Desalination in the Mediterranean Solar Energy

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Desalination in the Mediterranean(Solar Energy)?
Water Crisis Solutions and Community
Development Engineers Without Borders Urbana, 27
Sept. 2007
John Georgiadis The WaterCAMPWS Mechanical Sci.
Eng. Dept. University of Illinois at U-C
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Outline

• Why Solar energy for desalination in the
  Mediterranean ?
• Solutions when infrastructure is developed
• Solutions in isolated regions
• The role of multinational political Unions
• Who is the WaterCAMPWS ?

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Population Density
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North Mediterranean Middle East/North
AfricaSolar Flux Availability and Energy
Requirements

• 1 km2 receives solar energy yearly 1.5 mil
  barrels
• Total capacity in coastal MENA 5700 TWh/y
• 80 MW CSP plants in USA and Spain
• 410 MW operating now

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Solar Energy DesalinationOptions

• Not developed infrastructure
• Small villages in rural areas
• Small settlements
• Small islands

• Infrastructure Developed
• Large cities
• Large settlements

• Thermal, PV, Wind, (Diesel generators)?
• Alternate electricity supply
• Alternate heat supply
• No chemical additives for pre/post-treatment
• Solar Energy as Only Source
• Need to adapt/develop new desalination
  technologies, materials, and back-up systems

• Large scale power stations
• Electricity grid
• Waste heat
• Solar Energy as Fuel Saver
• Can use standard desalination technologies
• High Efficiency solutions are needed

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Line focusing concentrating collector coupled to
a steam cycle power station
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Solar Tower ? gas turbine, combined power cycle
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Stand-Alone Desalination Systems Requirements

• 100 energy self-sufficient operation
• Operation with alternate energy supply
• Maintenance free operation
• No chemical additives for pre/post-treatment
• High durability harsh ambient conditions
• High efficiency low technical complexity

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Evaporation ? Condensation
(M. Wieghaus, Fraunhofer Inst.)?
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Pilot Aqaba (Jordan)?
(M. Wieghaus, Fraunhofer Inst.)?
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Solution 2 Forward Osmosis
(M. Elimelech, Yale University)?
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Solar-Powered Stirling Generators
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Seawater Agriculture
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Political Unions

• European Union (EU) aims to integrate East-West
• Mediterranean Union (MU) initiative (800 million
  people, 27 EU states, Middle East, North Africa,
  Balkans)?
• MU is more difficult it can succeed if not
  driven by polarizing political agendas

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Closure

• Large communities higher efficiency for
  desalination and energy generation
• Small communities new desalination solutions
  need to be adapted or developed to exploit ample
  solar flux
• There is an increasing European Union role in
  developing these solutions
• The Mediterranean Union initiative might
  re-define the relationship North-South