PROCESS SIMULATION OF A REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION PLANT POWERED BY PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS FOR KALYMNOS ISLAND

摘要

The present paper discusses a novel application of the currently most popular water desalination technology: a solar-powered reverse osmosis plant (PV-RO in the following). Kalymnos, one of the Greek Dodecanese islands, was selected as the site for the design exercise. The solar irradiation data for this location were used to design the PV-RO plant that is simulated in this paper. The PV power production varies with insolation, and therefore the plant operates under variable flow conditions. This variability, as well as that induced by cloudy weather, is reduced by means of suitable electrical storage (a Pb-acid battery array). The influence of some relevant process parameters is studied by means of a numerical process simulation of the plant, and a pseudo-optimal operating point was found that minimizes the energy consumption per unit mass of distillate, within the World Health Organization standards of salt concentration. An economic analysis is also performed to calculate the product cost: the results indicate that the PV-RO plant is much more cost effective than the present ship-based water delivery system. An exergy and thermo-economic analysis are provided as well.