Performance Assessment of Coupled Concentrated Photovoltaic-Thermal and Vacuum Membrane Distillation (CPVT-VMD) System for Water Desalination

Juan Pablo Santana, Carlos I. Rivera-Solorio (), Jia Wei Chew, Yong Zen Tan, Miguel Gijón-Rivera and Iván Acosta-Pazmiño
Additional contact information
Juan Pablo Santana: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico
Carlos I. Rivera-Solorio: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico
Jia Wei Chew: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore
Yong Zen Tan: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459, Singapore
Miguel Gijón-Rivera: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Vía Atlixcáyotl 5718, Reserva Territorial Atlixcáyotl, Puebla 72453, PUE, Mexico
Iván Acosta-Pazmiño: Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey 64849, NL, Mexico

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: Numerical simulations were carried out to assess the technical and economic feasibility of a solar water desalination system that has a novel hybrid Concentrating Photovoltaic Thermal (CPVT) collector coupled with a Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) process. A special characteristic of this CPVT is its triangular receiver with PV cells facing the reflecting surface. This type of receiver has the advantage of generating more electricity with less PV surface area and great potential to be used to hybridize conventional parabolic thermal collectors. TRNSYS was employed to analyze the annual performance of the CPVT-VMD system evaluating parameters such as solar fraction, specific permeate production and specific energy production for different coastal cities. In the dynamic simulations, local annual weather data and specific information about the characteristics and operating conditions of a real CPVT collector and a VMD module were considered. From the parametric analysis the optimal surface area of collectors and the input temperature of the VDM module were determined. A maximum specific permeate of 218.410 m 3 /m 2 VMD for Acapulco, MX, and a minimum of 170.365 m 3 /m 2 VMD for Singapore, SG, were achieved for the proposed CPVT-VMD system of four solar collectors with an operating set temperature of 55 °C. An economic profit was found after 7 years for Acapulco city, which showed great potential to use solar energy from hybrid CPVT collectors for a VMD process to provide freshwater in coastal cities.

Keywords: solar energy; Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal; Parabolic Through Collector; Vacuum Membrane Distillation; desalination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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