Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

An integrated, solar-driven membrane distillation system for water T

purification and energy generation
Qiyuan Lia,b, Lisa-Jil Beiera, Joel Tana, Celia Browna, Boyue Liana, Wenwei Zhonga,f, Yuan Wanga,
Chao Jia, Pan Daid, Tianyu Lid, Pierre Le Clecha, Himanshu Tyagie, Xuefei Liua, Greg Lesliea,
Robert A. Taylorb,c,
⁎

a
UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Kensington, New South Wales
2052, Australia
b
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Kensington, New South Wales 2052, Australia
c
School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Kensington, New South Wales 2052, Australia
d
Beijing Origin Water, Huairou, Beijing 101400, PR China
e
School of Mechanical, Materials and Energy Engineering, India Institute of Technology Ropar (IIT Ropar), India
f
Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PR China

HIGHLIGHTS GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

• Aforwater-energy system was developed

cogeneration of clean water and
heat.
• The solar membrane distillation
module was tested ‘on-sun’ for
building integration.
• The unit can produce 4 L/day of
drinkable water and 4.5 kWh/day of
thermal energy.
• An economic study indicated
system has a payback time of
the

∼4 years.

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Utilising solar thermal energy for membrane distillation desalination represents a green and sustainable solution
Water-energy nexus for building environments in regions with a high correlation between water shortage and high solar irradiance.
Membrane distillation Today’s solar thermal-driven membrane distillation systems are designed with physically separated solar thermal
Desalination collectors (e.g. flat plate or evacuated solar thermal collectors) and membrane distillation modules. In these
Solar thermal energy
systems, a thermal storage tank, a heat exchanger, and complex plumbing arrangements are required to control
Evacuated tube solar collectors
the heat and mass transfer between the solar collectors and the membrane distillation unit(s). Due to their high
complexity and high capital/operational costs, these systems are rarely installed in buildings. To overcome these
weaknesses, the present work conducts an experimental and numerical feasibility study of an integrated solar
membrane distillation prototype (with the membrane distillation modules built directly into the evacuated solar
tubes) for both potable water and/or thermal energy production. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this
elegant combination of an evacuated tube solar collector and a membrane distillation unit represents an in-
novative approach which couples two well-developed technologies into an efficient, yet relatively low cost,
hybrid energy-water production system.
Our experimental results revealed that 4–10 L per square meter of membrane area per hour of permeate flux is

⁎
Corresponding author at: School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Gate 14, Barker St., Kensington,
New South Wales 2052, Australia.
E-mail address: robert.taylor@unsw.edu.au (R.A. Taylor).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.12.069
Received 29 August 2018; Received in revised form 27 November 2018; Accepted 30 December 2018
0306-2619/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

achievable when the feed temperature ranges from 50 to 70 °C, achieving a salinity level of 10–200 ppm from a
35,000 ppm (e.g. the salinity of seawater) feed. It was found that a system with a solar absorbing area of 1.6 m2
integrated with ∼0.2 m2 of membranes can produce ∼4 L of drinkable water and ∼4.5 kWh of heat energy (at
45 °C) per day (with an average daily solar exposure of 4 kWh/m2). We envision that this design could be
beneficially deployed on the rooftops of residential and commercial buildings—buildings which require a
continual supply of both potable water and domestic hot water.

Nomenclature µ dynamic viscosity

A area (m2) Subscripts

aA antoine coefficient (–)
bA antoine coefficient (–) cond condenser
C salt concentration (g L-1) d distillation
cA antoine coefficient (–) ex heat exchanger
Cp heat capacity (J kg−1 K−1) f feed
d diameter (mm) in inlet
g gravimetric acceleration (9.8 m s−2) l liquid
h heat transfer coefficient (Wm−2 K) m membrane
hfg latent heat of vaporisation (J kg−1) out outlet
J mass flux (Kg m-2 h−1) p permeate
k thermal conductivity (Wm−1 K−1) r receiver
Kw water vapour permeability (mol m−2 s−1 Pa−1) sat saturation
M mass (kg) SC solar collector
m mass flow rate (kg s−1) v vacuum or vapor
P pressure (Pa or bar), power (W)
Q heat transfer rate (W) Abbreviations
ri inner radius of membrane (mm)
ro outer radius of membrane (mm) CapEx capital expenditure
Se energy source term (J m−3 s−1) CFD computational fluid dynamics
Sm mass source term (kg m−3) EST evacuated solar tube
Sv momentum source term (kg m s−1 m−3) HDD humidification–dehumidification desalination
T temperature (K or °C) LCOW levelized cost of water
t time (s) LMH litres product water per square meter of membrane area
th thermal per hour
v velocity (m s−1) MD membrane distillation
V volume (m3) MED multi-effect distillation
w mass fraction (–) or water MSF multi-stage flash
x mole fraction (–) MVC mechanical vapour compression
OMC operating and maintenance costs
Greek letters PBP the payback period
RO reverse osmosis
η efficiency SDWP specific daily water production
membrane thickness STEC specific thermal energy consumption
density (kg m−3) TDS total dissolved solids
= stress tensor (kg m−1 s−1)
porosity

1. Introduction In particular, residential domestic hot water (DHW) demand [5]

Water and energy are essential resources for all life on Earth. In
society, adequate water and energy supplies are prerequisites for eco-
nomic progress [1]. The twin forces of increasing global population and
improved standards of living are putting these two resources under
colossal pressure. The use—and misuse—of water and energy now has
global implications [2]. Most technological solutions to these issues
concentrate on either energy or water, neglecting the link between
them, or the so-called energy-water nexus. This is particularly true for
building systems—a major consumer of both energy and water—-
although the concept of tackling both issues at once has started to gain
research interest in recent years [3]. After implementing efficiency
measures, renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, and geothermal) provides
a sustainable option for supplying energy and water to buildings [4].
accounts for 12–20% total building energy consumption [6], with more
than 97% of the total DHW is required at temperature of ≤40 °C [7].
The World Health Organization concludes that a minimum of 2 L
drinking water per person per day is required for an average adult in
average conditions [8]. Both water and energy consumption are
growing significantly with expected increases of 27% (water) [9] and
30% (energy) [10] by the year 2030. Rooftop solar thermal (e.g.
evacuated tube and flat plate collectors) and solar photovoltaic systems
have been widely employed globally to supply heat energy for domestic
hot water and other energy needs. Various studies from different na-
tions estimate that solar rooftop could potentially generate up to 20% of
total building energy consumption, so there is still a lot of untapped
resource which could be gained from rooftop solar technologies [11].

