetic benefits compared to single-generation systems. The proposed integrated energy system is designed to fully meet the power, heating, cooling, freshwater, and transportation requirements of communities and balance the grid, which consists of an offshore wind farm, a floating photovoltaic plant, a sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactor, a molten salt storage system, a steam-based power generation unit, a lithium-bromide absorption chiller, an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser, a multi-effect desalination unit and a district energy system. The proposed system is also analyzed from the energy and exergy aspects of thermodynamics. Additional modelling and simulations are carried out with time-dependent analysis in a case study for a residential community, which consists of approximately 275,000 of people in California, the United States. The proposed system with 345 MWe, 1,000 MWth sodium-cooled fast nuclear reactor, 100.8 MWe offshore wind farm and 100 MWp floating PV plant is analyzed with changing parameters throughout the year. Furthermore, the overall system is found to be fully sufficient to meet 1,551.4 GWh of non-thermal electricity load, 820.3 GWh of cooling load, and 2,324.8 GWh of heating load. Moreover, to exploit the excess energy and recover the waste energy, to produce more than the triple amount of the freshwater requirement of the community with 39,575,634 tonnes of fresh water and exceeds the transportation fuel requirement of the community with a total of 28,713 tonnes of hydrogen. The highest monthly average energy efficiency is found for the month of December as 72.54%. On the other hand, the highest monthly average exergy efficiency is found for the month of October as 61.11%. The average energy and exergy efficiencies for the overall system are found 63.36% and 52.42%, respectively.

Design and optimization of a novel flash-binary-based hybrid system to produce power, cooling, freshwater, and liquid hydrogen

The current work aims to design and analyze a novel hybrid system that can produce power, cooling, freshwater, and liquid hydrogen from a single energy source. The system consists of a flash-binary system, a double-effect absorption refrigeration cycle, a multi-effect desalination unit, and a hydrogen liquefaction unit. The steam turbine provides the power input for the hydrogen liquefaction unit. The system's performance is evaluated by thermodynamic and economic analyses, and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of some key parameters on the operation mode. Moreover, the optimal state is determined based on three multi-objective optimization scenarios. The results show that the system consumes 33.93 kW of power and generates 2.106 kg/h of liquid hydrogen. The net present value is mainly influenced by the temperature of the saline feed water, while the fixed capital investment is highly dependent on the cooling load production rate. The optimal state of the system achieves an exergetic efficiency of 25.71% with a payback period of 4.48 years, producing 447.2 kW of cooling load, 1.804 kg/s of freshwater, and 2.107 kg/h of liquid hydrogen.

Hybrid multi-objective optimization and thermo-economic analysis of a multi-effect desalination unit integrated with a fuel cell-based trigeneration system

Due to fossil fuel depletion and global warming, biomass plays a significant role in supplying the required energy in the industrial and residential sectors. In order to develop clean and efficient conversion technology, an innovative combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system based on biomass is introduced in this paper. The proposed system comprises a gasification process, solid oxide fuel cell, gas turbine cycle, Rankine and organic Rankine cycles, absorption chiller, and multi-effect desalination unit simulated in ASPEN. In this system, a new configuration is proposed in order to regenerate the waste heat efficiently at every level of temperature and increase energy and exergy efficiencies. Also, thermodynamics, economic, and sensitivity analyses are performed in order to investigate the energy and exergy efficiencies, the overall cost of the system, and effective parameters. The novel optimization approach (RSM-GA-TOPSIS) is introduced by combining the response surface methodology, genetic algorithm, and Shannon entropy and TOPSIS in order to model and optimize the objective functions in DESIGN EXPERT and MATLAB software, respectively. The objectives of the optimization are maximizing energy and exergy efficiencies and minimizing the overall cost of the system. As a result, based on the initial conditions, the electricity production, overall energy and exergy efficiencies, overall cost of the system, and overall exergy destruction can be acquired at 25.235 MW, 76.69%, 57.07%, 6.1063 × 106 $, and 26.03 MW, respectively. After performing the optimization method, the optimum solution (point 3) is obtained through the TOPSIS approach. In terms of thermodynamics analysis, the electricity production, energy and exergy efficiencies are acquired at 31 MW, 88.15%, and 67.30%, which are increased by 22.85%, 14.94%, and 17.93%, respectively, compared with the initial conditions of the proposed system. In terms of economic analysis of the optimum solution, the annualized total cost, COE, and COTP can be obtained at 6.594 × 106 $, 7.3857 $/GJ, and 6.7624 $/GJ, respectively. By comparing this point to the initial conditions, although the annualized total cost at this point is increased by 7.99%, the COE and COTP are decreased by 12.1% and 10.4% due to a further increase in electricity production. Therefore, for producing energy with high efficiency and low COE, the system should be operated according to the working conditions of this point (point 3).

