Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Solar and wind opportunities for water desalination in the Arab regions
Ali Al-Karaghouli *, David Renne, Lawrence L. Kazmerski
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: Despite the abundance of renewable energy resources in the Arab region, the use of solar thermal, solar
Received 10 March 2008 photovoltaics, and wind is still in its technological and economic infancy. Great potential exists, but
Accepted 11 May 2008 economic constraints have impeded more rapid growth for many applications. These technologies have
certainly advanced technically over the last quarter century to the point where they should now be
Keywords: considered clean-energy alternatives to fossil fuels. For the Arab countries and many other regions of the
Renewable energy world, potable water is becoming as critical a commodity as electricity. As renewable energy
Water desalination
technologies advance and environmental concerns rise, these technologies are becoming more
Solar thermal
Solar photovoltaic
interesting partners for powering water desalination projects. We evaluate the current potential and
Wind energy viability of solar and wind, emphasizing the strict mandate for accurate, reliable site-specific resource
Arab region data. Water desalination can be achieved through either thermal energy (using phase-change processes)
or electricity (driving membrane processes), and these sources are best matched to the particular
desalination technology. Desalination using solar thermal can be accomplished by multistage flash
distillation, multi-effect distillation, vapor compression, freeze separation, and solar still methods.
Concentrating solar power offers the best match to large-scale plants that require both high-temperature
fluids and electricity. Solar and wind electricity can be effective energy sources for reverse osmosis,
electrodialysis, and ultra- and nano-filtration. All these water desalination processes have special
operational and high energy requirements that put additional requisites on the use of solar and wind to
power these applications. We summarize the characteristics of the various desalination technologies.
The effective match of solar thermal, solar photovoltaics, and wind to each of these is discussed in detail.
An economic analysis is provided that incorporates energy consumption, water production levels, and
environmental benefits in its model. Finally, the expected evolution of the renewable technologies over
the near- to mid-term is discussed with the implications for desalination applications over these
timeframes.
ß 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2398
2. Main desalination technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2398
2.1. Distillation processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2398
2.1.1. Multi-stage flash distillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2398
2.1.2. Multi-effect distillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2398
2.1.3. Vapor-compression distillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2399
2.2. Membrane processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2399
2.2.1. Reverse osmosis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2399
2.2.2. Electrodialysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2400
3. Desalination with renewable energy systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2400
3.1. Solar thermal desalination systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2401
3.1.1. Solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2401
3.1.2. Multi-effect humidification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2402

* Corresponding author at: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA. Tel.: +1 303 384 7699; fax: +1 303 384 6481.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Al-Karaghouli).

1364-0321/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2008.05.007
2398 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407

3.2. Desalination systems driven by solar thermal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2402

3.3. Desalination systems driven by wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2402
3.4. Desalination systems driven by solar photovoltaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2404
3.5. Hybrid desalination systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2405
4. Economic aspects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2405
4.1. General economic assessment of desalination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2405
4.2. Economic analysis for re desalination processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2405
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2406
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2407

