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
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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 ā NCSR āDEMOKRITOSā, 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 Sƶzen 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
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Papapetrou, M., Mohamed, E.S., Manolakos, D., Papadakis, G., Subiela, V.J., PeƱate, 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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