SolarDesalination:AComparativeAnalysis ZacharyTaillefer,AnthonyScalzi,RyanStock,andAndrewTremblay Advisor:ProfessorDavidSpanagel

Watertouches,andistouchedby,allofourdaily
actions,andmanyseriousproblemsinvolvingwaterface
ReverseOsmosis
allcurrentandfuturegenerations."
PeterGleick

600gallonsofwaterarerequiredtomakeapoundofhamburger
72gallonsofwaterarerequiredtomakeacupofcoffee Abstract
Inthelightofincreasedwaterusageanddepletingnaturalwatersupplies,the
worldisfacinganimpendingwatershortage.Tocombatthis,manycountrieshave
turnedtodesalinationtoderiveusablewaterfromthesea.Inthisreport,wehave
researchedthecurrentdesalinationtechnologiesavailableinordertoprovidea
MultiStageFlash comparativeanalysisofdifferentmethodsofsolardesalinationandothermethods
ofconventionaldesalinationforthebenefitofthosewhoareundecidedorignorant
ReverseOsmosisisonethesimplestformsofdesalination,itonlyinvolves
pushingasolutionthroughafilter.Pressureisappliedtoone sideofthe
systemandpushestheseawaterthroughamembraneandthesaltis
essentiallyfiltered.However,thisprocessisonlysimpleintheideathatdrives
theprocess,inorderfortheprocesstobesuccessfulintricate mathematical
calculationsmustbecomputedotherwisethesystemwillnotfunction
properly.ThisrequiresaskilledlaborertooperatetheReverseOsmosis
operation.Themembranesarealsocomplexpolymersthatrequire precise
manufacturing.

toallviableoptions.Fromourresearch,wehaveconcludedthat althoughsolar
desalinationisnotaviableoptionatthepresent,furtherresearchinefficiencyand
longevityofsolarpanelswillmakesolarassisteddesalinationthemosteconomically
advantageousofmethods.
Advantages
InMultiStageFlashDistillation,seawaterispumpedintoa Oneofthesimplestformsofdesalinationintheory.
brineheaterwherethewaterisheated.Theheatedwateris
thenpassedtoanothercontainerthatissignificantlylowerin
pressure;thispressurechangecausestheseawaterto
SolarDesalination Simplypushesthewaterthroughafilter.
Disadvantages
Requiresaskilledlaborertooperate.
instantaneously(flash)boilandconvertstosteam.Onlya WithconventionalSolarDesalination,abasinisfilled
smallpercentageofthewaterisconvertedduetothe withseawater;thisbasinhascoveredbyacurvedor Themembranesarealsocomplexpolymersthatrequireprecisemanufacturing.
pressurechangesothewateroftengoesthroughseveral slopingsurfacetransparenttosolarradiation.The
"stages"ofpressuredropsinordertoextractthewater. watercondensesonthecoveringandiscollected.

Advantages
Relativelylowinvestmentcosts.
ThecostdistributionofSolarDistillationisdramaticallydifferentfromthatofReverseOsmosisand
MSF.Themaincostisintheinitialinvestment.However,once thesystemisoperationalitis
Electrodialysis
Disadvantages extremelycheaptomaintainandtheenergyhaslittleorevenno cost.Thissystemcanhaveano
Highmaintenancecost,sinceitrequiresextensivetraining. cost energysupplybecausethesunsenergyiscompletelyfreeandifthesituationallowsit,the Electrodialysis involvesrunningalargeamount
plantcanruncompletelyoffsolarradiationinanidealenvironment.Becauseoftheamountofspace ofelectriccurrentthroughacontainerof
requiredforasolardesalinationplant,mostoftheinitialcostisdeterminedbylandvalues(S.Al seawater.Thiscreatesasaltpoorlayeron
Hallaj et.al.,171).Thepriceofthesolarpanelsarealsoamaindeterminantofthecostoftheplant. onesideandasaltrichlayerontheotherside.
Thismethodisveryefficientbecauseitdoes
notrequireachangeofstateforthewater

DualPurposePowerPlants howeveritdoesrequiremassiveamountsof
electricitythatcangetveryexpensive.

DualPurposePowerPlantscreatebothwaterand Advantages
electricity.Apowerplantsturbinegivesoff Doesnotrequireanyofthesolutiontochangeitsstateofmatter.
excesssteamwhichisusedtopowerthe Simplyseparatesthesolutefromthesolvent,inthiscasesaltandwaterrespectively.
desalinationplant,makingitoneveryefficient Disadvantages
useofenergyandresources.
Requiresmassiveamountsofelectricitytoproducethedesiredeffect.
Maynotbefinanciallyfeasibleformanycountriessufferingfromwatershortages.

Advantages
Producesbothelectricityandcleanwater.
Advantages
Noenergycostsduetotheuseofsolarpanels.
Conclusion
Veryefficientuseofenergy. Costsofsolarpanelsaredecreasing.
Withtechnologyconstantlyimproving,andcurrentpricesofconventionalfuelsources
Verylowmaintenance.
Disadvantages increasing,itcanbesafetosaythatsolarassisteddesalinationwillbeoneofthemost
Disadvantages efficientandaffordableoptionsinthenearfuture.Thehuntforwaterwillneverend,but
Tradeoffbetweenenergyproducedandwaterproduced. Requiresalotofspace. withapositivemindtowardstechnologyandresearch,supplycan bekeptwellaheadof
Priceofwaterdeterminedbypriceoffuel. Initialinvestmentcostduetothepriceofland. demandandthefutureworldcanexperienceatimewithoutthefearofloomingwater
Currentcostsofpanelsareexpensive. shortages.
HighOverhead
Noeconomyofscale.