1. Introduction desalination capacity is based on the MSF desalination principle.

However, other distillation technologies, such as MED and VC
Desalination is a water-treatment process that separates salts distillation, are rapidly expanding and are anticipated to have a
from saline water to produce potable water or water that is low in more important role in the future as they become better
total dissolved solids (TDS). Worldwide to date, more than 15,000 understood and more accepted. These processes require thermal
industrial-scale desalination units had been installed or con- or mechanical energy to cause water evaporation. As a result, they
tracted, and they account for a total capacity of more than tend to have operating cost advantages when low-cost thermal
8.5 billion gallons/day [1]. energy is available [3].
Desalination techniques are mainly classified into two types:
(1) processes based on physical change in the state of the water or 2.1.1. Multi-stage flash distillation
distillate through evaporation, and (2) processes using a mem- In MSF, seawater feed is pressurized and heated to the plant’s
brane that employ the concept of filtration. Based on installed maximum allowable temperature. When the heated liquid is
capacity, the leader in the market place is the membrane discharged into a chamber maintained at slightly below the
desalination process of reverse osmosis (RO), with 44% of total saturation vapor pressure of the water, a fraction of its water
capacity; this is followed closely by the thermal process of multi- content flashes into steam. The flashed steam is stripped of
stage flash (MSF), with 40% of total capacity. The remaining 16% is suspended brine droplets as is passes through a mist eliminator
divided between other thermal processes, such as multiple-effect and condenses on the exterior surface of the heat-transfer tubing.
desalination (MED) with 4% and vapor compression (VC) with 3%, The condensed liquid drips into trays as hot fresh-water product.
and membrane processes, such as electrodialysis (ED) with 6%, and Fig. 2 is a diagram of a typical MSF unit.
other newer-concept systems with 3% [2].
The main sources of feed water for desalination are seawater 2.1.2. Multi-effect distillation
(58%), brackish ground water (23%), and other sources such as MED units operate on the principle of reducing the ambient
rivers and small salt lakes [2]. The cost of obtaining potable water pressure at each successive stage, allowing the feed water to
by using desalination processes has decreased substantially—and undergo multiple boiling without having to supply additional
at a consistently rapid annual rate throughout recent decades. heat after the first stage. In this unit, steam and/or vapor from a
Over the past 50 years, the per unit cost of MSF, which is a boiler or some other available heat source is fed into a series of
distillation desalination technology that has been used in some tubes, where it condenses and heats the surface of the tubes and
form for centuries, has decreased by an average of 44% per decade. acts as a heat-transfer surface to evaporate saline water on the
In addition, the increasing cost of conventional water supplies due other side. The energy used for evaporation of the saline water is
to overexploitation and scarcity has aided desalination in the heat of condensation of the steam in the tube. The
becoming one of the top options for boosting potable water evaporated saline water—now free of a percentage of its salinity
supply. and slightly cooler—is fed into the next, lower-pressure stage
This paper provides insight into various aspects of desalination where it condenses to fresh-water product, while giving up its
and how renewable energy resources can be coupled to desalina- heat to evaporate a portion of the remaining seawater feed.
tion systems. A brief outline of the technical side of the main Fig. 3 is a diagram of an MED unit.
desalination processes is followed by an assessment of their
respective advantages and disadvantages. The paper then deline-
ates a general economic assessment of the conventional and solar-
coupled desalination processes. This includes a range of cost
estimates of competing processes as stated in the literature and
how they compare to alternative sources of water supply.

2. Main desalination technologies

The main desalination processes are divided into the following

two types of processes (Fig. 1) and other alternative processes [3].

2.1. Distillation processes

Distillation processes mimic the natural water cycle as saline

water is heated, producing water vapor, which in turn is condensed
to form fresh water. These processes include: multi-stage flash
distillation (MSF), multi-effect distillation (MED), and vapor-
compression distillation (VC). Forty percent of the world’s Fig. 1. Main desalination processes.
 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407 2399

Fig. 2. Diagram of a multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) unit.

2.1.3. Vapor-compression distillation 2.2. Membrane processes

The VC distillation process is generally used for small- and
medium-scale seawater desalting units. The heat for evaporating In nature, membranes play an important role in the separation
the water comes from the compression of vapor, rather than from of salts, as in the processes of dialysis and osmosis occurring in the
the direct exchange of heat from steam produced in a boiler. The human body. Membranes are used in two commercially important
plants that use this process are generally designed to take desalination processes: reverse osmosis and electrodialysis. Each
advantage of the principle of reducing the boiling-point tempera- process uses the ability of membranes to differentially and
ture by reducing the pressure. Two primary methods are used to selectively separate salts and water. However, membranes are
condense vapor so as to produce enough heat to evaporate used differently in each of these processes [3].
incoming seawater: a mechanical compressor or a steam jet. The
mechanical compressor (MVC) is usually electrically driven, 2.2.1. Reverse osmosis
allowing the sole use of electrical power to produce water by In reverse osmosis (RO), water in a pressurized saline solution is
distillation (Fig. 4a). separated from the solutes (i.e., the dissolved material) by a
With the steam jet-type of VC unit, also called a thermo membrane. No heating or phase change is necessary for this
compressor (TVC), a Venturi orifice at the steam jet creates and separation, and the major energy requirement is for pressurizing
extracts water vapor from the main vessel by creating a lower the feed water. In practice, the saline feed water is pumped into a
ambient pressure in the main vessel. The extracted water vapor is closed vessel, where it is pressurized against the membrane
compressed by the steam jet. This mixture is condensed on the (Fig. 5). As a portion of the water passes through the membrane,
tube walls to provide the thermal energy (heat of condensation) to the salt content of the remaining feed water increases because
evaporate the seawater being applied on the other side of the tube there is less water containing the same total amount of dissolved
walls in the vessel (Fig. 4b). salts. At the same time, a portion of this saltier feed water is
VC units are usually built in the range of 20–2000 cum/d discharged without passing through the membrane. RO units have
(0.005–0.5 mgd), and they are often used for resorts, industries, or a waste discharge of brackish water or brine that can range from
other sites where fresh water is not readily available. 35% to 100% of its output of fresh water, depending on the feed

Fig. 3. Diagram of a multi-effect desalination (MED) unit.

