The Performance of Combined Solar Chimney System for Power Generation and Seawater Desalination

Energy and fresh water shortages are two important problems which the whole world faces. Making use of solar energy to desalt seawater or brackish water and setting up solar chimney power systems can go some way to solve the aforementioned problems. In this study an alternative method of heat and moisture extraction from seawater under the collector of a solar chimney system for power generation and seawater desalination with a high-efficiency condenser (HEC) is investigated with the objective of estimating its performance. In seawater desalination one-dimensional compressible flow model was employed. The combined solar chimney system for power generation and seawater desalination (CSCSPD) can achieve simultaneously multitargeted production such as power and freshwater. The performance of CSCSPD is studied and investigated mathematically and economically. The mathmatical investigation is done by using some parameters from the pilot setup in Dalian, China. the mathematical modeling was constructed by employing the matrix laboratory software (MATLAB) to achive accurate estimations for variations in the parameters. The aim of the mathematical modeling is to investigate and obtain the optimal working of the power plant . The investigation that relates to the economic value of the project is estimated by employing a methodological approach based on revenue analysis. In this regard, the revenue analysis is based on the price of fresh water and electric power in Dalian, China. Furthermore, the economic model is developed by utilising MATLAB software. The final results obtained indicated that the price of the water from the integrated power plant compares favourably to the price range of fresh water produced by conventional energy supply and wind energy supply. It can be concluded that the application of the multi-product system will enhance the economic performance of a solo solar chimney system (SSCS). The results of the proposed mathematical and economic model clearly show how parameters of the CSCSPD affects ascending or descending to enhance the efficiency of integrated power plant performance. The integrated system would significantly improve the utilization efficiency of solar energy. Keywords: CSCSPD, MATLAB software, Integrated system, Solar power plant, Total electric power, Efficiency of power plant, mass flow rate, condenser.