Techno-Economic Analysis of a Solar Thermal Plant for Large-Scale Water Pasteurization
Source abstract
Abstract
Water pasteurization has the potential to overcome some of the drawbacks of more conventional disinfection techniques such as chlorination, ozonation and ultraviolet radiation treatment. However, the high throughput of community water systems requires energy-intensive processes, and renewable energy sources have the potential to improve the sustainability of water pasteurization plants. In case of water pasteurization by solar thermal treatment, the continuity of operation is limited by the intermittent availability of the solar irradiance. Here we show that this problem can be addressed by a proper design of the plant layout, which includes a thermal energy storage system and an auxiliary gas boiler. Based on a target pasteurization protocol validated by experiments, a complete lumped-component model of the plant is developed and used to determine the operating parameters and size of the components for a given delivery flow rate. Finally, we report an economic analysis of the proposed plant layout, which allows its optimization for different scenarios based on two design variables, namely the solar multiple and the duration of the thermal energy storage. Based on the analyzed cases, it is found that the proposed plant layouts may yield a unit cost of water treatment ranging from ≈32 EUR-cents m−3 to ≈25 EUR-cents m−3.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods · Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies · Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Clean Water Center, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Centro Ricerche SMAT, Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Viale Maestri del Lavoro 4, 10127 Torino, Italy
Funding
undefined undefined
References (56)
Show source-provided references
1. WHO/UNICEF (2017). Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines, World Health Organization.
2. (2011). Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, World Health Organization (WHO) Chron.. [4th ed.].
3. Cheremisinoff, N., and Knovel, F. (2002). Handbook of Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Elsevier Science. Chemical Petrochemical & Process.10.1016/B978-075067498-0/50014-0 ↗
4. The challenge of micropollutants in aquatic systems10.1126/science.1127291 ↗
5. Nano-metering of solvated biomolecules or nanoparticles from water self-diffusivity in bio-inspired nanopores10.1186/s11671-019-3178-5 ↗
6. Howe, K.J., Hand, D.W., Crittenden, J.C., Trussell, R.R., and Tchobanoglous, G. (2012). Principles of Water Treatment, John Wiley & Sons.
7. Woldemariam, D., Martin, A., and Santarelli, M. (2017). Exergy analysis of air-gap membrane distillation systems for water purification applications. Appl. Sci., 7.10.3390/app7030301 ↗
8. Saber, O., and Kotb, H.M. (2020). Designing Dual-Function Nanostructures for Water Purification in Sunlight. Appl. Sci., 10.10.3390/app10051786 ↗
9. Selection of surrogate pathogens and process indicator organisms for pasteurisation of municipal wastewater—A survey of literature data on heat inactivation of pathogens10.1016/j.psep.2019.11.011 ↗
10. Disinfection methods and by-products formation10.1080/19443994.2014.941010 ↗
11. Comparison of disinfection byproduct formation from chlorine and alternative disinfectants10.1016/j.watres.2007.01.032 ↗
12. Ozonation of drinking water: Part I. Oxidation kinetics and product formation10.1016/S0043-1354(02)00457-8 ↗
13. Ozonation of drinking water: Part II. Disinfection and by-product formation in presence of bromide, iodide or chlorine10.1016/S0043-1354(02)00458-X ↗
14. Inactivation credit of UV radiation for viruses, bacteria and protozoan (oo) cysts in water: A review10.1016/j.watres.2005.10.030 ↗
15. Gray, N.F. (2014). Ultraviolet Disinfection. Microbiology of Waterborne Diseases, Elsevier.10.1016/B978-0-12-415846-7.00034-2 ↗
16. Heat resistance and mechanism of heat inactivation in thermophilic campylobacters10.1128/AEM.72.1.908-913.2006 ↗
17. Irreversible heat inactivation of transfer ribonucleic acids10.1016/S0021-9258(18)96095-3 ↗
18. A synergistic evaluation on application of solar-thermal energy in water purification: Current scenario and future prospects10.1016/j.enconman.2018.10.090 ↗
19. Passive solar high-yield seawater desalination by modular and low-cost distillation10.1038/s41893-018-0186-x ↗
20. A review of water heating technologies: An application to the South African context10.1016/j.egyr.2018.10.013 ↗
21. The revival of thermal utilization from the Sun: Interfacial solar vapor generation10.1093/nsr/nwz030 ↗
22. Exergy analysis of solar desalination systems based on passive multi-effect membrane distillation10.1016/j.egyr.2020.02.005 ↗
23. Sustainable freshwater production using passive membrane distillation and waste heat recovery from portable generator sets10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114086 ↗
24. Water/Ethanol and 13X Zeolite Pairs for Long-Term Thermal Energy Storage at Ambient Pressure10.3389/fenrg.2019.00148 ↗
25. Model predictive control-based optimal operations of district heating system with thermal energy storage and flexible loads10.1109/TASE.2016.2618948 ↗
26. CSP plants with thermocline thermal energy storage and integrated steam generator–Techno-economic modeling and design optimization10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.160 ↗
27. Feachem, R.G., Bradley, D.J., Garelick, H., and Mara, D.D. (1983). Sanitation and Disease: Health Aspects of Excreta and Wastewater Management, John Wiley and Sons.
