Performance and economic analysis of hybrid solar collectors‐powered integrated adsorption/reverse osmosis multigeneration system

Abstract

Summary In this study, theoretical performance investigation and economic analysis of hybrid solar system‐driven integrated reverse osmosis (RO)/adsorption multigeneration system have been performed. The system delivers the required cooling during summer operation via adsorption chiller freshwater and electricity via RO unit and photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collectors, respectively, throughout the year for building in Alexandria, Egypt during the typical daily working hours. A hybrid solar system comprising evacuated tube collectors (ET) and PVT collectors is proposed to supply the required heat and electricity. Four configurations: Case 1 has only PVT, Case 2 has 75% PVT and 25% ET, Case 3 has 50% PVT and 50% ET, and Case 4 has 25% PVT and 75% ET. A dynamic model for the performance of the proposed multigeneration system is constructed and analyzed using MATLAB software. The results show that increasing PVT area share improves system energy and exergy efficiencies and economic performance but at the expense of produced cooling capacity. The average cooling of the adsorption chiller is 5.8, 7.6, 9.5, and 11.5 kW for Cases 1 to 4, respectively, and RO specific energy consumption is about 2.467 kWh/m3 of freshwater. Energy savings of approximately 32.95 MWh/year are achieved for Case 1, while its CO2 emissions cut is about 18.06 of equivalent tonCO2 per year. The Payback periods of the proposed system are about 10.3, 11.68, 15.85, and 24.3 years for Case 1 to Case 4, respectively, demonstrating the system economic viability.