Design and Operation of Small-Scale Photovoltaic-Driven Reverse Osmosis (PV-RO) Desalination Plant for Water Supply in Rural Areas

Fawzi Banat, Hazim Qiblawey, Qais Al- Nasser

Department of Chemical Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid-Jordan.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Department of Chemical Engineering, The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates；Department of Chemical Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.

DOI: 10.4236/cweee.2012.13004                

Abstract

The alarming water and energy crisis in many regions of the world can be eased by combining renewable energy with desalination technologies. The ADIRA project funded by the EU looked for demonstrating the feasibility of water desalination in areas around the Mediterranean by installing a number of autonomous desalination systems (ADS) which are able to convert brackish or seawater into potable water for the needs of small communities. Within the activities of the ADIRA project a reverse osmosis unit powered by photovoltaic electricity was installed in a village in the northern part of Jordan with a capacity of 0.5 m³/day. The system was composed of a softener, reverse osmosis unit, PV panels (432 Wp) and storage batteries. Residential type “OSMONICS” membrane (TFM-100) was utilized in the RO unit. Field tests were performed on brackish water (1700 mg/L total dissolved solids (TDS)). This paper sheds the light on the process flow diagram, sizing of the system main components and presents some of the results obtained.

Keywords

Reverse Osmosis; Water Filters; Ion Exchange System; Membranes; Carbon Filters

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	L. Garcia-Rodriguez, “Renewable Energy Applications in Desalination: State of the Art,” Solar Energy, Vol. 75, No. 5, 2003, pp. 381-393. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2003.08.005
[2]	D. Herold and A. Neskakis, “A Small PV-Driven Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant on the Island of Gran Canaria,” Desalination, Vol. 137, No. 1-3, 2001, pp. 285- 292. doi:10.1016/S0011-9164(01)00230-2
[3]	Energy Research Institute of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, “Photovoltaic Water Pumping and Desalination at Sadous Village,” Newsletter of The Middle East Desalination Research Center, Saudi Arabia.
[4]	K. Mathew, S. Dallas, G. Ho and M. Anda, “Innovative Solar Powered Village Potable Water Supply,” Proceedings of Women Leaders on the Uptake of Renewable Energy Seminar, Perth, 27 June-6 July 2001.
[5]	P. Carvalho, D. Riffel, C. Freire and F. Montenegro, “The Brazilian Experience with a Photovoltaic Powered Reverse Osmosis Plant,” Progress in Photovoltaics, Vol. 12, No. 5, 2004, pp. 373-385. doi:10.1002/pip.543
[6]	D. Riffel and P. Carvalho, “Small-Scale Photovoltaic- Powered Reverse Osmosis Plant without Batteries: Design and Simulation,” Desalination, Vol. 247, No. 1-3, 2009, pp. 378-389. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2008.07.019
[7]	E. Mohamed, G. Papadakis, E. Mathioulakis and V. Belessiotis, “The Effect of Hydraulic Energy Recovery in a Small Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination System; Experimental and Economical Evaluation,” Desalination, Vol. 184, No. 1-3, 2005, pp. 241-246. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2005.02.066
[8]	H. Qiblawey, F. Banat and Q. Al-Nasser, “Laboratory Setup for Water Purification Using Household PV-Driven Reverse Osmosis Unit,” Desalination and Water Treatment, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2009, pp. 53-59. doi:10.5004/dwt.2009.695
[9]	G. Ahmad and J. Schmidt, “Feasibility Study of Brackish Water Desalination in the Egyptian Deserts and rural Regions Using PV Systems,” Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 43, No. 18, 2002, pp. 2641-2649. doi:10.1016/S0196-8904(01)00189-3