Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Salcedo, R.
• Antipova, E.
• Boer, D.
• Jiménez, L.
• Guillén-Gosálbez, G.

Titel

Multi-objective optimization of solar Rankine cycles coupled with reverse osmosis desalination considering economic and life cycle environmental concerns

Ist Teil von

• Desalination, 2012-02, Vol.286, p.358-371

Ort / Verlag

Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This work examines the economic and environmental performance of seawater desalination plants that integrate reverse osmosis, Rankine cycles and solar collectors. The design of these facilities is formulated as a multi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming model (MINLP) that considers the simultaneous minimization of cost and environmental impact given a certain water demand to be fulfilled. The environmental performance is quantified in terms of contribution to global warming, which is holistically determined following life cycle assessment (LCA) principles. A case study that considers weather data of Tarragona (Spain) is used as benchmark to illustrate the capabilities of the approach presented. Using our rigorous modeling and optimization approach, we show that coupling seawater desalination with solar collectors can lead to significant environmental savings at a small increment in cost. Our systematic tool is aimed at guiding decision-makers towards the adoption of more sustainable technological alternatives for seawater desalination. ► A solar assisted Rankine cycle coupled with a reverse osmosis desalination unit is considered. ► Simultaneous minimization of total cost and environmental impact is implemented. ► Pareto front of optimal solutions is obtained and different designs of the systems are compared. ► Coupling of solar collectors with reverse osmosis is shown to be economically viable. ► The CO 2 emissions can be cut down by 2.1 million ton for over 20 years.