535
Q. Li et al.
1.1. Solar-driven, decentralized desalination systems
Desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater with solar en-
ergy offers a ‘green’ link between energy and water via technologies
which artificially recreate the natural hydrological cycle. To do this, the
solar flux must first be converted to thermal, mechanical, or electrical
energy to provide the driving force for obtaining potable water. Solar
thermal energy can be used directly in water stills [12,13] where solar
absorption and water desalination happen in the same unit. Solar
thermal energy can also be used indirectly where solar collectors pro-
vide the thermal energy for the desalination units such as Multi-Stage
Flash (MSF) [14], Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) [15], Thermal Vapour
Compression (TVC) [16], Membrane Distillation (MD) [17], Perva-
poration [18] and Humidification–Dehumidification Desalination
(HDD) [13]. Moreover, mechanical and electrical energy can be pro-
duced with either photovoltaic or concentrated solar thermal technol-
ogies to drive Reverse Osmosis (RO) [16], Electrodialysis (ED) [16],
Capacitive Deionization (CDI) [19], or Mechanical Vapour Compression
(MVC) systems [20].
At present, the most common desalination techniques, such as MSF,
MED, VC are only economically viable for large capacity ranges of
100–50,000 m3 per day of fresh water production [3]. However, large-
scale centralised desalination plants typically rely upon a dense cus-
tomer base to pay for expensive distribution infrastructure, so they are
unlikely to be deployed in rural areas which lack a reliable water
supply. Therefore, there is a need for decentralised solutions (including
household, community small-scale, and point-of-sale systems) which
can use and reuse water resources very near to the point of origin, or as
a secondary quality control measure [21].
On the thermal side, solar stills represent the most robust an-
d—perhaps—lowest capital cost solutions (US$ 35–160 per system with
collector area: 1–2 m2, compared to US$ 8000–22,000 per system for
PV-RO with solar array area of 10–20 m2) [12]. However, the amount
of distilled water produced per unit area (1–5 kg/m2/day) is somewhat
low, which makes the solar still unacceptable for applications where
solar resources are limited (e.g. the rooftops of buildings) [13]. Many
studies have aimed to enhance the steam generation rate by improving
solar-thermal conversion efficiency (e.g. interface solar heating [22]
and localised heating created by nanofluids [23]) and the evaporation
and/or condensation rate (e.g. adding external condensers [24] and by
applying vacuum inside the solar still [25]).
Membranes can substantially increase production per unit area of
solar energy utilization, with several technological options to choose
from, including: membrane crystallisers, osmotic distillation, liquid and
gas separators, and membrane distillation [26]. These thermally-driven
membrane processes all share a membrane which is resistant to liquid
wetting to separate the feed liquid from its purified vapour. Of the
membrane contactor technologies, membrane distillation has been of
the most interest in the field of desalination [27]. Zaragoza et al. ana-
lyzed the performance of decentralized MD systems driven by solar
energy by investigating some of the most advanced commercial pro-
totypes (from Scarab AB, Keppel Sighers, Solar Spring and Aquafer) of
different MD technologies [28]. The experimental results revealed that
these systems can produce 3–7 L product water per square meter of
membrane area per hour (LMH) at a salinity level of 10–200 ppm from
brackish water (1000 ppm) and seawater (35,000 ppm) when it is fed at
∼80 °C [28]. However, ineffective heat recovery and temperature po-
larization can limit the energetic performance of MD. Fouling, scaling,
and wetting can also have a substantial detrimental impact on MD
performance [29]. Furthermore, MD is especially promising for treating
high salinity waters (∼70 ∼ 300 g-salt/kg-solution) using low-grade or
waste heat, where conventional RO is not currently applied [30].
In general, RO-based point-of-sale water treatment units contain a
multi-stage process that includes pre-treatment and post-treatment
stages in addition to a RO spiral-wound membrane module. Due to their
relatively robust design, PV powered RO systems are becoming the
536
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
most developed and deployed forms of distributed renewable-energy-
powered desalination, especially when used in remote areas [31]. RO
plants, however, are characterised by high capital costs, high cost for
pre-treatment, and a need for continual technical support for operation
and maintenance. All of these factors can limit their applicability to
rural, less economically developed communities [16].
1.2. Integrated solar energy/water multi-generation system
Rather than focusing on one technology or the other, the authors
believe that joint management of energy and water in buildings re-
presents a holistic approach to the problem of water and energy scar-
city. In fact, there has been a surge of research and development of
technology along these lines in the last decade. A selection of recent
developments in the technologies which can provide both energy and
water—with an emphasis on building-integrated solar technologie-
s—are summarised in Table 1. These technologies can be categorised by
their hybridization goals: (a) cogeneration of electricity and water, (b)
cogeneration of cooling energy and water, and (c) cogeneration of heat
energy and water. Examples of each of these technologies will be dis-
cussed (briefly) in the following sections, which shows that there is
room for new, insightful solar water/energy cogeneration system de-
signs.
1.2.1. Cogeneration of electricity and water
A concentrating photovoltaics system where thermal energy is also
collected was combined with an RO (22 m2 membrane area) and an MD
(∼44 m2 membrane area) process for desalination of brackish water in
a study by Wiesenfarth et al. [32]. The RO module has a recovery ratio
of 80% and it concentrates the brackish water to higher salinity (10 g/
kg). Then this flow of saline water is increased further from 10 to
122.5 g/kg by the MD to give a total system water recovery ratio of
92%.
Humidification–dehumidification (HD) desalination technology can
also be driven by thermal energy recovered photovoltaic (PV) modules
to sustainably produce water and improve PV electric power generation
efficiency (via lower operation temperature). The performance of a co-
generation unit based on the integration of air-heated HD desalination
cycle with CPV/T collectors was conducted by Elsaf [34]. The results
show that the system would be able to produce 12 m3 of freshwater and
960 kWhe of electricity per year for a site having 1.88 MWh per year
solar irradiance. The unit cost for freshwater production and electrical
power generation is estimated at 0.01 US$/L and 0.289 US$/kWh, re-
spectively.
Cogeneration of electricity and fresh water in concentrating solar
thermal power and desalination plants (CSP + D) can be achieved by
diverting a portion of the low or medium pressure/temperature steam
from the power cycle to the desalination module [41]. However, cou-
pling with a thermal desalination system can be a challenge since the
temperature level at turbine exit is not high enough to drive the MD
system, but an intermediate steam extraction will lead to a loss in
power production. The techno-economic analysis of different schemes
of MED systems coupled with CSP plants was investigated and com-
pared to the CSP + RO option a couple of recent research papers by
Palenzuela et al. [35]. Their analysis indicated that a thermal vapor
compression multi-effect distillation (TVC-MED) coupled with a con-
centrating solar power (CSP) plant offers an alternative opportunity to
compete the CSP + RO option. It was estimated that levelized elec-
tricity and water costs of ∼0.25 $/kWh and ∼1.2 US$/m3 can be
achieved from the CSP-TVC-MED combined system.
1.2.2. Cogeneration of cooling energy and water
More than 30% of the energy supply to buildings is consumed by
air-conditioning systems. The widely used vapour compression system
depends on grid electricity power and even modern refrigerants can
cause environmental problems. A new solar adsorption desalination-
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

cooling (ADC) system was developed by Ahmed et al. [36]. The system

LEC and LWC (US$/kWh; US

Heat: 0.01 US$/kWh; Water:

can co-generate a cooling effect along with the high-grade potable

0.2–0.25 US$/kWh; Water:

Electricity: 0.3 US$/kWh;
water using one low-grade solar thermal heat source. This system
consists mainly of three parts, two packed beds of adsorbent material

Water:10 US$/m3
where adsorption/desorption processes occur, evaporator and con-

1–1.2 US$/m3
denser. A commercially available silica gel of about 13.5 kg contained

10 US$/m3
in two beds (6.75 kg in each) is used to adsorb or desorb water. The two
$/ m3)

beds work in tandem, with desalination occurring during the desorption

process and a cooling effect occurring during the adsorption process.
–

–
–
The authors report that the average specific cooling power is 112 W/kg
of silica gel and average specific daily water production (SDWP) is 4 m3
per ton of silica gel with a COP of 0.45. Based on these results, the
SDWP = 4–25 m3/ton of adsorbent per day

authors concluded that the ADC system driven by solar energy can be
4306 L/day; ∼1.5–3 LMH; < 150 ppm
2.28–3.5 L water per m2 of SC per day
Desalination capacity/flux and quality

considered as a proper alternative to traditional desalination systems

(0.88–1.3 m3/m2 SC area per year)

[37].
4 L/day; TDS:20–200 ppm
Absorption air-conditioning systems are another good alternative,
as they adopt environment-friendly refrigerants (e.g. water) and favors
14,000–42,000 m3/day

renewable energy (e.g. solar thermal energy). Progress has been made
by Gadhamshetty et al. on a combination system consists of a desali-
∼15–25 kg/day

nation system and an absorption air-conditioning system [42]. It de-

∼0.05 kg/s

monstrated a new method for obtaining 950 m3/day of water from MED
300 m3/h

unit by using waste heat from 500 MW combined cycle power plant
(CCPP) and the chilled water from thermal energy storage (TES). A
solar driven freshwater/cooling integrated system was investigated by
Picinardi et al. [43], the system consists of a field of evacuated tube
Specific cooling power is

1869 kWe; 65,194 kWth

solar collectors (220 m2, ∼70 kW) which feed a single stage LiBr–H2O
112 W/kg; COP: 0.45

absorption chiller. A hot storage system is interposed to smooth out any

Evaluation criteria

Qcooling: ∼50 kW

water temperature variations resulting from solar radiation changes.

