Abstract
The ADU-RES co-ordination action is an EC funded project that aims to bridge the gap between successful R&D work and commercial applications of small desalination systems powered by renewable energy. This paper reviews installed units in order to define the state of the technology. Ninety-one plants were identified and sixteen of them were reviewed for their technical and economical performance. The examined units desalinate brackish or sea water and employ different technologies including: solar thermal distillation, wind energy or photovoltaic panels (PV) combined with revere osmosis (RO) as well as mechanical vapour compression driven by wind turbines. It was found that the technology has made significant progress over the past years. Still, cost-effective solutions have to be developed especially for the scaling of the membranes caused by the intermittent operation or the corrosion because of the high-temperatures. Also the energy efficiency and the controlling of the systems have to be further developed. The first products are in the market and will improve through competition and experiences resulting from implementation in real conditions for long periods.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
“Report on the Status of Autonomous Desalination Units based on Renewable Energy Systems”, INCO MPC-1–50 90 93, ADU RES, WP2 Report, October 2005.
E. Zarza et al., “Solar Thermal Desalination Project at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria”, Proc. of the New Technologies for the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Water Desalination Conference, Session III, Athens, Greece, 26–28 Sept. 1991, pp. 62–81.
Middle East Desalination Research Center website, URL: www.medrc.org, Muscat, Oman, accessed on August 2005.
S. Alawaji, M.S. Smiai, ‘PV Powered Water Pumping and Desalination for Remote Areas in Saudi Arabia’, Applied Energy, 52, 1995, pp. 283–289
Paulo Cesar Marques de Carvalho, Douglas Bressan Riffel, Cristiano Freire and Francisco Fabio Damasceno Montenegro, “The Brazilian Experience with a Photovoltaic Powered Reverse Osmosis Plant” , Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 2004; 12: 1–13 (DOI: 10.1002/pip.543)
António Joyce, David Loureiro, Carlos Rodrigues, Susana Castro, “Small reverse osmosis units using PV systems for water purification in rural places”, Desalination 137 (2001) 39–44.
M. Thomson, “Reverse-Osmosis Desalination of Seawater Powered by Photovoltaics without Batteries”, Doctoral Thesis, Loughborough University, July 2003.
M. Thomson, D. Infield, “A Photovoltaic Powered Seawater RO system Without Batteries”, Desalination 153, 2002, pp. 1–8.
Marcos dos Santos Miranda, “Small-scale Wind Powered Seawater Desalination Without Batteries”, Doctoral Thesis, Loughborough University, June 2003.
V. Subiela, J. A. Carta, J. González, “The SDAWES Project: lessons learnt from an innovative project”, Desalination 168 (2004) 39–47.
J. A. Carta, J. González, V. Subiela, “The SDAWES Project: an ambitious R'D prototype for wind-powered desalination”, Desalination 161 (2004) 33–48.
Richards Morris, “Renewable Energy Powered Desalination Systems in the Mediterranean Region”, UNESCO Workshop, 1999.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this paper
Cite this paper
PAPAPETROU, M., EPP, C., TZEN, E. (2007). AUTONOMOUS DESALINATION UNITS BASED ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS - A REVIEW OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTALLATIONS WORLDWIDE. In: Rizzuti, L., Ettouney, H.M., Cipollina, A. (eds) Solar Desalination for the 21st Century. NATO Security through Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5508-9_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5508-9_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5506-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5508-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)