Maximum salt adsorption tracking in capacitive deionization cell powered by photovoltaic solar panel

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are considered as a support unit and eco-friendly energy source for the desalination system. If the surface of the desalination plant is covered by PV cells, it is possible to produce self energized desalination plants. Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a water purification technology known for its reduced energetic footprint. The cells are supplied with Direct current (DC) power which makes the application of the PV panels logically intuitive. Conventional existing PV maximum power point trackers (MPPT) are similar to each other in hardware as electrically DC modulated and operated, but different in software. Through different algorithms, existing PV power trackers aims battery charging or grid-tie exportation as application. In this study, a new power tracking using the water flow control is presented as an adapted solution for water desalination using the solar power. The developed algorithm is based on Maximum Salt Adsorption Tracking (MSAT). The proposed algorithm shows a comparative performance as other tracking algorithms under varying radiations. Besides, MSAT brings considerable lower costs by eliminating the need of any storage unit and any DC to DC converters. The developed controller is described in detail and comparative simulated/experimental analysis and performance evaluation are presented.

Automated summary

Photovoltaic systems can provide support and eco-friendly energy for desalination plants. By covering the surface of the desalination plant with PV cells, self-energized desalination plants can be produced. Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a water purification technology that is known for its reduced energy consumption. PV panels, which operate with direct current (DC) power, can be applied logically to supply power for CDI cells.