Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Applied Hydrology and Environment Laboratory, University of Ain Témouchent - BELHADJ Bouchaib, 46000 Ain-Témouchent, Algeria

2 Laboratory of Energy in Arid Region (ENERGARID), Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tahri Mohamed Bechar, Bechar 08000, Algeria

3 Mechanical Engineering Department, Government Engineering College Patan, Gujarat, India

4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Ad-Diwaniyah, 58001, Iraq

10.30772/qjes.2024.151057.1275

Abstract

This study describes a computational model that simulates the behaviour of a solar-powered desalination system. The model incorporates photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collectors and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). A novel DCMD unit model was established and verified using existing data from the literature and the model was incorporated into the TRNSYS library. The effect of feed water mass flow rate and temperature on production was investigated through a parametric analysis. The PVT-DCMD system was modeled, analyzed, and dynamically simulated for the month of June in Algeria using TRNSYS software. Results show that the PVT collector's outlet solar fluid temperature ranges from 20 °C to 85 °C, providing 5000 kJ/hr of useful energy for seawater desalination through a heat exchanger. Meanwhile, the auxiliary heater utilizes around 10,000 kJ/hr of solar energy. The simulation demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of using PVT collectors with a DCMD system for seawater desalination, achieving a distillate production rate of approximately 12 L/hr.m2 of membrane.

Keywords

  • Hezam, AL-AImmari, Nabil Abdullah Noman Alkadasi, and Abdul Jabar Mohammed Saleh AL-Eyani. "Take advantage of the misdirected condensers heat for Mokha steam station to desalinate water for the city of Taiz." Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences 8.4 (2015): 0-0.

https://doi.org/10.60160/1973-000-007-013

  • Niu, R., Du, J., & Kong, X. “Simulation study of membrane distillation regenerator based on reduced pressure air gap”, Journal of Building Engineering, 62 (2022): 105273.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105273

  • Jiwad, Foad Srhan, Mojtaba Behnam Taghadosi, and Ahmed Abed Al-Kadhem Majhool. "Development of the Hydro Static Wind Turbine Powered RO System for Maximum Power Point and Maximum Permeate Flow Tracking." Al-Qadisiyah J Eng Sci 13.1 (2020): 60-6.

https://doi.org/10.30772/qjes.v13i1.649

  • Boukhriss, M., Timoumi, M., & Bacha, H. B., “Experimental of membrane distillation unit coupled with a DCMD using solar energy”. Solar Compass, 7(2023): 100055.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solcom.2023.100055

  • Lawal, D. U., “Performance enhancement of permeate gap membrane distillation system augmented with impeller”. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 54 (2022):102792.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2022.102792

  • Remlaoui, Ahmed, Driss Nehari, Abderrahmane Elmeriah, and Mohammed Laissaoui. "A TRNSYS model of a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system coupled to a flat plate solar collector (FPC)." J. Eur. des Systèmes Autom. 50 (2017): 335-360.

https://doi.org/10.3166/jesa.50.335-360

  • TRNSYS: Transient System Simulation tool. Available online: http://www.trnsys.com
  • Kumar, Nutakki Tirumala Uday, and Andrew R. Martin. "Co-production performance evaluation of a novel solar combi system for simultaneous pure water and hot water supply in urban households of UAE." Energies 10, no. 4 (2017): 481.

https://doi.org/10.3390/en10040481

  • Mohan, Gowtham, Uday Kumar, Manoj Kumar Pokhrel, and Andrew Martin. "A novel solar thermal polygeneration system for sustainable production of cooling, clean water and domestic hot water in United Arab Emirates: Dynamic simulation and economic evaluation." Applied energy 167 (2016): 173-188.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.116

  • Chafidz, Achmad, Saeed Al-Zahrani, Mansour N. Al-Otaibi, Choo F. Hoong, Tan F. Lai, and Manoharan Prabu. "Portable and integrated solar-driven desalination system using membrane distillation for arid remote areas in Saudi Arabia." Desalination 345 (2014): 36-49.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.04.017

