Large-scale solar thermal desalination plants: A review

The current global framework, with growing oil price instability, limited oil and gas resources, and Kyoto Protocol environmental requirements, calls for continued improvements in renewable energy resources usage, including solar power. Due to geographic conditions, solar power is a promising energy source for seawater desalination. Indeed, during the last decades, many solar-driven systems have been developed and improved. This paper focuses on the development of large-scale solar desalination systems that are based on the multi effect evaporation process. It is a thermally driven process suitable to operate attractively in combination with solar thermal collectors. Additionally, the concept of supplying the required energy by cogeneration plants is described.