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Fig. 4. (a) Diagram of a mechanical vapor compression (MCV) and (b) diagram of a thermal vapor compression (TVC).

water being treated. During the past decade, two improvements product-water channel, and the product-water channel becomes
have helped reduce the operating costs of RO plants—the the brine channel. The result is that the ions are attracted in the
developments of membranes that can operate efficiently at lower opposite direction across the membrane stack. Immediately
pressures, and the use of energy recovery devices. Low-pressure following the reversal of polarity and flow, enough of the product
membranes are being widely used to desalinate brackish water water is dumped until the stack and lines are flushed out, and the
because they save on the energy costs associated with pumping. desired water quality is restored. This flush takes about 1 or 2 min,
and the unit can then resume producing water. The reversal
2.2.2. Electrodialysis process is useful in breaking up and flushing out scales, slimes, and
The basic electrodialysis (ED) unit consists of several hundred other deposits in the cells before they can build up and create a
cell pairs bound together with electrodes on the outside and problem. Flushing allows the unit to operate with fewer
referred to as a membrane stack. Feed water passes simultaneously pretreatment chemicals and minimizes membrane fouling.
through the cells to provide a continuous, parallel flow of desalted
product water and brine that emerge from the stack (Fig. 6). 3. Desalination with renewable energy systems
The ED process is only economical when used on brackish water,
and it tends to be most economical at TDS levels of up to 4000– Using desalination technologies driven by renewable energy
5000 mg/L. sources (RES) is a viable way to produce fresh water in many
In the early 1970s, an American company commercially locations today. As the technologies continue to improve—and as
introduced the EDR process for electrodialysis. An EDR unit fresh water and cheap conventional sources of energy become
operates on the same general principle as a standard electro- scarcer—RES desalination will become even more attractive.
dialysis plant except that both the product and the brine channels Fortuitously, renewable energy (RE) has unique synergies in
are identical in construction. At intervals of several times an hour, regions where desalination is most needed. Fig. 7 shows the
the polarity of the electrodes is reversed, and the flows are possible combination of solar and wind systems with desalination
simultaneously switched so that the brine channel becomes the process.

Fig. 5. Diagram of a reverse-osmosis desalination (RO) process. Fig. 6. Movement of ions in the electrodialysis (ED) process.
 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407 2401

Fig. 7. Possible combination of solar and wind systems with desalination processes.

