A Review of Renewable Energy Technologies Integrated With Desalination System

Abstract

Seawater desalination technologies have been developed in large numbers during the last decades to supplement the supply of water in many arid regions of the world. Due to the limitations of high desalination costs, many countries are unable to afford these technologies as a resource for fresh water. However, the energy required to run desalination plants put a constraint for its effective use. The idea behind the use of renewable energy sources is fundamentally attractive and many researches have been done in this area. When the global reserves of fossil fuels are decreasing which results in threatening the long-term sustainability of global economy the only option is the use of Renewable energy which provides a variable and environmental friendly option and national energy security. The integration of renewable resources in desalination and water purification is becoming increasingly attractive. This is justified by the fact that plenty of solar energy is available in the areas of fresh water shortages. In this paper an attempt has been made to present a review, in brief, work of the highlights that have been achieved during the recent years worldwide and the state-of-the-art for most important efforts in the field of desalination by renewable energies, with emphasis on technologies and economics. Renewable energies for use in desalination processes include wind, solar thermal, photovoltaic and geothermal. Many studies of water desalination costs appear regularly in water desalination and renewable energy related publications. Economics of desalination seem to be very much site specific and the cost per cubic meter ranges from installation to installation. The variability in economics exists because the water cost depends upon many factors, most important of which are the desalination method, the level of feed water salinity, the energy source, the capacity of the desalting plant, and other site related factors.