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Saudi Arabia is one of the richest countries in solar energy. It is also the biggest, and probably one of the fastest growing, consumers of desalinated water in the world. It is thus critical that the country acquires and develops extensive experience in the solar-driven desalination options and technologies, in order to maximize its use of this abundant sustainable resource to secure its future desalination requirements.
Aims
ñ To identify and develop the best combinations of solar energy, energy storage, and desalination technologies for various scales of application.
ñ To gain early operation experience in solar-driven desalination technologies through theoretical studies and carefully selected pilot-scale projects.
ñ To address the issues of demand/supply matching associated with the cyclic, time-varying, nature of solar energy through dynamic process modeling and energy storage solutions.
Outcome
Success of this program can be measured by a number of outcomes and indicators, including:
ñ Theoretical development and analysis of a novel solar-driven desalination processes.
ñ Successful bench and/or pilot-scale demonstration of a novel solar-driven desalination process or technology.
ñ Publication of program results in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Projects:
· Desalination by Solar Energy Assisted Membrane Distillation
· Productivity Intensification of Pulsed Flow Humidification-Dehumidification Solar Desalination Unit
· Design, testing , and fabrication of solar-driven multiple effect desalination unit (proposed)
· Performance and economic analysis of a novel solar distillation unit (proposed)
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