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Seawater Desalination pp 247–272Cite as

Operating RE/Desalination Units

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Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

This chapter presents 10 small standalone RE (renewable energy)/desalination systems operating around the world, employing different technologies, such as PV/RO, solar/MED, etc. The examples show that several technological combinations are well enough developed to provide potable water under harsh conditions in isolated sites. However, even established technologies face problems and limitations. Continuous R&D in combination with wide scale implementation is needed to improve their reliability.

The cost of the produced water is still quite high, but the decreasing cost of RE equipment, and experience from RE/desalination implementation is driving the cost down. At the same time, the cost of conventional water supply is increasing, especially in isolated sites where water is transported by ships or trucks, and thus the cost is directly related to the oil price. Therefore RE/desalination is becoming competitive at more sites and the different technologies are competing to be ready for this potential market.

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Abbreviations

ADS:

autonomous desalination system

CPC:

compound parabolic concentrator

MD:

membrane distillation

MED:

multi-effect distillation

MEH:

multi-effect humidification

MSF:

multi stage flash

O&M:

operation and maintenance

ORC:

organic rankine cycle

PV:

photovoltaic

R&D:

research and development

RE:

renewable energy

RO:

reverse osmosis

UV:

ultra violet

References

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Acknowledgments

Section 10.2.2 was written based on information and text provided by those responsible for installation of the system: Emmanouil Mathioulakis, Solar & other Energy Systems Laboratory – NCSR “DEMOKRITOS”, e-mail: sollab@ipta.demokritos.gr. Section 10.2.5.2 was written based on information and text provided by those responsible for installation of the system: Prof. Seval Sözen and Senem Teksoy from the Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Faculty of Civil Engineering, Turkey, e-mail: senem.teksoy@itu.edu.tr, sozens@itu.edu.tr. Section 10.4 was developed with the kind help and suggestions of Prof. Gonzalo Piernavieja, Canary Islands Institute of Technology, e-mail: gpiernavieja@itccanarias.org

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. WIP-Renewable Energies, Sylvensteinstr. 2, 81369, Munich, Germany

    Michael Papapetrou

  2. Dept. of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos Street 75, 11855, Athens, Greece

    Essam Sh. Mohamed, Dimitris Manolakos & George Papadakis

  3. Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC), Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria, Canary, Islands, Spain

    Vicente J. Subiela & Baltasar Peñate

Authors
  1. Michael Papapetrou
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  2. Essam Sh. Mohamed
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  3. Dimitris Manolakos
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  4. George Papadakis
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  5. Vicente J. Subiela
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  6. Baltasar Peñate
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Papapetrou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipto. Ingegneria Chimica dei, Università Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, 90128, Italy

    Giorgio Micale

  2. Dipto. Ingegneria Chimica dei, Università Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, 90128, Italy

    Lucio Rizzuti

  3. Dipto. Ingegneria Chimica dei, Università Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, 90128, Italy

    Andrea Cipollina

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Papapetrou, M., Mohamed, E.S., Manolakos, D., Papadakis, G., Subiela, V.J., Peñate, B. (2009). Operating RE/Desalination Units. In: Micale, G., Rizzuti, L., Cipollina, A. (eds) Seawater Desalination. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01150-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01150-4_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-01149-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-01150-4

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