Abstract
Water scarcity are serious problem in many areas of the world, such as the Middle East and North African countries (MENA), the Southern European Mediterranean Islands (SEMI) and isolated communities in desert or arid areas of Central Asian countries. One of the promising solutions for this problem is developing of autonomous system of drinking water supply or desalination systems working on RES, particularly solar energy. However, RES especially solar energy potential of the most arid areas is usually high. In addition, the cost of primary fuel is getting up while the need to maintain clean environment is becoming an important issue worldwide [1, 2]. There are a number of desalination methods proposed by scientists and available on the market. Among them, reverse osmosis (RO) is quite suitable for small to medium capacity systems and also has good perspectives for cost reduction and improvement in efficiency in the near future. And a number of research works on solar powered RO systems, from pilot project to industrial scale developed and proposed by researches which can be found from literature. This paper presents a review of the highlights that have been achieved during the last years in solar powered RO desalination. Also proposed the preliminary investigations on developed small scale PV powered RO desalination system, which supposed to be feasible system to use by small farmers in rural areas of Central Asia.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Jian, Yu. and Ahatov, J.S., Solar Desalination System Based on Humidification-Dehumidication (HD) Processes, Appl. Solar Energy, 2006, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 31–37.
Makhamov, Kh. and Ahatov, J.S., Experimental Study of the Performance of Multi-Effect Solar Thermal Water Desalination System, Appl. Solar Energy, 2008, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 31–34.
McHarg, J.Y. and Truby, R., West Coast Researches Seek to Demonstrate SWRO Affordability, Desalinat. Water Reuse, 2004, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 10–18.
Bowman, T.E., El-Nashar, A.M., Thrasher, B.H., Husseiny, A.A., and Unione, A.J., Design of a Small Solar Powered Desalination System, Desalinat., 1981, no. 39, pp. 71–81.
Garcia-Rodriguez, L., Seawater Desalination Driven by Renewable Energies: A Review, Desalinat., 2002, vol. 143, pp. 103–113.
Garcia-Rodriguez, L., Renewable Energy Applications in Desalination: State of the Art, Solar Energy, 2003, no. 75, pp. 381–393.
Delgado-Torres, A.M. and Garcia-Rodriguez, L., Status of Solar Thermal-Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 216, pp. 242–251.
Augustín, M., Delgato-Torres, A.M., and García-Rodríguez, L., Preliminary Assessment of Solar Organic Rankine Cycles for Driving a Desalination Systems, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 216, pp. 252–275.
Delgado-Torres, A.M. and García-Rodríguez, L., Comparison of Solar Technologies for Driving a Desalination System by Means of an Organic Rankine Cycle, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 216, pp. 276–291.
Delgado-Torres, A.M. and Garcia-Rodriguez, L., Double Cascade Organic Rankine Cycle for Solar Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 216, pp. 306–313.
Delgado-Torres, A.M., Garcia-Rodriguez, L., and Romero-Ternero, V.J., Preliminary Design of a Solar Thermal-Powered Seawater Reverse-Osmosis System, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 216, pp. 292–305.
Manolakos, D., Papadakis, G., Kyritsis, S., and Bouzianas, K., Design of an Autonomous Low-Temperature Solar Rankine Cycle System for Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Desalinat., 2005, vol. 183, pp. 73–80.
Manolakos, D., Papadakis, G., Kyritsis, S., and Bouzianas, K., Experimental Evaluation of an Autonomous Low-Temperature Solar Rankine Cycle System for Reverse Osmosis Desalination, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 203, pp. 366–374.
Mathioulakis, E., Belessiotis, V., and Delyannis, E., Desalination by Using Alternative Energy: Review and State-of-Art, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 203, pp. 346–365.
Hrayshat, E.S. Brackish Water Desalination by a Stand Alone Reverse Osmosis Desalination Unit Powered by Photovoltaic Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, 2008, vol. 33, pp. 1784–1790.
Mohamed, E.Sh., Papadakis, G., Mathioulakis, E., and Belessiotis, V., A Direct Coupled Photovoltaic Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination System Toward Battery Based Systems - a Technical and Economical Experimental Comparative Study, Desalinat., 2008, vol. 221, pp. 17–22.
Khaydarov, R.A. and Khaydarov, R.R., Solar Powered Direct Osmosis Desalination, Desalinat., 2007, vol. 217, pp. 225–232.
