On the feasibility of community-scale photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis desalination systems for remote locations

Amy M. Bilton, Richard Wiesman, A.F.M. Arif, Syed M. Zubair and Steven Dubowsky

Renewable Energy, 2011, vol. 36, issue 12, 3246-3256

Abstract: This paper presents a generalized methodology to evaluate the feasibility of photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis (PVRO) systems for small, remote communities in challenging environments. The economic feasibility is determined by comparing the cost of water from a photovoltaic reverse osmosis system with the cost of water obtained using conventional diesel-powered reverse osmosis. For PVRO systems, the feasibility is a function of location due to variation in solar resource, water type, system demand and local governmental policies. A series of sample cases were analyzed to demonstrate the method. Analysis for community-scale seawater reverse osmosis systems was carried out for various locations using Geographic Information System (GIS) data. A site-specific analysis has been completed for seawater and brackish water reverse osmosis systems. It was found that photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis is feasible for the majority of remote locations with a large solar resource.

Keywords: Photovoltaic; Reverse osmosis; Feasibility; Small-scale; Rural (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:36:y:2011:i:12:p:3246-3256

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2011.03.040

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