The aim of this study was to evaluate emerging desalination technologies that can be integrated with renewable energy systems. Emphasis was placed on membrane distillation and humidification-dehumidification greenhouse desalination. A case study was presented on the feasibility of coupling brackish water greenhouse desalination with membrane distillation for Southern Algeria. Finally, the environmental concerns, market potential, and regulatory factors of integrated systems are discussed.
Water stress is a major challenge facing societies worldwide, especially in arid regions. The increase in population and the consequent necessity for food production have expanded human water intake over the previous decades.
Renewable energy and desalination are technologies that can be blended in various ways to help alleviate the world’s water stress problems. Effectively combined schemes rely on the merging efforts of experts from two distinct disciplines – renewable energy and desalination. In theory, any renewable energy technology can be integrated with a water desalination plant, particularly in the framework of desalination approaches that employ electricity. There is a need to be able to better assess how to integrate different technologies to help resolve the global water stress problems considering economic and environmental sustainability.
Read the complete research at www.researchgate.net.