The application of Linear Fresnel and Parabolic Trough solar fields as thermal source to produce electricity and fresh water

In the present paper, the integration of the Multi Effect Desalination (MED) system with the Solar Rankine Cycle (SRC) was considered in order to produce electricity and water. Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) and Linear Fresnel (LF) solar fields were investigated as the thermal source of the SRC and a Natural Gas Boiler (NGB) was considered to supply part of the SRC required thermal energy during the non-availability of the solar thermal energy. A simple optimization approach was used in order to obtain the SRC plants with minimum electricity and water generation costs. A Thermal Storage System (TES) was also considered in the calculations of the present paper. For both PTC/SRC and LF/SRC plants, the required Solar Multiple (SM), electricity generation cost and water production cost were determined for different percentages of the solar share. A comparison between the PTC and LF solar fields was conducted in order to determine the required solar field and land area for producing the specific electricity and fresh water rates. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the importance of each cost parameters on the final electricity and water unit of costs for both PTC and LF base SRC plants.