Power capacity

6 kWe; 14 kWth

50–70 MWe

The heat rejected from the chiller (∼120 kW) is recovered as a heat
COP: ∼0.7

∼10 kWth
0.45 kWe

∼1 kWth

source for the HD desalination unit. The absorption chiller produces

∼50 kW of cooling power and ∼0.05 kg/s of fresh water from the
desalination unit. Seawater was used as a cooling medium of the ab-
US$ 160,000 (SC: 0.1 M US$; Chiller: 40 US

sorption machine.
∼420 US$/ (for the system has 1.6 m2 of
∼4000 US$/system (including 4.5 m2 PV

1.2.3. Cogeneration of heating energy and water

An integrated structure for cogeneration of heat and freshwater for
MED: ∼1230 US$/(m3 /day)

residential complexes was developed and analysed by Ghorbani et al.

∼2000 US$/m2 for CPV/T

[38]. In this process, solar flat plate collectors on the house's roof were
System CapEx and OMC

CSP: ∼4 M US$/MWe

employed to provide the required thermal energy. The Kalina cycle was
solar absorbing area

used to generate integrated power (at relatively low temperature) and a

Estimated cost

multi-stage desalination process was used for the freshwater production

[38]. This integrated structure has the capability of simultaneous pro-
cell area)

duction of 1869 kW power, 65,194 kW heating and 83.22 kg/s fresh-

water for residential complexes.
$)
–

–
–

An integrated solar thermal MD system for cogeneration of drinking

MD employed for cooling the CPV [32,33]

CSP-MED system (Recover exhaust steam

water and domestic hot water was developed and tested by Kumar et al.
Hybrid adsorption desalination–cooling

Solar domestic hot water system + MD

PV-HDD driven by PV waste heat [34]

Current work: Solar tube integrated MD

Absorption chiller + HD desalination

[39,40]. The system mainly consisted of a 15 m2 solar thermal collector

field, one air gap MD module (with a 0.2 m2 polytetrafluoroethylene
SC-MSF-Kalina power cycle [38]

membrane), and cold/hot water storage tanks. The studies have re-
vealed that 15–25 L/d of pure drinking water and 250 L/d of hot water
can be provided for a family in a sustainable way.
Methods and Ref.

systems [36,37]

1.2.4. Literature summary

From the discussion above, a few key conclusions can be drawn
heat) [35]

[39,40]

about the state-of-the-art for solar-driven water desalination technolo-

system
Integrated solar energy/water system.

gies:
Cogeneration of cooling energy
Cogeneration of electricity and

(a) RO-based systems which use PV-derived electricity are the most
Cogeneration of heat energy
Solar-driven hybrid systems

common solar desalination technology (accounting for ∼40% of

solar desalination technologies installed worldwide) on the market
today [44]. However, these systems are limited by high cost, a re-
quirement of large PV arrays, and regular replacement and main-
and water

and water

tenance of components [44];

water

(b) Aside from the work of Kumar et al. [39,40], most of the existing
Table 1

solar-driven desalination systems are de-coupled, where the power

and water generation devices are separated, leading to a relatively

537
Q. Li et al.
complex and costly design.
(c) Low-grade heat can be used in thermal desalination technologies,
but these are much less developed than RO systems. MD desalina-
tion technologies have a proven track record in this regard, but to
date have required relatively complex, separate solar and MD
modules, while also suffering issues of high energy losses, high
capital cost, and membrane stability.
The points above provide impetus for the development of rooftop-
integrated cogeneration systems with low cost and low maintenance.
Additionally, if some of their techno-economic challenges can be
overcome, solar thermal-driven MD system represent a promising
technology for further performance enhancement (e.g. heat loss re-
duction, cogeneration of energy, and better thermal integration and
storage [28]). This work reports on the development of an integrated
solar membrane distillation system which can meet these challenges.
2. An integrated solar MD module: design for building integration
Conventional evacuated tube solar collectors are designed with a
heat pipe which transports heat from the evacuated tube to the mani-
fold at the top. Due to the high heat transfer efficiency of phase change
at both the evaporation and condensation ends, heat pipes can transfer
much more heat than conduction alone would allow for solid materials.
By flowing water over the top to the heat pipe, heated water can then be
pumped out of the collector for domestic or commercial applications. A
defining feature of evacuated tubes—as the name implies—is the va-
cuum layer that is present between the outer and inner glass tubes,
which serves as isolation against conductive and convective heat loss.
The integrated solar driven MD system proposed here removes the
heat pipe and instead inserts hollow fibre membranes packed into
evacuated solar tubes (EST) which can be mounted on the rooftop or
façade of a building. The system consists of an integrated collector
(evacuated tubes fitted with membrane modules, heat exchanger), a
domestic hot water tank (contains cool tap water before sunrise), feed
tank, condensate reservoir, vacuum pump and accessories (e.g. pumps,
valves and fittings). The design and process diagram are shown in the
Graphical abstract and Fig. 1.
The integrated solar driven MD system uses heat energy from the
sun to heat up the feed (e.g. seawater). The feed water enters the
evacuated tubes where hollow fibre membranes are located. Vapor is
generated at the interface and since it the surface is hydrophobic, it
Fig. 1. Process diagram of the integrated solar driven membrane distillation system.
538
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
repels the liquid (which contains the dissolved salt ions) but allows the
pure water vapor to enter the pores (200–400 nm). Due to the pressure
gradient that is present between the feed side and the permeate side,
when the feed is heated up to ∼50 °C, water vapor transports through
membranes and condenses to liquid water in a tube-in-shell heat ex-
changer (outside of the evacuated tube). The desalinated permeate
water is then collected in a condensate reservoir, while the reject
stream goes back through the system. The vacuum pump collected to
condensate reservoir creates a certain level of vacuum (∼10 kPa) to
enhance the distillation process. The latent heat energy of vapour is
recovered by condenser/heat exchanger, and then stored in the water
tank, as shown in Fig. 1. The temperature of cool water (e.g. tap water,
groundwater) can be further increased by passing the water through the
heat storage tank. Thus, this system can produce both drinking water
and thermal energy (for domestic hot water applications).
As shown in Fig. 2, this module consists of 16 units of evacuated
tubes (1800 mm length × 58/47 mm outer/inner diameter), 16 units of
hollow fibre membranes modules (∼0.2 m2 membrane area per
system), and a tube-in-shell heat exchanger. Each membrane module
has 4 pieces of hydrophobic capillary polypropylene membranes (AC-
CURL® PP S6/2, outer diameter is 2.7 mm, inner diameter is 1.8 mm,
and length is 300 mm) which were potted in a bundle that slides inside
the ESTs. To avoid short-circuiting of the feed solution, a ¼ inch (in
diameter) tube leads the feed to the bottom of the solar tube. Assuming
the temperature and pressure conditions are maintained on the feed
side of the interface (noting that evaporation cools the surrounding feed
fluid), new vapor is generated to replace the mass that passed through
the membrane. A continuous evaporation rate can be maintained if the
sufficient solar power is absorbed and transferred to the feed fluid
throughout the process. To ensure the ESTs can provide sufficient re-
quired heat for the distillation process, the total area of membrane area
should be limited to ∼1/10 the solar absorbing area. Note that this
ratio was determined by the heat transfer rate of solar energy absorp-
tion and latent heat transfer rate of vapour.
The ESTs also provide excellent thermal insulation for the MD
module, which can minimize the total heat loss of the system, since
most of the key heat transfer steps are carried out inside the vacuum
package of the module. A tube-in-shell heat exchanger is also integrated
with the collector, as shown in Fig. 2(a–c), at the upper part of the
collector. This component recycles the latent heat as a heat source for
domestic hot water. In the heat exchanger the vapor condenses on the
shell side while cooling water circulates in the tube side. The diameter
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

