Thermal hydraulic performance of a seawater desalination system coupled with a nuclear heating reactor

A physical and mathematical model for the multi-effect distillation process with vertical tube evaporators (VTE—MED) coupled with a nuclear heating reactor (NHR) was described. Results of analysis on thermal hydraulic performances of the NHR—VTE—MED system are provided. Two types of temperature difference distribution schemes (equal temperature difference and in-section equal heat transfer area) were adopted for the thermal hydraulic performance analysis. Heat transfer coefficient, heat transfer area, and production of potable water in every effect were analyzed. The analysis shows that the GOR in the NHR—VTE—MED system for the two types of temperature difference distribution schemes studied can reach 20.     

Analysis of water production costs of a nuclear desalination plant with a nuclear heating reactor coupled with MED processes

A nuclear heating reactor (NHR) was designed with the required inherent safety and simplified design features. Power capacity of the NHR-200 (200 MW(th), with steam production of 380 t/h) is compatible with reasonably sized desalination plants. Thermal-hydraulic parameters of the produced steam (2.4 bar and 124°C) are suitable for coupling with distillation processes. Economic competitiveness of the NHR desalination plant is the key point to which the public and decision-makers are paying good deal of attention. Coupling of the NHR with selected MED processes and design parameters of an integrated desalination plant are described. Results of analyses of water production costs are presented as well. Based on the economic evaluation, the average energy cost of the nuclear plant may reach 5.44 $/t of steam, and the provided water production cost may reach 0.72 $/m³ and 0.76 $/m³ for coupling with HT–VTE–MED and LT–HTE–MED processes, respectively.     

Economic evaluation of seawater desalination for a nuclear heating reactor with multi-effect distillation

Seawater desalination for low temperature nuclear heat reactor (NHR) has been studied for many years in China and other countries in the world, such as Morocco, and five countries in North Africa. Now, the feasibility studies of nuclear desalination demonstration plants are being performed using NHR with 200 MW thermal coupling to a multi-effect distillation (MED) plant, with a production of 160,000 m³/d (NHR-200) in Yintai City, Shandong province and Tianjin City on the coastal area in eastern China. This paper presents the economic assessment of the NHR-200 in Tianjin City, and reviews the economics of the different power sizes of NHR coupling to the MED, e.g. NHR-10, NHR-200, double NHR-200 in North Africa, the Middle East, the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. It is very suitable to satisfy the site of no great electric grid, drought and scarce of freshwater for the characteristics of NHR with safe, clean and low total investment.     

Coupling of nuclear heating reactor with desalination process

A seawater desalination plant using a nuclear heating reactor (NHR) coupled with the multi-effect distillation (MED) process was developed by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, China. The seawater desalination plant was designed to supply potable water demand to some coastal location or island where both fresh water and energy sources are severely lacking. The NHR design possesses intrinsic and passive safety features, which was demonstrated by the NHR-5 experiences. The intermediate circuit and steam circuit were designed as the safety barriers between the NHR and MED desalination systems. With the power range of the heating reactor within 10 to 200 MWt, the desalination plant could provide 8,000 to 160,000 m³/d of potable water of appropriate quality. The design concept and parameters, safety features, and comparative investigation of coupling schemes are presented in the paper.     

An approach to improve the economy of desalination plants with a nuclear heating reactor by coupling with hybrid technologies

In order to investigate the possible approach to increase thermal efficiency of desalination plants, decrease water production costs and further optimize the coupling design of a nuclear heating reactor (NHR) with the desalination process, the coupling schemes of NHR reactors with hybrid desalination technologies were investigated. The cogeneration operation mode was adopted in this investigation. Two coupling schemes were selected for the cogeneration mode: NHR + low-temperature MED+RO and NHR + low-temperature MED+MED/VC. Technical specifications and economic aspects of the investigation are briefly presented in this paper.     

