Feasibility study of brackish water desalination in the Egyptian deserts and rural regions using PV systems

Fresh water is the most important source for life on the earth. In the Egyptian deserts and rural areas, there is a shortage of fresh water in spite of the presence of large sources of brackish water. Solar energy is abundant in these remote areas of Egypt, where the amount of sunshine hours is around 3500 h/year. This paper introduces a feasibility study of water desalination in these areas using photovoltaic energy as the primary source of energy. The availability of water resources and solar energy in these areas has been investigated. Also, a design of a PV powered small scale reverse osmosis water desalination system is studied and economically estimated. It is found that the cost of producing 1 m(3) of fresh water using the small PV powered RO water desalination systems is 3.73$. This cost is based on using a small system that is operating during the daylight only. If the system size and the daily period of operation are increased, the price of producing fresh water will be decreased in these regions. Also, it is important to mention that using renewable energy sources in feeding different systems in these rural areas with their energy demands will maintain their environment clean and healthy for people. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.