Fig. 2. Solar-driven membrane distillation module design (a) module 3d view; (b) explosive view of membrane module unit; (c) dimensions of the module.

of the tubes is 20 mm, with the length of 2 m, so the tube bundle (10 assessed by theoretical analysis and experiments.
tubes) in the shell provide a total heat transfer surface area of 1.2 m2. The efficiency of the EST, th, EST , can be determined for various fluid
Compared with the conventional evacuated tube collector, the temperatures, Tin, using the Eq. (1).
proposed integrated collector design employs a membrane bundle as
the working heat and mass/vapor transfer medium, wherein the water th, EST = CP ·(mout Tout min Tin)/ Ar , sc ·G (1)
evaporates at the membrane surface and condenses inside the heat
exchanger. It is worth mentioning that the membrane module essen- where the m represents the mass flow rate circulates through single-
tially uses a similar latent heat transfer mechanism as a heat pipe. That ended water-in-glass evacuated tubes, G, is the solar radiation, can be
is, the evaporator section of the tube bundle converts the working fluid obtained by experiments, and the values of Ar,sc and Cp can be obtained
from a liquid to a vapor. The latent heat is carried on the inside of the from Table 2. The thermal energy received by EST directly supply the
hollow fibre membranes out of the tubes to a condensor section, where thermal energy demand of membrane distillation. The heat transfer rate
by the filtrate is condensed back into a liquid. The only fundamental of vaporizing the water in the MD module can be calculated as [30]:
difference with a heat pipe is that the systems is an open loop since the
condensed vapour is now removed from the system (whereas a heat
Table 2
pipe uses a closed loop with the condensed working fluid returning to
Details of the properties along with the geometric dimensions used in this
the evaporator). While the proposed system is a single-effect system
system [46]
which recycles the latent heat to a domestic hot water system, a multi-
effect system could be developed based on this same design (repeated in Symbol Value Unit Symbol Value Unit
series) to re-use the latent heat to achieve a higher recovery ratio in- 2
Ar,sc 1.6 m (per collector) Ta 25 °C
stead. Ar,EVS 0.1 m2(per EST) Kw 7.53 × 10-6 Mol m−2 s−1 Pa−1
di 1.8 mm (membrane) aA 10.19625 –
do 2.7 mm (membrane) bA 1730.63 –
3. Numerical and experimentation methodology Lm 0.3 m cA −39.724 –
DEVS,in 0.047 m Nu 4.36 –
DEVS,out 0.058 m 994 Kg m−3
To analyze the thermal performance of this integrated collector, Dcond,tube 0.021 m
l
0.05 Kg m−3
v
both numerical and experimental analyses were used. The heat and Lcond,tube 1.5 m µl 0.72 Kg m−1 s−1
mass transfer performance of the MD unit was simulated by computa- Cp, l 4,190 J Kg−1 K−1 kl 0.62 W m-1 K−1
tional fluid dynamics (CFD) using ANSYS®–Fluent (version 18.2), while g 9.81 m/s−2 hfg 2,407 kJ/kg
the thermal efficiency of EST and overall system efficiency were

539
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

Qd = md · hfg (2) 75% of dissolved ions in seawater are sodium cations and chloride
anions, seawater can be assumed with an aqueous solution of sodium
CFD was used to simulate the permeate flux (md ) of this VMD
chloride. It is stated that almost 100% of the salt ions are rejected in MD
hollow fibre module with the influence of variables (e.g. the tempera-
processes. Therefore, mole fraction of salt in feed can be calculated by:
ture, vacuum pressure). In CFD, the mass conservation, momentum and
energy conservation were solved simultaneously. The transport equa- Wsf
58
tions for a steady state process and incompressible flow, the continuity Xsalt =
equation is given by: ( Wsf
58
+
(1 Wsf )
18 ) (13)
·( v ) = Sm (3) where Wsf is the mass fraction of salt in feed water, and 58 g/mol
The momentum transport equation for incompressible, laminar and and 18 g/mol are the mole mass of NaCl and water. To calculate the
steady state flow is expressed by: thermal energy recovered by the tube-in-shell heat exchanger con-
nected directly with the evacuated tubes, the rejected heat removed
·( v v ) = ·P + ·(=) + g + Sv (4) from the condenser is given by Eq. (14) [47]:
where P is the static pressure, =is the stress tensor and g is the grav- Qcond = m w Cp (Tw, out Tw, in ) = Uex Acond × LMTD (14)
itational body force.
The energy conservation equation is described by: where the log mean temperature difference, LMTD, is defined by Eq.
(15) [47]:
(v · ·Cp·T) = (k · T) + Se (5)
T1 T2
where Cp is the heat capacity, T represents the temperature, k is the LMTD =
ln[( T1)/( T1 )] (15)
thermal conductivity and Sm, Sv, and Se are source terms representing
the quantitative changes of mass, momentum and energy on each side where T1 and T2 are the temperature difference between the steam
of the membrane surface, respectively. These source terms can be and the cooling water at the two ends of the condenser/heat exchanger.
written as: As the thermal resistance of the heat transfer wall and the fouling factor
J ·A
are negligible, the overall heat transfer coefficient of the heat ex-
V, at r = ro;
Sm = changer, Uex, is expressed by Eq. (16) [47]:
J ·A
V, at r = ri; (6)
1
Uex =
J ·A·v 1/ h w + 1/hcond (16)
V, at r = ro;
Sv =
J ·A·v
V, at r = ri; (7) where hcond represents the condensation heat transfer coefficient be-
tween the water vapor and the heat transfer surface, while hw is the heat
J ·A·(Cp· T + hfg )
V, at r = ro; transfer coefficient between the heat transfer surface and the cold
Se =
J ·A·(Cp· T )
V, at r = ri; medium (water).
(8)
The laminar film condensation correlation is applied to calculate the
where A, v, ro and ri are the membrane area, flow velocity, inner radius heat transfer coefficient hcond for the condensation of the water vapor on
and outer radius respectively. J is the transmembrane mass flux cal- the outer surface of horizontal tubes [47]:
culated from the membrane permeability and transmembrane pressure,
1
and V is the volume of the element. Due to the fact that the water g l( l v ) h fg kl
3 4

molecules do not condensate on the permeate side in VMD processes, hcond = 0.729
µl (Tsat Ts ) D (17)
the condensation energy source term, J · A·hfg / V or md · hfg , was not
added to the permeate interface. The latent heat of evaporation and where subscripts l and v, respectively, denote the saturated liquid and
condensation of water vapor (hfg) is given by the correlation which is vapor states, g is the acceleration due to gravity, k is the thermal con-
valid over a temperature range of 5–200 °C as written by Eq. (9), where ductivity, µ is the dynamic viscosity, and D is the diameter of the tube.
T is the saturation temperature in °C. The physical properties for the feed salt solution were calculated with
hfg = 2501.89 2.41T + 1.192 × 10 3T 2 1.586 × 10 5T 3 (9) the equations adapted from Lian et al. [45]. Ts is the tube wall surface
temperature, and the modified latent heat of vaporization is [47]:
For VMD, the permeate flux through the membrane for the mass
transport of water vapor can be illustrated by Eq. (10) [45]. hfg = hfg + 0.68·Cp, l (Tsat Ts ) (18)

