Open AccessDesign considerations and their effects on the operation and maintenance cost in solar‐powered desalination plants
Author(s) -
Kabeel A. E.,
ElSaid Emad M. S.,
Dafea Salah A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
heat transfer—asian research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1523-1496
pISSN - 1099-2871
DOI - 10.1002/htj.21454
Subject(s) - desalination , solar desalination , cost reduction , geothermal desalination , environmental science , engineering , environmental engineering , process engineering , business , genetics , marketing , membrane , biology
The most critical aspects of any desalination plant are maintenance and operation costs. For solar water desalination, cost reduction and production of superior water quality are still crucial factors that attract researchers. Faults in the design of desalination systems can lead to many maintenance and operational problems in these systems and may lead to increasing water costs and/or decreasing quality of water. This paper offers an analytical study of design considerations and its effects on the operation and maintenance of solar‐powered desalination plants such as plant capacity, location, technology, demands, product water specifications, lifetime, availability, reliability, and input resources. This paper also provides an overview of the factors and components of desalination costs compared with other water supply alternatives and traditional desalination methods; discusses challenges and perceptions; and highlights recent developments in the solar water desalination technology that affect the total cost of water delivery and relationships with operation and maintenance.