Proper matching of standalone power-supply desalination For this reason, solar thermal desalination has so far been
systems has been recognized as being crucial if the system is to limited to small-capacity units, which are appropriate in serving
provide a satisfactory supply of power and water at a reasonable small communities in remote areas, exposed to water scarcity and
cost. Selecting the appropriate RES desalination technology at the same time, are characterized by high levels of solar radiation.
depends on a number of factors, including the following: amount
of water needed (plant size), feed-water salinity, remoteness, 3.1.1. Solar still
availability of grid electricity, technical infrastructure, and the type Solar-still designs can generally be grouped into four cate-
and potential of the local RE resource. In particular, RES/ gories: (1) basin still, (2) tilted-wick solar still, (3) multiple-tray
desalination systems are currently promising for remote regions, tilted still, and (4) concentrating mirror still. The basin still consists
where connection to the public electrical grid is either not cost of a basin, support structure, transparent glazing, and distillate
effective or feasible, and where water scarcity is severe. Standalone trough. Thermal insulation is usually provided underneath the
systems for electricity supply in isolated locations are now proven basin to minimize heat loss. Other ancillary components include
technologies. Table 1 presents the most promising combinations of sealants, piping and valves, storage, external cover, and a reflector
solar and wind resources with desalination technologies. (mirror) to concentrate light. Single basin stills have low efficiency,
Especially during the last two decades, numerous desalination generally below 45%, due to high top losses. Double glazing can
systems using RE have been constructed. Most of these plants have potentially reduce heat losses, but it also reduces the transmitted
been research or demonstration projects with small capacity. portion of the solar radiation [4].
Several of these plants no longer exist; most are pilot units, and A tilted-wick solar still uses capillary action of fibers to
after the project ends, there is no interest or budget to continue distribute feed water over the entire surface of the wick in a thin
operations. layer. This allows a higher temperature to form on this thin layer.
Insulation in the back of wick is essential. A cloth wick needs
3.1. Solar thermal desalination systems frequent cleaning to remove sediment built-up and regular
replacement of wick material due to weathering and ultraviolet
Two types of systems could be included in this category: (1) degradation. Uneven wetting of the wick can result in dry spots
Simple solar operated devices such as solar stills; (2) solar assisted that reduce efficiency.
distillation systems such as multi-effect humidification systems. In a multiple-tray tilted still, a series of shallow horizontal black
These devices have low efficiency and low water productivity due trays are enclosed in an insulated container with a transparent
to the ineffectiveness of solar collectors to convert most of the glazing on top. The feed-water supply tank is located above the
energy they capture, and to the intermittent availability of solar still, and the vapor condenses and flows down to the collection
radiation. channel and finally to the storage. The construction of this still is
fairly complicated and involves many components that are more
Table 1 expensive than simple basin stills. Therefore, the slightly better
Most promising combination of desalination processes with RES. efficiency it delivers may not justify its adoption.
RE resource Desalination process The concentrating mirror solar still uses a parabolic mirror for
focusing sunlight onto an evaporator vessel. The water is
MSF MED VC RO ED
evaporated in this vessel exposed to extremely high temperature.
Wind H H This type of still entails high construction and maintenance costs.
Solar photovoltaic H H
Solar stills are characterized by low production rates of about
Solar thermal H H
4–6 L/(m2 day). Three types of solar stills are shown in Fig. 8.
2402 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407

Fig. 8. Schematic diagrams of a simple solar still.

3.1.2. Multi-effect humidification In a theoretical study carried out by Sagie et al. [6] using
Multi-effect humidification (MEH) is based on the distillation selective coating evacuated tube solar collectors coupled to an
process that occurs under atmospheric conditions by an air loop MED process. They showed that a combination of a large number of
saturated with water vapor. MEH falls into two types of processes: effects of evaporation and high-pressure saturated steam available
(1) open-water/closed-air cycle, and (2) open-air/closed-water cycle. for recycling yields a dramatic improvement in the production rate
In the first type of MEH unit, air circulates between a humidifier of water desalination with a modest increase in the desalination
and a condenser using natural or forced-draft circulation. Saline installation cost. In their study they presented the fresh water
water feed is preheated in the condenser by the latent heat production cost based on electricity cost of $0.065 kWh 1 for three
condensation of water that would have been lost in a single-basin levels of desalination capacity: (1) fresh water cost of $1.2 m 3 for
still. The feed water leaving the condenser section is further heated a small 1000 m3/day plant typical for serving small settlements or
in the solar collector before being sprayed over packing in the industries at rural locations, isolated from fresh water and grid
humidifier section. power sources; (2) fresh water cost of $0.92 m 3 for a medium size
In the second type of MEH unit, the water heats and humidifies plant of 10,000 m3/day typical for serving a city; (3) fresh water
the cold mixed air entering the evaporator. The warm, moist air cost of $0.69 m 3 plant on the scale of a national water supply
then enters the condensing section and heats the saline water feed plant. The study also indicated that when electricity cost is above
before it is discharged from the system. The water is circulated in $0.071 kWh 1, the solar-MED plant is more economical than RO
the system, as shown in Fig. 9. plant. Fig. 10 shows a combination of solar thermal-MED plant
According to Bourouni et al. [5], the MEH principle offers several diagram.
advantages such as flexibility in capacity, moderate installation In general, thermal distillation systems are unstable in small sizes.
and operating costs, simplicity, and the possibility of using low- This leads to the use of medium- and large-size evaporators that do no
temperature energy such as solar energy. MEH units are very quite fit with the sizes and capacities usually applied with renewable
compact, consisting of an evaporator where air is humidified and a energies—unless a huge solar field can be built, which, in turn, implies
condenser where distilled water is recovered. The energy large ground areas. Therefore, the combination of solar-thermal/
requirements in an MEH process are for compensation of sensible distillation seems best suited for medium and high production
heat loss of salt water, pumping salt water, and blowing the air. capacities. However, research has also been done in small capacities.
Table 2 presents several existing solar thermal MED plants.
3.2. Desalination systems driven by solar thermal
3.3. Desalination systems driven by wind
The solar thermal part of the distillation plant includes a field of
solar collectors, where a thermal fluid is heated. The collectors Wind turbines can be used to supply electricity or mechanical
must be able to heat the thermal fluid to medium temperatures so power to desalination plants. Few applications have been
that after appropriate heat transfer, the water fed to the evaporator implemented using wind energy to drive a mechanical vapor
reaches temperatures between 70 and 120 8C. compression unit. A pilot plant was installed in 1991 at Borkum, an
The best-known solar thermal distillation combination is solar island in Germany, where a wind turbine with a nominal power of
multi-effect (MED) distillation. From an energy perspective, the 45 kW was coupled to a 48 m3/day MVC evaporator. A 36-kW
main supply to the desalination plant is a large thermal input, as compressor was required. The experience was followed in 1995 by
well as some auxiliary electricity required for pumping. another larger plant at the island of Rügen. Additionally, a 50 m3/
 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407 2403

Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of a MEH unit: (a) with an open-water/closed-water cycle; (b) with an open-air/closed-water cycle.

day wind MVC plant was installed in 1999 by the Instituto of the innovations of the SDAWES project, which differentiates it
Tecnologico de Canarias (ITC) in Gran Canaria, Spain, within the Sea from other projects, is that the wind generation system behaves
Desalination Autonomous Wind Energy System (SDAWES) project like a mini power station capable of generating a grid similar to
[7]. The wind farm is composed of two 230-kW wind turbines, a conventional ones without the need to use diesel sets or batteries
1500-rpm flywheel coupled to a 100-kVA synchronous machine, to store the energy generated.
an isolation transformer located in a specific building, and a 7.5- Regarding wind energy and RO combinations, a number of units
kW uninterruptible power supply located in the control dome. One have been designed and tested. As early as 1982, a small system

Fig. 10. A combination of solar thermal-MED plant diagram.

2404 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407

Table 2
Solar thermal distillation plants.

Plant location Year of Water type Capacity (L/h) RES installed power Unit water cost ($/m3)
commission

Almeria, Spain, CIEMAT 1993 SW 3000 2.672 m2 solar collector area 3.6–4.35
Hazeg, Sfax, Tunisia 1988 BW 40–50 80 m2 solar collector area 25.3
Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria, SODESA Project 2000 SW 25 50 m2 solar collector area –
Sultanate of Oman, MEDRC Project 2002 SW 42 5.34 m2 solar collector area –

SW: seawater; BW: brackish water.

was set at Ile du Planier, France [8], which as a 4-kW turbine water desalination. These units in combination with other system
coupled to a 0.5-m3/h RO desalination unit. The system was components, such as synchronous machines, flywheels, batteries,
designed to operate via either a direct coupling or batteries. and diesel generators, supply and store energy and water precisely
Another case where wind energy and RO was combined is that according to demand [12]. Table 3 shows several existing wind/RO
of the Island of Drenec, France, in 1990 [9]. The wind turbine, rated installations.
at 10 kW, was used to drive a seawater RO unit. A very interesting
experience was gained at a test facility in Lastours, France, where a 3.4. Desalination systems driven by solar photovoltaics
5-kW wind turbine provides energy to a number of batteries
(1500 Ah, 24 V) and via an inverter to an RO unit with a nominal The main advantages of the coupling of photovoltaics (PV)
power of 1.8 kW. with desalination units are the following: ability to develop
A 500 L/h seawater RO unit driven by a 2.5-kW wind generator small desalination plants, limited maintenance cost of PV, and
(W/G) without batteries was developed and tested by the Centre ease of transportation and installation. RO usually uses AC for
for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) UK. The system the pumps, which means that DC/AC inverters are required.
operates at variable flow, enabling it to make efficient use of the Energy storage is again a matter of concern, and batteries are
naturally varying wind resource, without need of batteries [10]. used for PV output power smoothing or for sustaining system
Excellent work on wind/RO systems has been done by ITC operation when solar energy is insufficient. The main dis-
within several projects such as AERODESA, SDAWES, and AERO- advantage of this coupling is the high cost of PV. The typical PV/
GEDESA [2]. RO applications are standalone [13]. Several installed PV/RO
Additionally, a wind/RO system without energy storage was systems are presented in Table 4.
developed and tested within the JOULE Program (OPRODES-JOR- Solar Energy Systems (SES) in Australia is commercializing a
CT98-0274) in 2001 by the University of Las Palmas. The RO unit small PV/RO unit, developed at Murdoch University, capable of
has a capacity of 43–113 m3/h, and the W/G has a nominal power producing about 400 L/day of water from feed water containing up
of 30 kW [11]. to 5000 ppm TDS. They have installed about 20 systems, primarily
In addition, a great job on the combination of wind/RO has been in three desert areas of Australia. The system is designed for 15–
done by ENERCON, the German wind turbine manufacturer. 20% water recovery. Part of the reason for the low water recovery is
ENERCON provides modular and energy-efficient RO desalination to reduce problems with scaling. One of the problems that SES
systems driven by wind turbines (grid-connected or standalone encountered was biological fouling of pre-filters during field-
systems) for brackish and seawater desalination. Market-available testing in Western Australia and Indonesia. Also, failures of plunger
desalination units from ENERCON range from 175 to 1400 m3/day pumps (manufactured in-house by SES) have been reported; the
for seawater desalination and 350 to 2800 m3/day for brackish- design was changed to correct this problem.