J = Kw · P = Kw ·(PmSat
,f Pv ) (10) The heat transfer coefficient hw for the seawater inside the tubes is
calculated as [47]:
where Kw is the water vapor permeability, shown on Table 2, was ob-
tained by co-authors’ previous experiment [45]. PmSat
, f and Pv are the
h w = Nu· k w /Dcond, tube (19)
water vapor pressures on the feed-membrane interface and vacuum
For a fully developed laminar flow in the tube of the heat exchanger,
pressure in the permeate side of the membrane, respectively. The sa-
assuming a constant surface heat flux, the Nusselt number is a constant,
turation pressure of water in a solution as a combination of Raoult’s
which is given in Table 2. Assuming the heat loss of the heat energy
Law and Antoine equation [45]:
storage tank is negligible, the recovered heat energy can be represented
PmSat
, f = rw ·(1 Xsalt )·10 aA bA /(T + cA )
(11) by the rejected heat removed from the condenser, Qcond . The gained
output ratio (GOR) of water production is defined as the ratio of total
where aA, bA and cA are the Antoine parameters for water vapor pres- latent heat of evaporation of the distillate to the solar energy input. It
sure, Xsalt is the mole fraction of water and rw represents the activity can be expressed as:
coefficient of water in the solution. Schofield (1989) developed an
empirical correlation for an aqueous solution of sodium chloride GORw = md hfg G· ASC (20)
(NaCl):
The gained output ratio (GOR) of heat energy production is defined
rw = 1 0.5·XNaCl 2
10· XNaCl (12)
as the ratio of total recovered heat energy to the solar energy input. It
where XNaCl is the molar fraction of sodium chloride. Since more than can be expressed as:

540
Q. Li et al.
Qcond
GORth =
G·ASC (21)
3.1. CFD simulation
For these simulations, a 0.3 m long multiple fibre bundle was in-
vestigated, as shown in Fig. 3. A sweep method was used to achieve a
unified mesh size (10-3 m) along the axial direction of the membrane. In
the transverse direction, a finer mesh is required at the feed-membrane-
permeate interfaces for both the lumen and the shell side. Thus, an
inflation of the first layer’s thickness of 2 × 10-5 m was selected to
ensure higher resolution in zones where the temperature/concentration
polarization and transport phenomena occur [45]. The ‘mass jump’ CFD
method (developed and validated by co-author [45]) allows the simu-
lation of the heat and mass transfer through a membrane simulta-
neously.
The implementation of the mass jump method in the simulation is
achieved through a user-defined function (UDF). A define adjust UDF is
called at the start of each iteration to calculate the transmembrane flux
for the belonging values of temperature, pressure and salt concentration
at the feed/membrane and permeate/membrane interface. The flux is
recorded in a user-defined memory and transferred to define source
UDFs. The defined source UDFs solve the equations for continuity,
momentum and energy conservation, respectively, at the boundary
layer. Subsequently, the properties are updated, and the convergence
criteria is checked. The resulting convergence level was below 10-7 for
the energy term, and below 10-4 for all other terms.
The experimental and CFD results (detailed model development
provided in our previous study [45]) indicated that operating para-
meters (feed temperature, crossflow velocity, vacuum pressure) and
packing density significantly impact the mass flux. As such, the op-
timum design and operating parameters have been identified, such as a
minimum crossflow velocity of 0.072 m s−1, and a membrane centre
distance of 4 mm. Since the gained output ratio (GOR) of water and hot
energy production mainly depends on the feed temperature and the
Fig. 3. Meshing of hollow fibre membranes (transverse cross-section).
541
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
Table 3
Summary of design variables used in the tubular membrane simulations.
Variables Value 1 Value 2 Value 3 Value 4
Feed temperature, Tf (°C) 40 50 60 70
Permeate pressure, (kPa) 2 10 – –
vacuum pressure of the system, the purpose of current CFD study is to
investigate the effect of operating feed temperature and vacuum pres-
sure on the module/system performance of this integrated solar-driven
MD cogeneration module.
The variables simulated include feed temperatures and vacuum
pressures, summarized in Table 3, while a crossflow velocity of
0.1 m s−1, and membrane centre distance of 4 mm was chosen for
geometry and boundary conditions setup, which was suggested by
previous CFD study [45]. MD module/system optimization can be fur-
ther conducted by using response surface methodology (RSM) in the
future work.
3.2. Experimental setup
As shown in Fig. 4, the experimental rig consists of a unit of MD
integrated EST module, a feed fluid loop, a permeate line, several
measurement sensors and a data acquisition system (DAQ). The di-
mensions of evacuated are 0.058 × 1.8 m (diameter × length). The
feed fluid loop includes a water bath (Julabo, Model: ED) with a feed
container was filled with 2 L of a 35,000 ppm NaCl solution, a peri-
staltic pump (Masterflex L/S, Model: EW-07550-50) to circulate the
feed water through the EST, with all retentate returning to the feed tank
to ensure constant feed composition. The permeate line is assembled
with the pressure transmitter and the condenser (coil submerged in cold
water tank, with two type K thermocouples to test the water tempera-
ture) followed by the permeate collection container and the vacuum
pump (ROCKER 500). While the cold water was heated (in the con-
denser) by condensation of superheated water vapour (at ∼50–60 °C
Q. Li et al.
Fig. 4. Testing platform for the 1 unit module prototype. (a) Photo of the testing platform and (b) Schematic diagram of the experimental setup.
and a vacuum pressure of ∼10 kPa, noting that saturated steam at this
pressure would be at a temperature of 45 °C), the condensed water
vapour (purified water) was then collected in the permeate container.
Two resistance temperature detectors (RTDs, TC Direct, model
PT100) were installed to test the feed inlet and outlet temperature
(Tfeed_in and Tfeed_out), while a thermocouple (TC Direct, type K) is used
to test the feed temperature in the EST (Tfeed). The feed flow rate was
adjusted and indicated by the peristaltic pump. A pressure transmitter
542
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
(LABOM, series CB1020) and the vacuum pump (ROCKER, Rocker 500
Vacuum Pump) itself tested the vacuum pressure of the permeate line.
The global solar irradiation was measured by a pyranometer (Middleton
Solar, EQ08-S).
The solar thermal efficiency of the evacuated unit was evaluated by
Eq. (1). The conductivity of each sample was measured and recorded
using a portable conductivity meter (TPS, WP8), and the permeate flux
was tested by the bucket and stopwatch method. These measurement
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

0.8 NaCl solution) was employed as working fluid, flooding the inside of
0.7 the tube. Data was only taken at steady state conditions, according to
Thermal efficiency

0.6 the standard ISO 9806-1 [48].