Abdallakh, S., Abu-Hilal, M., and Mohsen, M.S., Performance of a Photovoltaic Powered Reverse Osmosis System under Local Climatic Conditions, Desalinat., 2005, vol. 183, pp. 95–104.
Manolakos, D., Mohamed, E.Sh., Karagiannis, I., and Papadakis, G., Technical and Economical Comparison between PV-RO System and RO-Solar Rankine System. Case Study: Thirasia Island, Desalinat., 2008, vol. 221, pp. 37–46.
El-Dessouky, H. and Ettouney, H., MSF Development May Reduce Desalination Costs, WWI, June 2000, pp. 20–21.
VARI-RO Solar Powered Desalting Study, MEDRC R&D Rep., SAIC, 2000.
Espino, T., Penate, B., Piernavieja, G., Herold, D., and Neskakis, A., Optimized Desalination of Seawater by a PV Powered Reverse Osmosis Plant for a Decentra-Lised Coastal Water Supply, Desalinat., 2003, vol. 156, pp. 349–350.
Al-Suleimani, Z. and Nair, V.R., Desalination by Solar-Powered Reverse Osmosis in a Remote Area of Sultanate of Oman, Appl. Energy, 2000, vol. 64, pp. 367–380.
Adiga, M.R., Adhikary, S.K., Narayanan, P.K., Harkare, W.P., Gomkale, S.D., and Govindan, K.P., Performance Analysis of Photovoltaic Electrodialysis Desalination Plant at Tanote in Thar Desert, Desalinat., 1997, vol. 67, pp. 59–66.
Kalogirou, S.A., Effect of Fuel Cost on the Price of Desalination Water: A Case for Renewables, Desalinat., 2001, vol. 138, pp. 137–144.
Tzen, E., Perrakis, K., and Baltas, P., Design of a Stand-Alone PV-Desalination System for Rural Areas, Desalinat., 1998, vol. 119, pp. 327–334.
MEDRC R&D Rep., PV Powered Desalination, Ecofys BV, 2003.
Thomson, M. and Infield, D., A Photovoltaic-Powered Seawater Reverse-Osmosis System without Batteries, Desalinat., 2003, vol. 153, pp. 1–8.
Richards, B.S., Masson, L., Broeckmenn, A., and Schäfer, A.I., Field Performance of a 10 Litre/Day PV-Powered Desalination System, Proc. ISES World Congr., Orlando, Aug. 6–12, 2005.
Mohamed, E.Sh., Papadakis, G., Mathiolakis, E., and Belessiotis, V., The Effect of Hydraulic Energy Recovery in a Small Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination System: Experimental and Economical Evaluation, Desalinat., 2005, vol. 184, pp. 241–246.
García-Rodríguez, L., Romero-Ternero, V., and Gómez-Camacho, C., Economic Analysis of Wind Powered Desalination, Desalinat., 2001, vol. 137, pp. 259–265.
Carta, J.A., Gonzalez, J., and Subela, V., Operational Analysis of an Innovative Wind Powered reverse Osmosis System Installed in Canary Islands, Solar Energy, 2003, vol. 175, pp. 153–168.
Manolakos, D., Papadakis, G., Papantonis, D., and Kyritsis, S., A Simulation-Optimization Programmes for Design Hybrid Energy Systems for Supplying Electricity and Fresh Water through Desalination to Remote Areas. Case Study: Merssini Village, Donousa Island, Aegean Sea, Greece, Energy, 2001, vol. 26, pp. 679–704.
Mohamed, E.Sh. and Papadakis, G., Design, Simulation and Economic Analysis of a Stand alone Reverse Osmosis Desalination Unit Powered by Wind Turbines and Photovoltaics, Desalinat., 2004, vol. 164, pp. 87–97.
Romero-Ternero, V., García-Rodríguez, L., and Gómez-Camacho, C., Thermoeconomic Analysis of Wind Powered Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination in the Canary Islands, Desalinat., 2005, vol. 186, pp. 291–298.
Hamidat, A. and Benyoucef, B., Mathematic Models of Photovoltaic Motor-Pump Systems, Renewable Energy, 2008, vol. 33, pp. 933–942.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The article is published in the original.
About this article
Cite this article
Aybar, H.Ş., Akhatov, J.S., Avezova, N.R. et al. Solar powered RO desalination: Investigations on pilot project of PV powered RO desalination system. Appl. Sol. Energy 46, 275–284 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X10040080
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S0003701X10040080