Techno-economic analysis of a hybrid thermal desalination system integrated with a PVT collector

Sustainable societies will require innovative technical solutions to fulfil the mounting demand for water and energy to support urban lifestyles. Meeting the challenges of the water-energy nexus requires the implementation of sustainable technologies such as photovoltaics, solar desalination, and their integrated solutions, to meet a growing demand. The novelty of the present work is to utilizing the waste heat in proposed photovoltaic thermal (PVT) based hybrid desalination system with a step-wise solar still (SSS) and humidification-dehumidification (HD) desalination is being studied with an emphasis on life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of the proposed configuration. Life cycle studies reveal that the average energy production factor (EPF) is 14.84, the average life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) is 72.82 % over a 25-year life span, and the energy payback time (EPBT) is about 1.9 years on an energy basis with an average thermal efficiency of 77.72 %. The significance of hybrid systems for sustainable development has been highlighted, along with the possibility of 4.53 tons of CO2 reduction and 389.58 USD in carbon credits that can be obtained annually for a typical solar radiation of 610 W/m2 by deploying this hybrid system.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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