Techno-economical Evaluation of Integration of Solar Energy in Reverse Osmosis Desalination Systems

In recent years, much of the attentions related to the seawater desalination systems have been paid to theenergy and environmental aspects. Solar photo-voltaics (PV) and collectors represent an ideal and cleanalternative to fossil fuels for powering RO systems, especially for remote communities such as gridlimitedvillages or isolated islands. The application of these technologies for water production in remoteareas are cost-competitive due to the decrease in PV prices as well as increase in fossil fuel prices overthe last decade. The electricity produced from PV systems for desalination applications can be used forelectro-mechanical devices such as pumps. Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination units are the mostfavorable alternatives to be coupled with photovoltaics modules and solar collectors. The focus in thispaper is on the operational features and feasibility of coupling of solar energy to membrane technologyfrom the viewpoint of design, optimization and commercialization.

کلیدواژه ها:

Solar Energy ، Desalination ، Seawater ، Reverse Osmosis