Table 3
Installed wind/RO plants.

Plant location Year of Water type Capacity (L/h) W/T nominal Unit water
commission power (kW) cost ($/m3)

Ile de Planier, France 1983 SW/BW 500 4 –

Fuerteventura island, PUNTA JANDIA Project 1995 SW 2333 225 –
Therasia island, Greece 1997 SW 200 15 –
Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria, AEROGEDESA Project 2003 SW 800 15 4.4–7.3
CREST, UK 2004 SW 500 2.5 2.6

Table 4
Several PV/RO installed plants.

Location Feed water Capacity PV (kWp) Batteries (kWh) Energy consumption Water cost Year
(ppm) (m3/day) (kWh/m3) ($/m3)

Sadous, S. Arabia 5800 15 10.08 264 1994

Elhamarawien, Egypt 3500 53 19.8 + 0.64 control 36 0.89 11.6 1986
Heelafar Rahab, Oman 1000 5 3.25 9.6 6.25 1995
Hassi-Kheba Algeria 3200 0.95 2.59 Non 10
Inetl, Portugal 5000 0.1–0.5 0.05–0.15 Non 2000
White Cliffs, Australia 3500 0.5 0.34 Non 2–8
Coite-Pedreias, Brazil BW 0.25 1.1 9.6 3–4.7 14.9 2000
Mesquite, Nevada 3500 1.5 0.4 1.38 3.6 2003
Conception,Mexico 3000 0.71 2.5 Non 6.9 1982
Lampedusa, Italy SW 40 100 880 5.5 9.5 1990
St. Luci, FL SW 0.64 2.7 13 1995
ITC Canaries Island, Spain SW 3 4.8 19 5.5 13 1998
 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407 2405

Table 5
Installed hybrid RO plants.

Plant location Year of commission Water type Capacity (L/h) RES nominal power Unit water cost ($/m3)

Maagan Michel 1997 BW 125–375 3.5 kWp PV, 0.6 kW W/G, 3 kW diesel 11.6
AUA, Athens 2001 SW 62–125 850 Wp PV, 1 kW W/G –
Lavrio, Attiki, Greece 2001 SW 130–150 3.9 kWp PV, 0.9 kW W/G 33.55