Potential of heat pipe technology in nuclear seawater desalination

Heat pipe technology may play a decisive role in improving the overall economics, and public perception on nuclear desalination, specifically on seawater desalination. When coupled to the Low-Temperature Multi-Effect Distillation process, heat pipes could effectively harness most of the waste heat generated in various types of nuclear power reactors. Indeed, the potential application of heat pipes could be seen as a viable option to nuclear seawater desalination where the efficiency to harness waste heat might not only be enhanced to produce larger quantities of potable water, but also to reduce the environmental impact of nuclear desalination process. Furthermore, the use of heat pipe-based heat recovery systems in desalination plant may improve the overall thermodynamics of the desalination process, as well as help to ensure that the product water is free from any contamination which occur under normal process, thus preventing operational failure occurrences as this would add an extra loop preventing direct contact between radiation and the produced water. In this paper, a new concept for nuclear desalination system based on heat pipe technology is introduced and the anticipated reduction in the tritium level resulting from the use of heat pipe systems is discussed.     

Comparison of solar thermal technologies for applications in seawater desalination

This paper deals with a global analysis of the use of solar energy in seawater distillation under Spanish climatic conditions. Static solar technologies as well as one-axis sun tracking were compared. Different temperature ranges of the thermal energy supply required for a desalination process were considered. At each temperature range, suitable solar collectors were compared in some aspects as: (1) fresh water production from a given desalination plant; (2) attainable fresh water production if a heat pump is coupled to the solar desalination system; (3) area of solar collector required for equivalent energy production. Results showed that direct steam generation (DSG) parabolic troughs are a promising technology for solar-assisted seawater desalination.     

LTE desalination utilizing waste heat from a nuclear research reactor

Nuclear reactors produce significant amounts of low-quality waste heat which can be utilized for producing high-quality water from seawater by coupling a low-temperature evaporation (LTE) desalination unit. Salient features of the desalination plant, the nuclear research reactor and the waste heat utilization from the reactor are discussed. The scheme of integrating desalination plants with the nuclear research reactors is also presented. This LTE desalination plant utilizing waste heat from a nuclear research reactor will be the first of its kind while demonstrating the safety and economics of nuclear desalination technology as a viable alternative to producing demineralised water from seawater.     

竖管多效蒸发海水淡化系统的启动特性

建立大型竖管多效蒸发海水淡化系统的动态启动控制模型,通过数值分析研究,对系统的启动过程和启动特性进行理论探索.分析了初始原料海水流量以及最高饱和温度等运行参数的选择对系统启动过程的影响.研究了启动阶段,原料海水流量与系统的造水比以及启动时间之间的耦合影响;计算结果为原料海水流量的优化提供了依据.研究还表明,在启动之初,系统即可稳定地承担作为热源的低温核供热堆的额定产热量,显示该系统和核供热堆具有良好的耦合特性.建立的启动模型在经过实验验证加以完善之后,可以作为分析系统动态运行特性的理论基础.     

Economic optimal control applied to a solar seawater desalination plant

This paper discusses the formulation of an optimal control strategy taking into account economic objectives in the fresh water production process through a solar seawater desalination plant. It contributes both a linearised model of the solar-field dynamics and a simplified model of the produced distillate as a function of the outlet solar field water temperature. Then such linear models are used to design an economic receding horizon optimal controller. In particular, it comprises incomes related to the production of fresh water and the costs dealing with the electricity. Several simulations validate the proposed models and show the performance of the proposed economic optimal control strategy. In both cases, actual disturbances from physical experiments have been included in the simulations. Notice that the AQUASOL facility available at the Plataforma Solar de Almería (Spain) has been considered in this work as testbed.     

A preliminary optimization analysis on design parameters of the VTE-MED process coupled with nuclear heating reactor

In order to investigate the optimization of the design parameters of the VTE-MED system coupled with NHR-200 [1], effects of system design parameters (including system effect number, material of heat transfer tube, geometric size of heat transfer tube, feed seawater temperature and top brine temperature) on performance of the VTE-MED system were analyzed by using the developed code [2]. Results of the analysis are presented in this paper.     