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
30 35 40 45 50 55
Feed mean temperature ( )
Fig. 5. Tested evacuated tube solar thermal efficiency data (Note: Weather
conditions for the efficiency tests on 25th June 2018 in Sydney:
G = 850 ± 50 W/m2, Ta = 17 ± 1 °C).
readings were recorded with a USB data acquisition module (National
Instruments, cDAQ-9174) running on the Labview platform.
The RTDs and the thermocouples were calibrated using a certified
reference thermometer (Fluke, calibration 1521) and a precise tem-
perature-controlled water bath, which results in an uncertainty of less
than 0.03 °C and 1.5 °C. The pyranometer was calibrated using a re-
ference Pyranometer (EQ08-S, S/No.4901) resulting in an uncertainty
of less than 2% for global irradiation measurements. The accuracy of
these measurements satisfies the ISO 9806-1 solar collector test stan-
dard. A maximum combined uncertainty of ∼4% was obtained by the
root sum square method (RSS) [46].
4. Performance results and discussion
4.1. The efficiency of evacuated tube
Experiments were conducted at both steady state in indoor condi-
tions (using water bath as a heat source) and during transient ‘on-sun’
conditions. In addition, steady-state efficiency experiments were car-
ried out to evaluate the performance of the single evacuated tube
(Apricus, AP-20) without water desalination. Salty water (35,000 ppm
The experimental results, as shown in Fig. 5, reveal that the tested
evacuated tube has a thermal efficiency of 55–70% with a feed tem-
perature of 35–65 °C, which is similar with the solar thermal efficiency
of Apricus evacuated solar thermal collector. Note that the efficiency of
an Apricus AP20-Absorber (obtained from Apricus’s collector data sheet
Eff_Experiment [49], the efficiency was tested based on the absorber area) can be de-
60 65 70 scribed as Eq. (22).
(Tm Ta) (Tm Ta )2
= 0.687 1.5 0.011
th
Gb Gb (22)
4.2. The permeate flux and quality
Indoor steady-state MD experiments were carried out to evaluate
the performance of the MD module as the function of feed mean tem-
perature. Note that a short EST (0.058 × 0.5 m, diameter × length,
provided by Apricus) was used as a thermal insulated MD module shell
for the in-door steady-state test. Fig. 6 shows part of the recorded data,
including the feed inlet and outlet temperatures, the water temperature
in the condenser tank and average permeate flux under the certain
tested feed temperatures. During the experiments, the vacuum pump
was switched on when T_in and T_out of feed stabilized at ∼14:15 pm
and ∼15:23 pm. Once the vacuum is on, a temperature drop in T_out
was observed due to heat and mass transfer of water vapour. As the
vapour condensed inside the coil which is submerged in a separate 3 L
cold water tank, the water temperatures inside the tank, T_tank1 and
T_tank2 increased from 20 to up 40 °C. This demonstrated that the heat
energy of permeate vapour can be recovered by the condenser, and this
heated water with a better insulation tank can be used for the domestic
heating application.
As shown in Fig. 6, increasing feed temperature from 50 to 60 °C
would increase permeate flux, J, from 4 to 5 kg m-2 h−1 (or 4–5 LMH).
The reason is that higher Tf leads to increased water vapor pressure at
the hot side of the membrane, thus causing larger mass transfer driving

Fig. 6. Part of the experiment data for indoor steady-state performance test (feed flow rate was 0.002 kg/s, the ambient temperature was ∼20 °C).

543
Q. Li et al. Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548

Fig. 7. Comparison of experimental and CFD permeate mass flux (kg m-2 h−1) as a function of feed temperature for 35,000 ppm NaCl feed solutions (Vf was 0.002 kg/
s, Ta was ∼18–20 °C).

Fig. 8. Permeate salt concentration testing results (NaCl feed solutions salt concentration: 35,000 ppm, feed flow rate was 0.002 kg/s, Tf were 50–67 °C, Ta were
∼10–20 °C, Pv were ∼10 kPa).

force for vapor penetration. This has been further verified by a few
more tests at the different testing time by using a different membrane
module (Mem 2#), the test results and CFD results are shown in Fig. 7.
The experimental result of permeate flux showed a good alignment with
the CFD results. It was found that Tf and Pv are the main factors in-
fluencing J. Increasing either feed temperature or vacuum level results
in increased permeate flux.
As shown in Fig. 8, the permeate salt concentration results revealed
that the system can produce water at a salinity level of ∼20–200 ppm
from a ∼35,000 ppm. The membrane module #1 test results shown
that permeate salt concentration increased from 20 ppm to 790 ppm
within 4 days since the membrane #1 was not rinsed and dried out after
each test, the membrane may be partially wetted. To achieve longer
lifespan of the hydrophobic membrane applied in MD processes, it was
recommended in one of our previous studies that periodic cleaning and
drying (every 10 h with denatured ethanol and Milli-Q water) is es-
sential to the recovery of salt rejection capacity of the MD module.
Without such a process severe wetting can occur. Ethanol is used to
temporarily convert the hydrophobic membrane to a hydrophilic sur-
face, allowing the entry of water into the membrane pores to