Machine learning-assisted tri-objective optimization inspired by grey wolf behavior of an enhanced SOFC-based system for power and freshwater production

In recent years paying attention to the generation of clean and sustainable power and fresh water along with having lower cost and emission has increased. In the present research, a novel scheme for generating efficient power using the flame-assisted fuel cell is introduced, which has higher efficiency than ordinary fuel cells due to increased hydrogen concentration in the flame-rich combustion chamber. The waste heat is then introduced to a multi-effect desalination unit through a heat recovery steam generation unit to generate fresh, drinkable water. In order to make the system have higher efficiency, lower cost, and lower emission, the machine learning techniques are applied to optimize the operational conditions of the system, and find out the best solution point based on the cutting-edge algorithm of the grey wolf. Also, a complete techno-economic analysis and a parametric study are necessary to figure out the best solution point based on the TOPSIS method. The results indicate that the maximum value of exergy efficiency and drinkable water generation is 67.5% and 3.4 kg/s, respectively, while the minimum energy cost is 90.1 $/MWh. Moreover, results show that for the second optimization scenario considering the drinkable water production, energy cost, and pollution index as the objectives, the net produced power, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and water mass flowrate improve by around 1059 kW, 5.1%, 1.3%, and 1.6 kg/s than the design condition. Besides, energy cost and emission index are reduced by about 22 $/MWh and 51.9 kg/MWh, respectively.

Multi-objective technoeconomic optimization of an off-grid solar-ground-source driven cycle with hydrogen storage for power and fresh water production

Utilizing renewable sources integrated with thermodynamic cycles has been gaining attention in recent years due to being economical and environment-friendly, among which, renewable-energy driven water and power generation systems have shown promising outcomes. In the field of renewable-energy based multi-generation systems (MGS), many recent works have focused on energy analysis or simple optimization. Therefore, in this study, an off-grid solar-geothermal cogeneration system which is able to produce power by Kalina cycle, hydrogen by proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEMEC), and freshwater by a multi-effect desalination (MED) unit, was investigated and optimized in terms of economic and energy viewpoints. Unlike previous studies, in this work, a comprehensive multi-objective optimization (MOO) was employed on the system in order to find the optimal working condition. The decision variables of the optimization include flat plate collector area, water mass flow, and ammonia concentration of the Kalina cycle, and the objective functions were levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), payback period (PBP), the overall energy efficiency of the system, and freshwater production of MED unit. Final results show that the system, in its optimum condition, is able to produce 182.09 m3.day−1 fresh water, with energy efficiency, PBP, and LCOE equal to 6.23%, 5.19 years and 0.238 $.kWh−1, respectively.

Development and assessment of a solar and natural gas-based integrated energy system with storage options

In this study, a solar and natural gas-based dual-energy source integrated plant system is designed to be thermodynamically investigated through energy and exergy approaches for multiple useful outputs, including electricity, heat and freshwater. The current system is considered for a hospital building to cover their needs and incorporates heat storage options to provide steady and flexible operation to better offset the mismatch between demand and supply. As a matter of fact, this system is not only appropriate for locations, such as deserts, where the weather is sunny and the air is dry all year round, but it is also suitable for other places where the sunshine duration is relatively shorter and the air is moderately humid by means of a storage system. With this system, which uses natural gas at a relatively modest rate of 20%, the system is enabled to operate primarily on solar energy. Thus, this renewable energy-based, natural gas-supported system obtains more green energy at a lower cost. It also intends to address the community's clean water requirement using the multi-effect desalination unit. Additionally, a molten salt thermal storage subsystem is employed to mitigate energy imbalances in the parabolic trough collector all day long. Furthermore, the necessary energy is supplied using a natural gas-powered boiler, especially in the evening and at peak times in terms of energy demand. The system is uniquely designed based on a real-world scenario using binary energy sources, where some parametric studies have been performed. While the system utilizes solar energy at a ratio of 80%, the remaining 20% comes from natural gas, and the amount of natural gas needed to assist the developed system for steady operation varies between 0.018 kg/s and 0.039 kg/s per day. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are determined to be 60.03% and 35.1%, respectively, while both electricity and heating production are 1.3 and 1.5 MW, and the freshwater production is found to be 17.52 kg/s, respectively.

