Techno-economic feasibility and environmental impact evaluation of a hybrid solar thermal membrane-based power desalination system

The present study investigates the performance of a hybrid solar thermal membrane-based multigeneration system for generating power, cooling, heating, and water. The integrated arrangement consists of organic Rankine cycle (ORC), Kalina cycle (KC), ammonia-water refrigeration, Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and forward osmosis (FO). A comprehensive multicriteria assessment of energy, exergy, economic, environmental, and emergy (5 E) is conducted to ensure a systematic examination. The results indicate that the allocation of R113 in the ORC yielded the highest exergetic efficiency and energy cost of 46.61% and 0.08109 $/kWh, respectively. Additionally, the system achieved the lowest environmental impact of 1694 mPts.h-1 when employing R718. The utilization of rejected water-ammonia in the PRO and FO modules achieves a reasonable power density and water flux of 17.5 W m- 2 and 67.94 l m- 2h-1, respectively. Finally, emergy-based sustain-ability analysis revealed that the proposed system obtains a sustainability index of 0.73, which is greater than that of the fossil fuel-based power generation systems. Comparison of three considered scenarios based on emergy and economic analysis demonstrated that fossil fuel driven system is not providing sustainable products even with a 72.3% decrease in initial capital cost. For further improvements, we highlight several areas for additional research and provide recommendations for existing solar-and membrane-driven systems.

Automated summary

This study investigates the performance of a hybrid solar thermal membrane-based multigeneration system for generating power, cooling, heating, and water. The results show that the allocation of R113 in the system yielded the highest energy efficiency and lowest environmental impact. Additionally, the utilization of rejected water-ammonia achieved reasonable power density and water flux. The sustainability analysis revealed that the proposed system obtains a sustainability index greater than that of fossil fuel-based power generation systems.