544
Q. Li et al.
Fig. 9. System on-sun test data, (a) tested on a cloudy day (14/06/2018), Ta was 15–17 °C; (b) tested on a clear sunny day (25/06/2018), Ta was 16–19 °C.
thoroughly dissolve and remove any salt crystals which may form in the
membrane [17]. Drying allows the remaining ethanol to evaporate
which restores the hydrophobicity of the membrane. Since calcium and
magnesium were not present in the feed water in this case, acids are not
required during the cleaning procedure (although they maybe be
needed if the feed water does contain them). Based on the periodic,
diurnal nature of the solar resource, it is expected that this solar MD
system can be most beneficially operated on day/night cycle, where the
cleaning and drying procedure can be conducted during the night.
The membrane module #2 test results showed that the permeate
salt concentration increased from ∼20–30 ppm to 100–200 ppm for
545
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
4 days’ tests if the membrane was rinsed by tap water and dried out
naturally after each testing day (after day 5, 6 and 7). The permeate salt
concentration also showed an increasing trend at each day’s test, which
indicated partial wetting may exist after membrane working for ∼2 h in
this feed water conditions. Nevertheless, excellent water quality can be
obtained from this VMD module if a simple rinse and dried out process
were conducted. The salt removal by the module is more than enough
to achieve a permeate with less than 500 ppm in TDS concentration–the
usual limit for drinking water standards requirements around the world
(e.g. Bureau of Indian Standards, U.S. EPA).
Q. Li et al.
Table 4
Inputs for economic study (CapEx, OMC, Revenue stream) [52,54,55].
Items Parameters
CapEx Solar tubes and tube caps
Membranes
Pipes, fittings, pumps and tanks
Vacuum pump and permeate container
Condenser
Operation and maintenance costs (OMC) 10% of capital cost per year
Electricity consumption for pumping (∼1 kWh/day)
Revenue stream Hot water (5 kWh/day)
‘Off-set’ water selling price (offsets the cost for feed water, which is tap
water in this study)
4.3. System daily performance test
On-sun test has been performed to evaluate the daily performance of
the system, the rig is shown in Fig. 4. Firstly, an EST with the length of
1.8 m and the inner diameter of 0.047 m was filled with feed water
(35,000 ppm of NaCl concentration), gives a total volume of ∼3 L of
feed water in one EST. The rig was manually orientated to ensure the
EST and Pyranometer facing the sunlights perpendicularly.
Fig. 9(a–b) shows the data recorded during the on-sun test on a
cloudy and a sunny day in Sydney. The results showed that it takes
∼2 h to heat up the feed water (35,000 ppm of NaCl concentration)
from 20 °C to 65 °C by solar radiation (∼850 W/m2). This provides the
opportunity to use low-grade waste heat, such as condensation heat
from air-conditioners for preheating (heating feed water from 15 °C to
45 °C).
For the cloudy day test, the feed temperature inside the evacuated
tube decreased ∼3 °C after the vacuum pump switched on, then the
temperature of feed slightly decreased from ∼64 °C to ∼60 °C at sunset
time (16:30 pm), while the hourly water production rate declined from
6.8 LMH to 4.0 LMH. A relatively constant feed temperature was ob-
served since the input solar energy transfer rate was equivalent to heat
use of distillation. From 16:30 pm to 17:30 pm, the continued MD
process caused the declined temperature of feed. A lower water pro-
duction rate of 1.5–3.8 LMH was obtained during this extended op-
eration time.
For the daily test operated on a sunny day, the feed temperature
inside the EST decreased ∼2 °C after the vacuum pump switched on,
then the temperature of feed slightly increased from ∼60 °C to ∼64 °C
from 12:00 to 15:30 pm, the hourly water production rate also in-
creased from 6.8 LMH to 7.5 LMH. And then the temperature declined
from 64 °C to 60 °C from 15:30 to 16:30 pm due to weaker solar ra-
diation, as a result, the hourly water production rate declined from 6.8
LMH to 6.1 LMH. From 16:30 pm to 17:30 pm, a lower water produc-
tion rate of 4.6–1.6 LMH was obtained during this extended operation
time, and the temperature of feed dropped to 50 °C. The feed tem-
perature increased a few degrees each time the vacuum pump was
switched off for the measurement of permeate water, due solar heating
in the absence of desalination process during this period.
The experimental study revealed that 0.2–0.3 L water per unit of
this EST MD module (0.1 m2 solar absorbing area) was produced by
solar energy on a cloudy (with a daily solar exposure of ∼4.2 kWh/m2)
or a sunny winter day (with a daily solar exposure of ∼6 kWh/m2) in
Sydney. According to the Eqs. (20)–(21), the system GORw of ∼0.4–0.5
was achieved when feed temperature was 60–65 °C based on experi-
mental results, while GORth of ∼0.36–0.46 was achieved to provide
heat energy (Ttank) at 40–45 °C based on the numerical analysis. This
indicated that this collector system (with a solar absorbing area of
1.6 m2, provides a 4.7–9.6 kWh of input solar energy per day) in-
tegrated with ∼0.2 m2 of membranes can produce 3.2–4.8 L of drink-
able water and ∼2.5–6 kWh of heat energy (at ∼45 °C) per day in
546
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
Unit Value
US$/system (16 units of evacuated 48
tubes)
US$/system (0.2 m2) 5
US$/system 150
US$/set 120
US$/set 60
US$/year 40
US$/day 0.12
US$/day 0.6
US$/20L (US$/day) 1.4 (0.3 US$/day)
many regions which have a yearly average daily solar exposure of
4.0–6 kWh/m2 [50].
4.4. Economic analysis
The ‘Lean Canvas’ approach [51] was used to conduct a preliminary
economic study based on implementing this integrated solar MD system
into the rural community in China. The procedure of this economic
analysis has been reported in our previous work [51], and the key in-
puts values are outlined in the Table 4. Importantly, the expected
lifetime of the system is estimated to be 15 years [52], while the
membranes are suggested to be replaced every 2 years [29,53].
A detailed levelized cost of water (LCOW) formula was applied in
this system analysis, as given by Eqs. (23)–(24), which takes into ac-
count the additional capital cost of the system (CC), operating and
maintenance costs (OMC), and the electricity cost (EC). The cost of
purifying 1 m3 of water using this system can be calculated as follows:
CC· CRF + OMC + EC [USD]
LCOW [USD / m3] =
Q [m3] (23)
where CRF is the capital recovery factor defined in Eq. (24).
i × (1 + i) n
CRF =
(1 + i) n 1 (24)
where i represents interest rate (i.e. assumed to be 6% here), and n is
the number of years of operation (i.e. assumed to be 15 years, which
represents a conservative estimate of the useful life of a solar thermal
collector). The economic analysis revealed that the additional capital
cost of the system (e.g. the premium paid over a typical household solar
thermal collector system) will be less than 200 USD (RMB 1000). Thus,
the LCOW of water is around 10 USD/m3 (0.2 USD per 20 L), and a
payback time of ∼2 years can be achieved for the additional invest-
ment. Moreover, the revenue of water and energy production is about
US$120 per year, indicating ∼4 years payback time for the whole
system and a total revenue of ∼US$ 1200 for 15 years operation. Even
if the sale price of the water is relatively low (∼US$ 1.4 per 20 L, e.g.
less than the lowest water price in China), that this technology would
represent a viable alternative to RO technology, enabling reliable, lo-
cally produced water and energy for buildings. Moreover, this tech-
nology also provides opportunities to desalinate high-salinity waste-
water or further concentrate RO brine if such a system is already in
place in the building (70–300 g-salt/kg-solution).
5. Conclusion
The feasibility of using solar thermal energy for membrane dis-
tillation (MD) in an integrated system was explored in this study as a
sustainable solution to provide both heat and water to buildings. The
experimental study revealed that the proposed collector system (with a
solar absorbing area of 1.6 m2) integrated with ∼0.2 m2 of membranes
Q. Li et al.
can produce ∼3.2–4.8 L of drinkable water and ∼2.5–6 kWh of heat
energy (at 45 °C) per day (with a yearly average daily solar exposure of
4–6 kWh/m2). A salinity level of 10–200 ppm of water can be produced
from a 35,000 ppm feed water (i.e. sea water). Our analysis found an
estimated levelized water production cost of ∼10 US$/m3. Assuming
the water can be sold at a price of US$ 1.4 per 20 L to residents (cheaper
than the lowest water price in China), the expected payback period
would be 4 years. Thus, this design is expected to be useful in most
residential and commercial buildings since these require a reliable
source of potable water and domestic hot water.
However, in future work it will be necessary to understand the ef-
fects of transient temperature gradients and the intermittent operation
on the performance of this system, which could be conducted by system
TRNSYS dynamic simulation [40]. Appropriate cleaning techniques and
effective drying process for this model will also be required to increase
longevity of the product. Also, future work will be developing and
testing a full-scale integrated solar-driven, membrane distillation
system by using waste condensation heat of air-conditioners for pre-
heating (heating feed water from 15 °C to 45 °C) and solar thermal
(further heating up to 60 °C) to drive an MD unit effectively.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the gracious support of the
Australian Government, Beijing Origin Water and Vast Solar through
