HYBRID SOLAR SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING HOT/COLD DESALINATED WATER AND GENERATING ELECTRICITY
The protracted water and electricity crises in Gaza are the driving force behind finding an innovative, smart, and decentralized system that can introduce – even partially – a solution, the Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), for the two interconnected problems, i.e., electricity shortage and water deficit. Accordingly, this project was implemented by UCAS in close coordination with Oxfam in 2019. The implementation has been divided into several phases, starting from reviewing different works achieved in the same regard and ending with implementing on-site the water desalination system. The project included designing and installing a prototype/pilot purification unit or system that uses solar radiation to produce fresh/desalinated home-use water. The work within this project concentrates on the technology of LFR. In this project, LFRs are constructed from long thin segments of mirrors (reflectors) which work on the Fresnel principle. The concentrated sunlight is received on a central linear absorber (receiver) which contains the working fluid and converts the reflected solar energy into thermal one.
According to the initial concept of the project, the pilot system is expected to produce about 8.25 kWh of electrical energy daily by utilizing a 1.5 kW turbine. Additionally, the average expected production of water over the year was about 120 litres per day which varies in the winter and summer seasons depending on the weather conditions and solar radiation. It was illustrated that the system acts as a competitor among other alternatives; for instance, the amount of the produced purified water (about 500 litres per day) is relatively high and its market value is also high, i.e., about 1.2 Euro. Additionally, the proposed pilot system has almost zero waste from the water through its purification cycle. In comparison, local traditional water desalination units (RO units) have a considerable amount of waste (brine). The local expert mentioned that (30% - 50%) of feedwater goes as waste while only the remaining (50% - 70%) can be used. Such a point acts as credit for this initiative.
Initially, the system was intended to produce cold and hot desalinated home-use water as well as to generate electricity. Due to different factors/obstacles, the implemented system was only able to produce fresh/desalinated home-use water (cold). However, Oxfam and The University College for Applied Science (UCAS) pledged to subject the system to further research and development in order to achieve the intended results.
