Environmental and technical assessment through computer simulation and design of a solar hybrid power plant with MSF/TVC-MED/TVC desalination

This article describes a new hybrid system for desalination, power, and freshwater. This innovative system uses solar power (via parabolic trough collectors) to generate electricity and desalinate sea water through a combined steam Rankine cycle and multi effect distillation-thermal vapor compressor/multi stage flash (MED-TVC/MSF-TVC) processes. High desalination yields, a high gain output ratio (GOR), low product costs, and substantial power production are achieved by employing dual steam Rankine cycles in conjunction with MSF-TVC and MED-TVC desalination. The process parameters and design were examined using ASPEN Plus software. Findings indicate a power plant electricity generation capacity of 79.07 MW and freshwater production of 3689 m3/h. This desalination process currently achieves 57% desalination efficiency with a GOR of 9.58. The designed process demonstrates sound economic performance, with freshwater costing 2.2 $/m3, power at 0.055 $/kW, and a 765 M$ net present value (NPV). System performance's response to various parameters was also evaluated through sensitivity analysis. Results indicate energy and exergy efficiencies for the new process are 76.62% and 50.77%, respectively. In addition, a life cycle assessment (LCA) confirms that the redesigned process is significantly more environmentally friendly. Innovative design solves energy and water shortages through combined power generation and desalination.