液化天然气深冷-膜蒸馏海水淡化系统集成与分析

提出了一种PRICO天然气液化-膜蒸馏（MD）海水淡化系统集成方法,利用PRICO过程压缩机出口的余热驱动MD海水淡化。采用Aspen Plus和GAMS建立了集成系统的数学模型,综合考虑系统的结构、物流物性、设备规模、操作参数等系统设计问题,分析不同设计下系统的投资、能耗、运行费用以及MD单位产水成本。模型应用于一个处理量为1 kmol/s的PRICO天然气液化系统与MD集成的案例研究。计算结果表明,单位产水成本最小时,系统产水成本为1.98 USD/m³,淡水产量为5.78 m³/h,与反渗透等海水淡化技术相比,MD在经济性方面具有较强的竞争力。     

多效蒸发海水淡化系统可行域时变分析与全周期操作优化

能耗过高制约了多效蒸发（MED）海水淡化技术的大规模应用,稳态操作优化虽然能够有效减少MED系统的短期蒸汽消耗速率,但污垢累积导致该系统在长周期运行时蒸汽消耗量升高和装置减产。为此,首先针对带蒸汽压缩机（TVC）的MED系统（MED-TVC）提出可行域的概念,分析表明操作点在可行域中的位置决定了系统的运行效益。随后通过可行域的时变分析发现操作点超出可行域是稳态优化中系统性能逐渐衰减的原因。最后利用可行域的性质,提出了时变约束的全周期操作优化方法。该方法通过调整MED-TVC系统在运行周期内的操作条件,获得全周期最低的蒸汽消耗量,同时利用时变的可行域约束保证优化结果在全周期内均满足淡水产量要求。结果表明,时变约束的全周期操作优化在维持MED-TVC系统的设计淡水产量的同时,全周期蒸汽消耗量相比于设计值减少了19.6%,能够很好地解决MED-TVC系统的操作优化问题。     

Validating the performance simulation program “SOLDES” using data from an operating solar desalination plant

A computer program (named SOLDES) was developed to simulate the operation of solar desalination plants which utilize evacuated tube collectors, heat accumulators and multiple-effect distillation (MED) systems. The heat accumulator used is of the thermally stratified type using pure water as the storage fluid. The procedure was written in Fortran language and consists of a main program, 22 sub-programs, two system data files and four meteorological data files. The absorber area of the solar collector field can be varied between 500 m² and 20,000 m²; the storage capacity per unit collector area of the heat accumulator can vary between 0.05 and 1.00m³/m²; the capacity of the evaporator can be varied between 100 m³/d to 2000 m³/d. The heat collecting system uses a bypass circuit to allow the heat collecting fluid (pure water) to recirculate back to the solar collector field when the outlet temperature from the collector field is below a set-point. When the collector outlet temperature rises above the set-point, operation is switched over to the accumulator side. A solar-cell-type controller is used to start and stop the water circulating pump of the collector field. The operation of the MED evaporator is controlled by the state of charge of the heat accumulator by the use of set-point switches which allow the evaporator to start up when the accumulator water temperature is above a set-point and to shut down if the water temperature drops below the set point. In order to validate the SOLDES program, a comparison was made between the predicted results of the program and the actual measured data from a solar plant of similar design features to the simulation program. The selected plant was the one in actual operation in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which has almost identical design features as the simulation program and has been in operation since 1984. The data from the plant collected during 1985 were used to compare the simulation results for the months of January and June. These two months were found to be typical of a winter month (January) and of summer months (June). Except for days when a plant interruption took place, such as a power failure, the agreement between the measured and simulation data appears to be quite good.     

