High-energy efficiency desalination project using a full titanium desalination unit and a solar pond as the heat supply

The project concerns the design, optimization, construction, assembling, start-up and extensive monitoring of an experimental plant consisting of a full-titanium desalinator coupled with a small solar pond. The operational tests took place at the site of the solar pond of the University of Ancona (Italy). Data collected during the start-up and operation of the plant under various conditions are being utilized for improving expertise on heat recovery with highly corrosive fluids, on co-generation plants aimed at producing electricity and fresh water, and on desalination fed by solar energy. Some preliminary economic evaluations are discussed.

From the technical point of view, the project involving the design, manufacture, and preliminary testing of an innovative full titanium desalinator, coupled with a solar pond, may be judged as satisfactory. The performance of the plant has been extensively confirmed during a one-year experiment. Further studies and the continuing development in the design should lead to quite interesting commercial perspectives for this technology, with the possibility of economic profitability in remote areas, also coupled with renewable energy sources conversion systems. Most of the initial targets of the activity have been successfully reached. Further tests will be carried out in order to obtain full comprehension of fouling performance and the resistance of titanium. Unfortunately, problems connected with the unavailability of a large-size, fullly operating solar pond have not yet permitted extensive experiments on the performance of a combined solar pond/desalinator system. Nevertheless, the information collected seems sufficient to provide useful guidelines to improve the design of the plant and to allow a more suitable selection of some critical components.