  • Khordehgah, Navid, Valentin Guichet, Stephen P. Lester, and Hussam Jouhara. "Computational study and experimental validation of a solar photovoltaics and thermal technology." Renewable Energy 143 (2019): 1348-1356.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.108

  • Majeed, Mohammed Abd Al-salam, and Salah M. Salih. "Experimental and theoretical analysis of photovoltaic thermal collector performance with multi-flow channel." Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences (2023)
  • Chow, Tin Tai. "A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology." Renewable Energy (2018): Vol4 88-119.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315793245-122

  • Chow, T. T. "Performance analysis of photovoltaic-thermal collector by explicit dynamic model." Solar Energy 75, no. 2 (2003): 143-152.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2003.07.001

  • Assoa, Y. B., and C. Ménézo. "Dynamic study of a new concept of photovoltaic–thermal hybrid collector." Solar energy 107 (2014): 637-652.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.05.035

  • Guarracino, Ilaria, James Freeman, Alba Ramos, Soteris A. Kalogirou, Nicholas J. Ekins-Daukes, and Christos N. Markides. "Systematic testing of hybrid PV-thermal (PVT) solar collectors in steady-state and dynamic outdoor conditions." Applied energy 240 (2019): 1014-1030.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.12.049

  • Guarracino, Ilaria, Alexander Mellor, Nicholas J. Ekins-Daukes, and Christos N. Markides. "Dynamic coupled thermal-and-electrical modelling of sheet-and-tube hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collectors." Applied Thermal Engineering 101 (2016): 778-795.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.02.056

  • Amrizal, N., D. Chemisana, and J. I. Rosell. "Hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors dynamic modeling." Applied energy 101 (2013): 797-807.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.08.020

  • Haurant, Pierrick, Christophe Ménézo, Leon Gaillard, and Patrick Dupeyrat. "A numerical model of a solar domestic hot water system integrating hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors." Energy Procedia 78 (2015): 1991-1997.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.11.391

  • Chen, J. F., L. Zhang, and Y. J. Dai. "Performance analysis and multi-objective optimisation of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collector for domestic hot water application." Energy 143 (2018): 500-516.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.10.143  

  • Pierrick, Haurant, Ménézo Christophe, Gaillard Leon, and Dupeyrat Patrick. "Dynamic numerical model of a high efficiency PV–T collector integrated into a domestic hot water system." Solar Energy 111 (2015): 68-81.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.10.031

 

  • Thinsurat, Kamon, Huashan Bao, Zhiwei Ma, and Anthony P. Roskilly. "Performance study of solar photovoltaic-thermal collector for domestic hot water use and thermochemical sorption seasonal storage." Energy Conversion and Management 180 (2019): 1068-1084.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.11.049

  • Dupeyrat, Patrick, Christophe Ménézo, and S. Fortuin. "Study of the thermal and electrical performances of PVT solar hot water system." Energy and Buildings 68 (2014): 751-755.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.09.032

  • Buonomano, Annamaria, Francesco Calise, and Adolfo Palombo. "Solar heating and cooling systems by absorption and adsorption chillers driven by stationary and concentrating photovoltaic/thermal solar collectors: Modelling and simulation." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 82 (2018): 1874-1908.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.059

  • Calise, Francesco, Massimo Dentice d’Accadia, and Laura Vanoli. "Design and dynamic simulation of a novel solar trigeneration system based on hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors (PVT)." Energy conversion and management 60 (2012): 214-225.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2012.01.025

  • Acevedo, Luis, Javier Uche, Alejandro Del Almo, Fernando Círez, Sergio Usón, Amaya Martínez, and Isabel Guedea. "Dynamic simulation of a trigeneration scheme for domestic purposes based on hybrid techniques." Energies 9, no. 12 (2016): 1013.

https://doi.org/10.3390/en9121013

  • Hughes, A. J., T. S. O’Donovan, and T. K. Mallick. "Experimental evaluation of a membrane distillation system for integration with concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) energy." Energy Procedia 54 (2014): 725-733.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.07.313

