TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of a solar powered distillation unit as a mitigation to water scarcity and climate change in Cyprus
AU - Georgiou, M. C.
AU - Bonanos, A. M.
AU - Georgiadis, J. G.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful for funding from the STEP-EW project, which runs under the framework of cross-border cooperation programme ?Greece-Cyprus 2007-2013? and is co-financed by 80% by the European Commission (European Regional Development Fund) and by 20% by national funds of Greece and Cyprus.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/1/26
Y1 - 2016/1/26
N2 - Cyprus, an island facing water scarcity periods throughout its history, has to cope with even more intense periods due to climate change as it is predicted by several climate models. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the performance of a single-effect distillation unit and the potential of its integration with a concentrated solar power system as a mitigation technique to the water scarcity. Specifically, a single-effect distillation unit for seawater desalination was developed and its performance in terms of performance ratio (PR) (ratio of distillate product and steam fed to the unit) was experimentally investigated. The main parameters examined were the thermal input power, and the temperature and flow rate of the inlet seawater. For several seawater flow rates, three different initial heat loads were used (Tst,1, Tst,2, Tst,3). Experiments were repeated for two seawater inlet temperatures, Tsw1, Tsw2. A one-dimensional model based on conservation of mass and energy was developed to predict the performance of the device. The results showed that lower heat input load results to a higher value of the PR of the unit and also under constant heat load, a higher temperature of the seawater lead to higher distillate product. The developed model adequately captured the behavior of the device. Thus, it is concluded that such a unit should be expanded into a multiple-effect unit and also implemented with a concentrated solar power system as a mitigation technique to the water scarcity of the island.
AB - Cyprus, an island facing water scarcity periods throughout its history, has to cope with even more intense periods due to climate change as it is predicted by several climate models. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the performance of a single-effect distillation unit and the potential of its integration with a concentrated solar power system as a mitigation technique to the water scarcity. Specifically, a single-effect distillation unit for seawater desalination was developed and its performance in terms of performance ratio (PR) (ratio of distillate product and steam fed to the unit) was experimentally investigated. The main parameters examined were the thermal input power, and the temperature and flow rate of the inlet seawater. For several seawater flow rates, three different initial heat loads were used (Tst,1, Tst,2, Tst,3). Experiments were repeated for two seawater inlet temperatures, Tsw1, Tsw2. A one-dimensional model based on conservation of mass and energy was developed to predict the performance of the device. The results showed that lower heat input load results to a higher value of the PR of the unit and also under constant heat load, a higher temperature of the seawater lead to higher distillate product. The developed model adequately captured the behavior of the device. Thus, it is concluded that such a unit should be expanded into a multiple-effect unit and also implemented with a concentrated solar power system as a mitigation technique to the water scarcity of the island.
KW - CSP
KW - Desalination
KW - Multiple-effect distillation
KW - Performance ratio
KW - Solar thermal energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953838999&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84953838999&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/19443994.2014.989637
DO - 10.1080/19443994.2014.989637
M3 - Article
SN - 1944-3994
VL - 57
SP - 2325
EP - 2335
JO - Desalination and Water Treatment
JF - Desalination and Water Treatment
IS - 5
ER -