28. Coffee-based colloids for direct solar absorption10.1038/s41598-019-39032-5 ↗
29. Most probable number method for microbial populations
30. Lazzarin, R., Noro, M., Righetti, G., and Mancin, S. (2019). Application of hybrid PCM thermal energy storages with and without al foams in solar heating/cooling and ground source absorption heat pump plant: An energy and economic analysis. Appl. Sci., 9.10.3390/app9051007 ↗
31. Kloben Industries S.r.l. (2016). Scheda Tecnica: Collettore Solare Sky Pro Advanced, Kloben Industries S.r.l.
32. (2018, September 18). PVGIS: Photovoltaic Geographical Information System. Available online: http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/.
33. PV-GIS: A web-based solar radiation database for the calculation of PV potential in Europe
34. Hot water service using high-efficiency gas-fired appliances10.1177/014362449201300303 ↗
35. Increase of efficiency and reliability of liquid fuel combustion in small-sized boilers10.1088/1742-6596/891/1/012243 ↗
36. Bergman, T.L., Incropera, F.P., DeWitt, D.P., and Lavine, A.S. (2011). Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, John Wiley & Sons.
37. Experimental investigation of single phase convective heat transfer coefficient in a corrugated plate heat exchanger for multiple plate configurations10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2010.01.021 ↗
38. Estimation of pressure drop in gasket plate heat exchangers10.1515/auoc-2016-0011 ↗
39. Kakaç, S., Liu, H., and Pramuanjaroenkij, A. (2002). Heat Exchangers: Selection, Rating, and Thermal Design, Taylor & Francis. [2nd ed.].10.1201/9781420053746 ↗
40. Forced convection heat transfer correlations for flow in pipes, past flat plates, single cylinders, single spheres, and for flow in packed beds and tube bundles10.1002/aic.690180219 ↗
41. Correlating equations for laminar and turbulent free convection from a horizontal cylinder10.1016/0017-9310(75)90222-7 ↗
42. Citrini, D., and Noseda, G. (1987). Idraulica, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
43. Duffie, J.A., and Beckman, W.A. (2013). Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, John Wiley & Sons.10.1002/9781118671603 ↗
44. Abrams, A., Farzan, F., Lahiri, S., and Masiello, R. (2014). Optimizing Concentrating Solar Power with Thermal Energy Storage Systems in California, DNV GL.
45. An analytical optimization of thermal energy storage for electricity cost reduction in solar thermal electric plants10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.10.134 ↗
46. Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage Integration Strategies for Peak Power Production by Concentrating Solar Power Plants10.1016/j.egypro.2014.03.173 ↗
47. Turton, R., Bailie, R.C., Whiting, W.B., and Shaeiwitz, J.A. (2008). Analysis, Synthesis and Design of Chemical Processes, Pearson Education.
48. (2018, November 12). Eurostat Energy Database. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/data/database.
49. Pitz-Paal, R., Dersch, J., and Milow, B. (2005). European Concentrated Solar Thermal Road-Mapping, The German Aerospace Center (DLR).
50. Taylor, M. (2012). Renewable Energy Technologies Cost Analysis Series: Concentrating Solar Power, IRENA.
51. Mellen, C.M., and Evans, F.C. (2010). Valuation for M & A: Building Value in Private Companies, John Wiley & Sons.
52. Damodaran, A. (2019). Equity Risk Premiums (ERP): Determinants, Estimation and Implications—The 2019 Edition. Soc. Sci. Res. Netw.10.2139/ssrn.3378246 ↗
53. Fernandez, P., Pershin, V., and Acin, I. (2018). Market Risk Premium and Risk-Free Rate used for 59 Countries in 2018: A Survey. Soc. Sci. Res. Netw.10.2139/ssrn.3155709 ↗
54. Analysis of CSP plants for the definition of energy policies: The influence on electricity cost of solar multiples, capacity factors and energy storage10.1016/j.enpol.2010.06.009 ↗
55. Installation of a concentrated solar power system for the thermal needs of buildings or industrial processes10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.121 ↗
56. Membrane distillation: Solar and waste heat driven demonstration plants for desalination10.1016/j.desal.2013.04.011 ↗