3.5. Hybrid desalination systems of water produced from plants of different type and capacity.
Product unit prices generally take into account all relevant costs
Autonomous hybrid systems are independent and incorporate originating from direct capital, indirect capital, and annual
more than one power source. One important application is the use of operating costs.
PV and wind generators to drive RO desalination units. Diesel
generators are mainly used as backup; however, fuel transportation 4.2. Economic analysis for re desalination processes
to remote areas poses the same difficulties as water transportation
[14]. Table 5 presents three installed hybrid RO plants. Technical feasibility of renewable-powered desalination sys-
tems should be accompanied by economic feasibility to justify the
4. Economic aspects implementation of the technology. Despite the free nature of
renewable energy resources, their collecting systems are not
We now look at the economic aspects of desalination, first from always viable or affordable. Therefore, it is important to look at the
a general perspective, then focusing on an analysis of renewable economic aspects of desalination systems powered by various
energy desalination processes. renewable energy sources.
Because of limited commercialization of solar units, the capital
4.1. General economic assessment of desalination costs and operating costs are not as well established as for the
other processes. For solar stills, the cost of water production is high
The economies of desalination and the decision as to which due to the low productivity of these stills. However, this type of
approach to select are contingent on situation-specific parameters. desalination is only used in remote areas where there is no access
Because energy is the main driver in the cost of operation, to conventional energy resources [16]. Table 8 compares the water
economic feasibility of either approach to desalination is highly costs for simple and multi-effect solar stills. As shown, the water
correlated to the location specific-cost and availability of energy costs for multi-effect solar stills are much lower than for simple
[15]. Table 6 present a comparative illustration of energy’s share of stills.
total operational cost for a 10 mgbd seawater RO plant and For the hybrid plants (distillation and RE system), we can
10 mgbd MSF plant installed in Libya. assume that the capital costs of the solar generating system will
In the representative example above, the capital cost is significantly exceed that of the desalination unit. The economics of
considerably higher for the thermal than for the membrane operating solar desalting units tend to be related to the cost of
process. This reflects the prevailing situation in the desalination producing energy with these alternative energy devices. At this
industry, in which the construction cost of thermal desalination time, the cost tends to be high, but may be expected to decline as
plants, exceeds that of membrane plants. All other main costs further development of these devices reduces their capital cost.
related to operating a desalination plant are usually higher for The capital cost of an 80 m3/day solar-assisted MED facility
membrane processes due to the greater complexity of main- installed at Umm Al Nar in Abu Dhabi was recently estimated at
tenance tasks and operation. Accordingly, cost of chemicals is 7% about $2 million, or about $25,000/(m3 day) of installed capacity
vs. 2%, maintenance and parts are 14% vs. 7%, and labor cost is 9% vs.
Table 7
7% of total operating cost for the representative RO and MSF plants,
Fresh water cost for different types and capacities.
respectively. Membrane replacement, which is listed separately,
adds further to the maintenance cost for RO, whereas this cost is Type of system and capacity (mgbd) Product cost ($ Cent/gallon)
obviously absent for thermal processes. MVC (0.03) 1.894
Strong inter-firm competition and advances in technology have MVC (0.13) 1.220
resulted in average annual unit cost reductions of close to 6% for MVC (1.06) 0.939
MVC (1.20) 0.920
MSF processes since 1970. In addition, many MSF desalination
MVC (5.28) 0.174
plants, which are mostly located in the Middle East, have
increasingly taken advantage of economies of scale. RO, which MSF (7.13-dual purpose) 0.292
MSF (7.13-single purpose) 0.621
has been used commercially only since 1982, has seen even steeper
MSF (gas turbine, waste heat boiler) 0.545
cost declines since inception. Membrane costs have fallen by 86% MSF (9.99) 0.473
between 1990 and 2002 [13]. Steeply declining maintenance cost,
MED (6-dual purpose) 0.330
in combination with relatively low capital cost, has contributed
MED (6-single purpose) 0.739
much to the rapidly growing success of membrane technology. MED (9.99) 0.409
The unit product cost of fresh water differs when it is produced MED (gas turbine, waste boiler) 0.496
from different plant capacities. Table 7 shows the unit product cost RO (5.28, single stage) 0.242
RO (5.28, two stage) 0.288
Table 6 RO (0.03) 0.898
Percentage of cost for conventional systems. RO (1.06) 0.750
RO (1.20) 0.489
Type of Capital Energy Maintenance Membrane Labor Chemicals RO (9.99) 0.413
plant cost cost and repair cost replacement RO (30) 0.208

RO 31% 26% 14% 13% 9% 7% MED-TVC (single purpose) 0.866

MSF 42% 41% 8% 0% 7% 2% MED-TVC (dual purpose) 0.496
2406 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407

Table 8
Water costs for simple and multi-effect solar stills [16].

Type Capacity/productivity Water cost ($/m3) Description Reference

2
Solar stills 4 L/(m day) 23.80 20 years lifetime, collector cost: $315 m 2, 5% interest rate Tembiltz-Sembitsky [17]
Multi-effect stills 12 L/(m2 day) 9.95 Storage module, 20 years lifetime, 5% interest rate Tembiltz-Sembitsky [17]
Multi-effect stills 20 L/(m2 day) <9.0a Non-corroding polymer absorbers, storage, 24-h operation Tembiltz-Sembitsky [17]
a
Predicted.