the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project (ARC LP160100622).
References
[1] Chen P-C, Alvarado V, Hsu S-C. Water energy nexus in city and hinterlands: multi-
regional physical input-output analysis for Hong Kong and South China. Appl
Energy 2018;225:986–97.
[2] Lee M, Keller AA, Chiang P-C, Den W, Wang H, Hou C-H, et al. Water-energy nexus
for urban water systems: a comparative review on energy intensity and environ-
mental impacts in relation to global water risks. Appl Energy 2017;205:589–601.
[3] Wanjiru E, Xia X. Optimal energy-water management in urban residential buildings
through grey water recycling. Sustain Cities Soc 2017;32:654–68.
[4] Baghbanzadeh M, Rana D, Lan CQ, Matsuura T. Zero thermal input membrane
distillation, a zero-waste and sustainable solution for freshwater shortage. Appl
Energy 2017;187:910–28.
[5] Ferrantelli A, Ahmed K, Pylsy P, Kurnitski J. Analytical modelling and prediction
formulas for domestic hot water consumption in residential Finnish apartments.
Energy Build 2017;143:53–60.
[6] Ürge-Vorsatz D, Cabeza LF, Serrano S, Barreneche C, Petrichenko K. Heating and
cooling energy trends and drivers in buildings. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
2015;41:85–98.
[7] Bertrand A, Mastrucci A, Schüler N, Aggoune R, Maréchal F. Characterisation of
domestic hot water end-uses for integrated urban thermal energy assessment and
optimisation. Appl Energy 2017;186:152–66.
[8] Wright NC, Winter AG. Justification for community-scale photovoltaic-powered
electrodialysis desalination systems for inland rural villages in India. Desalination
2014;352:82–91.
[9] Rosegrant MW, Cai X, Cline SA. Global water outlook to 2025. Averting Impending
Crisis A 2002;2020.
[10] PETROLEUM BB. BP Energy outlook 2030 summary tables. BP–BRITISH
PETROLEUM BP Energy outlook; 2030.
[11] Maurer C, Cappel C, Kuhn TE. Progress in building-integrated solar thermal sys-
tems. Sol Energy 2017;154:158–86.
[12] Zhang Y, Sivakumar M, Yang S, Enever K, Ramezanianpour M. Application of solar
energy in water treatment processes: A review. Desalination 2018;428:116–45.
[13] Chandrashekara M, Yadav A. Water desalination system using solar heat: A review.
Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2017;67:1308–30.
[14] Alsehli M, Choi J-K, Aljuhan M. A novel design for a solar powered multistage flash
desalination. Sol Energy 2017;153:348–59.
[15] Chorak A, Palenzuela P, Alarcón-Padilla D-C, Ben Abdellah A. Experimental char-
acterization of a multi-effect distillation system coupled to a flat plate solar col-
lector field: Empirical correlations. Appl Therm Eng 2017;120:298–313.
[16] Al-Karaghouli A, Kazmerski LL. Energy consumption and water production cost of
conventional and renewable-energy-powered desalination processes. Renew
Sustain Energy Rev 2013;24:343–56.
[17] Zhong W, Hou J, Yang H-C, Chen VJJoMS. Superhydrophobic membranes via facile
bio-inspired mineralization for vacuum membrane distillation. 2017; 540: p.
98–107.
[18] Kaminski W, Marszalek J, Tomczak E. Water desalination by pervaporation –
547
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
Comparison of energy consumption. Desalination 2018;433:89–93.
[19] Tan C, He C, Tang W, Kovalsky P, Fletcher J, Waite TDJWr. Integration of photo-
voltaic energy supply with membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) for salt re-
moval from brackish waters. 2018; 147: p. 276–86.
[20] Abdelkareem MA, El Haj Assad M, Sayed ET, Soudan B. Recent progress in the use
of renewable energy sources to power water desalination plants. Desalination
2018;435:97–113.
[21] Peter-Varbanets M, Zurbrügg C, Swartz C, Pronk W. Decentralized systems for po-
table water and the potential of membrane technology. Water Res 2009;43:245–65.
[22] Wang X, He Y, Liu X, Cheng G, Zhu J. Solar steam generation through bio-inspired
interface heating of broadband-absorbing plasmonic membranes. Appl Energy
2017;195:414–25.
[23] Wang X, He Y, Cheng G, Shi L, Liu X, Zhu J. Direct vapor generation through lo-
calized solar heating via carbon-nanotube nanofluid. Energy Convers Manage
2016;130:176–83.
[24] Madhlopa A, Johnstone C. Numerical study of a passive solar still with separate
condenser. Renew Energy 2009;34:1668–77.
[25] Al-Hussaini H, Smith IK. Enhancing of solar still productivity using vacuum tech-
nology. Energy Convers Manage 1995;36:1047–51.
[26] Gabelman A, Hwang S-T. Hollow fiber membrane contactors. J Membr Sci
1999;159:61–106.
[27] Cipollina A, Sparti MD, Tamburini A, Micale G. Development of a Membrane
Distillation module for solar energy seawater desalination. Chem Eng Res Des
2012;90:2101–21.
[28] Zaragoza G, Ruiz-Aguirre A, Guillén-Burrieza E. Efficiency in the use of solar
thermal energy of small membrane desalination systems for decentralized water
production. Appl Energy 2014;130:491–9.
[29] Guillen-Burrieza E, Ruiz-Aguirre A, Zaragoza G, Arafat HA. Membrane fouling and
cleaning in long term plant-scale membrane distillation operations. J Membr Sci
2014;468:360–72.
[30] Swaminathan J, Chung HW, Warsinger DM, Lienhard VJH. Energy efficiency of
membrane distillation up to high salinity: Evaluating critical system size and op-
timal membrane thickness. Appl Energy 2018;211:715–34.
[31] Manju S, Sagar N. Renewable energy integrated desalination: A sustainable solution
to overcome future fresh-water scarcity in India. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
2017;73:594–609.
[32] Wiesenfarth M, Went J, Bösch A, Dilger A, Kec T, Kroll A, et al. CPV-T mirror dish
system combined with water desalination systems. In: AIP Conference Proceedings.
AIP Publishing; 2016. p. 020008.
[33] Hughes AJ, O’Donovan TS, Mallick TK. Experimental Evaluation of a Membrane
Distillation System for Integration with Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal (CPV/
T) Energy. Energy Procedia 2014;54:725–33.
[34] Elsafi AM. Integration of humidification-dehumidification desalination and con-
centrated photovoltaic-thermal collectors: Energy and exergy-costing analysis.
Desalination 2017;424:17–26.
[35] Palenzuela P, Alarcón-Padilla D-C, Zaragoza G. Large-scale solar desalination by
combination with CSP: Techno-economic analysis of different options for the
Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Desalination 2015;366:130–8.
[36] Alsaman AS, Askalany AA, Harby K, Ahmed MS. Performance evaluation of a solar-
driven adsorption desalination-cooling system. Energy 2017;128:196–207.
[37] Alsaman AS, Askalany AA, Harby K, Ahmed MS. A state of the art of hybrid ad-
sorption desalination–cooling systems. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
2016;58:692–703.
[38] Ghorbani B, Mehrpooya M, Sadeghzadeh M. Developing a tri-generation system of
power, heating, and freshwater (for an industrial town) by using solar flat plate
collectors, multi-stage desalination unit, and Kalina power generation cycle. Energy
Convers Manage 2018;165:113–26.
[39] Asim M, Imran M, Leung MK, Kumar NU, Martin AR, Kashif FJD, et al. Experimental
analysis of solar thermal integrated MD system for cogeneration of drinking water
and hot water for single family villa in Dubai using flat plate and evacuated tube
solar collectors. 2017; 92: p. 46–59.
[40] Kumar NU, Martin AJWT. Experimental modeling of an air-gap membrane dis-
tillation module and simulation of a solar thermal integrated system for water
purification. 2017; 84: p. 123–34.
[41] Iaquaniello G, Salladini A, Mari A, Mabrouk AA, Fath HES. Concentrating solar
power (CSP) system integrated with MED–RO hybrid desalination. Desalination
2014;336:121–8.
[42] Gadhamshetty V, Gude VG, Nirmalakhandan N. Thermal energy storage system for
energy conservation and water desalination in power plants. Energy.
2014;66:938–49.
[43] Picinardi A. Cogeneration of cooling energy and fresh water; 2011.
[44] Garg MC, Joshi H. A review on PV-RO process: solution to drinking water scarcity
due to high salinity in non-electrified rural areas. Sep Sci Technol
2015;50:1270–83.
[45] Lian B, Wang Y, Le-Clech P, Chen V, Leslie G. A numerical approach to module
design for crossflow vacuum membrane distillation systems. J Membr Sci
2016;510:489–96.
[46] Li Q, Zheng C, Mesgari S, Hewkuruppu YL, Hjerrild N, Crisostomo F, et al.
Experimental and numerical investigation of volumetric versus surface solar ab-
sorbers for a concentrated solar thermal collector. Sol Energy 2016;136:349–64.
[47] Yunus CA, Afshin JG. Heat and mass transfer: fundamentals and applications. New
Delhi, India: Tata McGraw-Hill; 2011.
[48] Standard I. 9806-1. Test Methods for Solar Collectors, Part.1; 1994.
Q. Li et al.
[49] Australia ETSHWSA. Comparing Apricus Evacuated Tube and High Performance
Flat Plate Collectors. < https://apricus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/
Apricus-Evacuated-Tubes-v-Flat-Plates_0916.pdf2018 > .
[50] Kannan N, Vakeesan D. Solar energy for future world: - A review. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev 2016;62:1092–105.
[51] Li Q, Lian B, Wang Y, Taylor RA, Dong M, Lloyd T, et al. Development of a mobile
groundwater desalination system for communities in rural India. Water Res
2018;144:642–55.
548
Applied Energy 237 (2019) 534–548
[52] Qiu S, Ruth M, Ghosh S. Evacuated tube collectors: A notable driver behind the
solar water heater industry in China. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2015;47:580–8.
[53] McGaughey AL, Gustafson RD, Childress AE. Effect of long-term operation on
membrane surface characteristics and performance in membrane distillation. J
Membr Sci 2017;543:143–50.
[54] http://www.alibaba.com/. Alibaba group; 2018.
[55] http://www.membrana.com/. 3M Deutschland GmbH; 2018.