Novel integrated gas turbine solar cogeneration power plant

Concentrating solar cogeneration power plants (CSCPP) may provide a key solution for the pressing freshwater deficits in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and could be used in the future for export electricity to Europe. From this standpoint the current study was undertaken to include proposed schemes of CSCPP, that would fully exploit the potential of hybrid reverse osmosis (RO)/multi effect distillation (MED) seawater desalination. Thereby, the primary objective of the present study was to identify and investigate the effectiveness and thermodynamic performance of CSCPP schemes. To satisfy this objective, detailed computational model for key components in the plant has been developed and implemented on simulation computer code. The thermal effectiveness in the computational model was characterized by the condition of attaining a maximum fuel saving in the electrical power grid (EPG). The study result shows the effectiveness of proposed CSCPP schemes. Especially the integrated gas turbine solar cogeneration power plant (IGSCP) scheme seems to be an alternative of the most effective technologies in terms of technical, economic and environmental sustainability. For the case study (lGSCP and the design number of effects 10 for low-temperature MED unit) the economical effect amount 172.3 ton fuel/year for each MW design thermal energy of parabolic solar collector array (PSCA). The corresponding decrease in exhaust gases emission (nitrogen oxides (NO.) 0.681 ton/year MW, carbon dioxides (CO2) 539.5 ton/year MW). Moreover, the increase in the output of PSCA and, subsequently, in solar power generation, will also be useful to offset the normal reduction in performance experienced by gas turbine unit during the summer season. Hence, the influence of the most important design parameters on the effectiveness of ISGPP has been discussed in this paper.