Hughes, BR, Chaudhry, HN and Rezazadeh, F (2013) Economic viability of incorporating multi-effect distillation with district cooling systems in the United Arab Emirates. Sustainable Cities and Society, 7. 37 - 43. ISSN 2210-6707
Abstract
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the most advanced and developed desalination systems in the world, mainly located along the shore. The aim of this study is to analyze the economic feasibility of incorporating the two most prominent types of desalination systems within the existing district cooling plants in the UAE by utilizing waste heat recovery. Mathematical models are established to compare reverse osmosis (RO) with multi-effect distillation (MED) technology coupled with district cooling in terms of capital and operational costs. Calculated power consumptions were 5.65 MW and 6.65 MW for reverse osmosis and multi-effect distillation respectively. Total capital expenditure during the system life-cycle of 15 years was estimated at US$3.3 million for reverse osmosis and US$3.9 million for multi-effect distillation technique, both in combination with district cooling. The results indicate that the multi-effect distillation technique integrated with district cooling consumes approximately 25% less operational costs than the reverse osmosis integrated district cooling over their life-cycle. On the other hand, thus highlighting the long-term viability of introducing the incorporation of multi-effect distillation technique with district cooling systems in the region.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2013, Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Sustainable Cities and Society. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Sustainable Cities and Society, 7, 2013, 10.1016/j.scs.2012.10.002 |
Keywords: | Desalination; district cooling; multi-effect distillation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) > Institute for Resilient Infrastructure (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 31 Jul 2014 16:32 |
Last Modified: | 31 Jul 2014 16:32 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2012.10.002 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.scs.2012.10.002 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:79900 |