Table 9 As shown, the cost of water production of a conventional RO

Distribution of costs for conventional (RO and MF) desalination systems and for
system is less than that of a conventional MSF system. However, for
systems driven by RE [16].
solar-based systems, the partial solar-based MSF system gives the
Type of process Capital costs (%) Operational costs (%) Energy costs (%) lowest cost of water production.
Conventional (RO) 22–27 14–15 59–63
Conventional (MSF) 25–30 38–40 33–35 5. Conclusions
Renewable 30–90 10–30 0–10
Desalination technology, developed extensively over the past
40 years, is now reliably used to produce fresh water from saline
Table 10 sources. This has effectively made possible the use of saline waters
Cost comparison of solar pond-powered desalination with conventional SWRO. for water resource development. The costs for desalination can be
System type Capacity (m3/day) significant because of its intensive use of energy. However, in many
arid areas of the world, the cost to desalinate saline water is less
SWRO SP-MED SP-HYB
than other alternatives that may exist or be considered for the
20,000 200,000 20,000 200,000 20,000 200,000 future. Desalinated water is used as a main source of municipal
Investment (mil. $) 20.0 160.0 48.0 380.0 32.0 250.0 water supply in many areas of the Caribbean, North Africa, and the
Specific investment 1000 800 2400 1900 1600 1250 Middle East. Using desalination technologies, especially for soft-
($/(m3 day)) ening mildly brackish water, is increasing rapidly in various parts
Unit water cost ($/m3) 0.77 0.66 0.89 0.71 0.79 0.65
of the world.
There is no ‘‘best’’ method of desalination. Generally, distilla-
[18]. Table 9 shows the comparison of cost distribution for tion and RO are used for seawater desalting, whereas RO and
conventional systems (RO and MSF) and plants driven by an RE electrodialysis are used to desalt brackish water. However, the
system. For the renewable systems, the investment costs are the selection of a process should depend on a careful study of site
highest and the energy costs are the lowest. conditions and the application at hand. Local circumstances may
In a 1995 study, Gluecktern showed that solar-pond desalting play a significant role in determining the most appropriate process
systems have considerable potential to be cost effective if favorable for an area.
site conditions exist [16]. Table 10 presents the cost comparison of The renewable/conventional hybrid systems such as solar/MSF,
solar-pond-powered desalination with conventional seawater solar/MED, and solar-wind/RO have mainly been investigated
reverse osmosis (SWRO) for two production capacities (20,000 theoretically. These studies have indicated that these systems
and 200,000 m3/day). As seen from the table, the unit water cost could compete with conventional systems under certain circum-
difference is relatively small. However, investment costs and stances. Very few solar desalination plants have been reported in
specific investment cost for solar-powered systems are still higher the literature. The economic competitiveness of solar/MED and
compared with the SWRO systems, where the difference decreases solar/MSF technologies with systems using conventional sources
as the capacity increases. has been shown in a number of theoretical studies. However, this
Suri et al. [19] studied the techno-economic viability of solar has not been verified experimentally and therefore cannot be used
desalination using PV and low-grade thermal energy using solar as a guide for decision-making regarding technology selection for a
ponds. They compared the cost of water production of a particular application.
conventional cogeneration system (producing electricity and Solar-powered desalination technologies are suitable and may
water) and that of solar-powered MSF and RO systems. The be the only technically and economically competitive alternative
figures in Table 11 were based on a plant capacity of 1 m3/day and for small desalination capacities up to 10 m3/day to provide
annual utilization factors of 75% for solar-based systems and 90% drinking water in remote areas where access to fuel, electricity,
for conventional systems. and technical expertise is not available.
The economic analyses carried out so far have not been able to
Table 11 provide a strong basis for comparing economic viability of each
Cost of water production using conventional and solar-powered MSF and RO desalination technology. The economic performances expressed in
systems. terms of cost of water production have been based on different
Parameter Conventional Partial Complete system capacity, system energy source, system component, and
system solar-based solar-based water source. These differences make it difficult, if not impossible,
system system to assess the economic performance of a particular technology and
compare it with others.
MSF Areas of current and future research on solar thermal
Annual water production (m3) 328 274 274 desalination focus on the following three aspects: (1) enhancing
Cost of water production ($/m3) 1.75 1.79 2.84 solar-energy collection, (2) improving the technology of
desalination techniques, and (3) better matching the solar
RO field and desalination unit. These areas of investigation
Annual water production (m3) 328 274 274 directly relate to the economic performance improvement of
Cost of water production ($/m3) 1.30 5.70 12.05
the system.
 A. Al-Karaghouli et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 2397–2407 2407

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