膜蒸馏海水淡化研究进展及发展趋势

海水淡化是解决我国水资源短缺的重要措施之一。膜蒸馏海水淡化技术可以充分利用太阳能等低品位热源，具有成本低、设备简单、操作容易、能耗低等优点，在海水及苦咸水淡化方面应用前景广阔。     

Application of alternative energy integration technology in seawater desalination

Technologies that are used mainly in the seawater desalination industry are reviewed and evaluated in this paper. The utilization principles, applications and problems of solar and nuclear energy in desalination are respectively summarized and discussed with emphasis. Other alternative energies such as wind, hydro-energy and ocean energy are also presented. Applying alternative energy integration technologies in seawater desalination as a key proponent to meet the future challenges of sustainable development and/or energy issue was also discussed.     

Comparison of classical solar chimney power system and combined solar chimney system for power generation and seawater desalination

An alternative method of heat and moisture extraction from seawater under the collector of a solar chimney system for power generation and seawater desalination is investigated with the aim of estimating the output of power and fresh water when used in seawater desalination using one-dimensional compressible flow model. It is found that the temperature and velocity of the airflow inside the chimney in the combined plant is less than that inside the chimney in the classic plant due to the release of vapor latent heat as the air rises up the chimney. Additionally, the power output from air turbine generators and water generators in the combined plant is less than that of the classic plant. Furthermore, a revenue analysis based on the price of fresh water and electric power in Dalian, China shows that the chimney less than 445 m high for the proposed combined solar chimney power plant having a collector 3000 m in radius is more economical than for the classic plant. The critical chimney height is found to depend on the local price of fresh water and electricity.     

Solar desalination with a humidification-dehumidification cycle: mathematical modeling of the unit

Solar desalination is gradually emerging as a successful renewable energy source of producing fresh water. Solar Multi-Effect Humidification (MEH) units based on the humidification-dehumidification principle are considered as the most viable among solar desalination units. A simulation study of these units leads to a better understanding of the performance of such type of desalination units. This study therefore focuses on studying and analysing the effects and performance of various components involved in the process along with the study of the effect of water feed flow rate on the desalination production. To our knowledge, there is no such comprehensive model available in the literature. This study could lead a step further in the commercialisation of solar desalination units based on the humidification-dehumidification principle.     

Solar desalination with a humidification-dehumidification technique — a comprehensive technical review

Major desalination processes consume a large amount of energy derived from oil and natural gas as heat and electricity. Solar desalination, although researched for over two decades, has only recently emerged as a promising renewable energy-powered technology for producing fresh water. Solar desalination based on the humidification-dehumidification cycle presents the best method of solar desalination due to overall high-energy efficiency. This paper provides a comprehensive technical review of solar desalination with a multi-effect cycle providing a better understanding of the process. Discussion on methods to improve system performance and efficiency paves the way towards possible commercialisation of such units in the future.     

First experimental results of a new hybrid solar/gas multi-effect distillation system: the AQUASOL project

From 2002 to 2006, a combined R&D project named AQUASOL has been carried out at the facilities of the Plataforma Solar de Almería (Spain). Main objective of this project has been the development of a hybrid solargas desalination system based on multi-effect distillation process that meets at the same time the requirements of low-cost, high efficiency and zero discharge.

The final AQUASOL plant, implemented at the Plataforma Solar de Almería for its evaluation under real meteorological conditions, is composed of: (i) a 14-cell forward-feed vertically-stacked MED unit, (ii) a 500m2 stationary CPC (compound parabolic concentrator) solar collector field, (iii) a 24 m3 thermal storage system based on water, (iv) a new advanced prototype of double-effect absorption (LiBr-H2O) heat pump, (v) a smoketube gas boiler to guarantee 24-h operation

This paper shows the first experimental results obtained during the test campaign of the project. The performance ratio reached by the distillation plant in different operational modes is evaluated, as well as the issues related with the operation of the subsystems that compose the AQUASOL desalination system.