Reduction in environmental CO2 by utilization of optimized energy scheme for power and fresh water generations based on different uses of biomass energy

Renewable energy sources are undoubtedly necessary, considering global electricity demand is expected to rise dramatically in the coming years. This research looks at a unique multi-generation plant from the perspectives of exergy, energy, and economics; also, an environmental evaluation is performed to estimate the systems' CO2 emissions. The unit is made up of a biomass digester and gasifier, a Multi effect Desalination unit, and a supercritical CO2 (SCO2) cycle. In this study, two methods for using biomass are considered: the first is using synthesis gas generated by the gasifier, and the second is utilizing a digester to generate biogas. A comprehensive parametric study is performed on the designed energy unit to assess the influence of compressor pressure ratio, Gas turbine inlet temperature, supercritical CO2 cycle pressure ratio, and the number of effects of multi-effect distillation on the system performance. Furthermore, the exergy study revealed that the exergy destruction in the digestion unit was 11,337 kW, which was greater than the exergy destruction in the gasification unit, which was 9629. Finally, when compared to the gasifier, the amount of exergy efficiency, net output power, and freshwater production in the digester was greater.

Proposed and assessment of a sustainable multigeneration plant combined with a transcritical CO2 cycle operated by flash-binary geothermal energy

The current paper deals with the development and analysis of an innovative multigeneration plant, which is powered by geothermal energy, and integrated with the transcritical Rankine cycle (tCO2−RC), proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, multi-effect desalination unit (MED), and ejector cooling system (ECS). The main objective of this research paper is to produce power, hydrogen, freshwater, and cooling in an environmentally benign way, by integrating the different subsystems. A comprehensive parametric analysis that is thermodynamic and economic and exergo-environmental impact assessment are addressed. For these parametric analyses, the variation of some important parameters that affect the system performance is examined and illustrated. According to the modeling findings, the net power and hydrogen production capacity of the modeled combined power plant is 982.4 kW and 0.0024 kgs−1, respectively. The cycle's overall energy efficiency is computed to be 40.04%, although its exergetic efficiency is 36.31%. When the irreversibility among the plant components is compared, the highest irreversibility occurred in the PEM water heater with 1508 kW, followed by heat exchangers 1 and 2. Given the economic results, the modeled plant's cost rate is calculated to be 200.2 $/hr. In the end, it can be recommended that this modeled plant is suitable that is from the point of perspective of the performance, economy, and exergo-environmental relations.

Exergoeconomic assessment of a biomass-based hydrogen, electricity and freshwater production cycle combined with an electrolyzer, steam turbine and a thermal desalination process

Since biomass resources can be found with different contents in most regions of the world, biomass/gasification (Biog) coupling processes can be considered as an attractive and useful technology for integrating in polygeneration configurations. In this regard, a new polygeneration energy configuration based on Biog process is proposed and its conceptual analysis is presented. In the new energy process, a Rankine cycle, a water electrolysis cycle (based on solid oxide electrolyzer, SOE), and a multi-effect desalination (MED) unit are embedded to generate electricity, hydrogen fuel, and freshwater, respectively. The considered polygeneration configuration is comprehensively investigated and discussed utilizing a parametric evaluation and from thermodynamic, energetic and exergoeconomic points of view. Relying on the proposed system can provide a new approach to produce carbon-free hydrogen fuel and freshwater in order to achieve an efficient, modern and green polygeneration configuration. The results indicated that the electrical power generated by the considered polygeneration configuration is close to 1735 kW. In addition, the system is capable of producing almost 9880 kg/h of freshwater and 12.3 kg/h of hydrogen. In such a context, the energy efficiency and total products unit exergy cost were 36.4% and 16.6 USD/GJ, respectively. Also, the system could achieve an exergy efficiency of nearly 17.1%. Moreover, about 8.9 MW of process's exergy is destroyed. The performance of the proposed polygeneration configuration using four different biomass fuels is compared. It was determined that the total products unit exergy costs under paddy husk and paper biomass are approximately 14.8% and 8.6% higher than MSW, respectively.

Techno-economics of a trigeneration HRES; a step towards sustainable development

Technological development has shown several alternatives for energy and water supplies; still, almost 30% of the population of India has either no access or limited access to energy and portable water incredibly remote-rural areas of the Indian coast. The present work aims to optimize a sustainable Hybrid Renewable Energy System for trigeneration using solid waste generated from the society with uninterrupted supply and affordable economics. A gasifier utilizes biomass to produce the biogas. Freshwater generation is done with the help of thermal desalination. Generally, the excess electricity produced from any distributed system is dumped. Whereas in the present study, that opportunity has been grabbed, and a thermal load controller has been implemented to convert this excess electricity into thermal energy for the desalination process. The result shows that electricity and heat production from the HRES is 80423 kWh/year and 34778.62 MJ/year, respectively, with an affordable energy cost-Rs.5.16/kWh, minor Pay Back Period-3.99 years, Internal Rate of Return of 18.2%, and Return on Investment of 23.6% with Net Present Cost -Rs. 4,678,224 and operating cost - Rs. 189424.30. A multi-effect desalination unit produces 9516.24 lit/day of freshwater using heat from the thermal load controller and micro-gas turbine. Furthermore, HRES serves 1.528 kg/h of cooking gas.