  • Giwa, Adewale, Ahmed Yusuf, Abdallah Dindi, and Hammed Abiodun Balogun. "Polygeneration in desalination by photovoltaic thermal systems: A comprehensive review." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 130 (2020): 109946.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.109946

  • Davis, Thomas A., and Malynda A. Cappelle. "Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV-T) system for desalination." U.S. Patent 9,278,315, issued 08 March, 2016
  • Krnac, Andrew, Miguel Araiz, Sohel Rana, Jason Velardo, and Abhijit Date. "Investigation of direct contact membrane distillation coupling with a concentrated photovoltaic solar system." Energy Procedia 160 (2019): 246-252.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.143

  • Selvi, S. R., and R. Baskaran. "Solar photovoltaic-powered membrane distillation as sustainable clean energy technology in desalination." Current science (2015): 1247-1254.

https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v109/i7/1247-1254

  • Wiesenfarth, Maike, Joachim Went, Armin Bösch, Alexander Dilger, Thomas Kec, Achim Kroll, Joachim Koschikowski, and A. W. Bett. "CPV-T mirror dish system combined with water desalination systems." In AIP conference proceedings, vol. 1766, no. 1. AIP Publishing, 2016.

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4962076

  • Li, Guopei, and Lin Lu. "Modeling and performance analysis of a fully solar-powered standalone sweeping gas membrane distillation desalination system for island and coastal households." Energy conversion and management 205 (2020): 112375.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.112375

  • Zhang, Zhaoli, Zicheng Hu, Huibin Xu, Xiaoli Dai, Junfeng Wang, Wenrui Jiao, Yanping Yuan, and Patrick Phelan. "Theoretical analysis of a solar-powered multi-effect distillation integrated with concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system." Desalination 468 (2019): 114074.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.114074

  • Abdelgaied, Mohamed, Mohamed Fathi Seleem, Mohamed Mahgoub Bassuoni, and Ahmed M. Khaira. "Performance of a solar hybrid desalination plant integrated with photovoltaic-thermal collectors for remote regions: Experimental and modeling investigation." Solar Energy 264 (2023): 112082.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.112082

  • Chen, Qian, Muhammad Burhan, Faheem Hassan Akhtar, Doskhan Ybyraiymkul, Muhammad Wakil Shahzad, Yong Li, and Kim Choon Ng. "A decentralised water/electricity cogeneration system integrating concentrated photovoltaic/thermal collectors and vacuum multi-effect membrane distillation." Energy 230 (2021): 120852.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120852

  • Zhang, Jianhua, Jun-de Li, and Stephen Gray. "Researching and modelling the dependence of MD flux on membrane dimension for scale-up purpose." Desalination and Water Treatment 31, no. 1-3 (2011): 144-150.

https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2011.2373

  • Eleiwi, Fadi, Noreddine Ghaffour, Ahmad S. Alsaadi, Lijo Francis, and Taous Meriem Laleg-Kirati. "Dynamic modeling and experimental validation for direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process." Desalination 384 (2016): 1-11.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2016.01.004

  • Tiwari, G. N., Md Meraj, M. E. Khan, R. K. Mishra, and Vihang Garg. "Improved Hottel-Whillier-Bliss equation for N-photovoltaic thermal-compound parabolic concentrator (N-PVT-CPC) collector." Solar Energy 166 (2018): 203-212.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.02.058

  • Ayompe, L. M., Aidan Duffy, S. J. McCormack, and Michael Conlon. "Validated TRNSYS model for forced circulation solar water heating systems with flat plate and heat pipe evacuated tube collectors." Applied Thermal Engineering 31, no. 8-9 (2011): 1536-1542.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2011.01.046

  • Ramlow, Bob, and Benjamin Nusz. Solar water heating: a comprehensive guide to solar water and space heating systems. New Society Publishers, 2010.
  • Remlaoui, Ahmed, Driss Nehari, Mohammed Laissaoui, and Abdelfatah Marni Sandid. "Performance evaluation of a solar thermal and photovoltaic hybrid system powering a direct contact membrane distillation: TRNSYS simulation." Desalination and Water Treatment 194 (2020)

https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2020.25834