O desafio de abastecimento descentralizado de água: avaliação do potencial de dessalinização por energia solar

• Author(s): Branco, Telma Filipa Aires
• Date: 2013
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/6483
• Origin: Repositório da UTL
• Subject(s): desalination; humidification-dehumidification; solar energy
• Document Type: Master thesis
• Language: Portuguese
• Advisor(s): Loureiro, David Pereira; Fragoso, Rita do Amaral
• Contributor(s): Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa

Description

Mestrado em Engenharia do Ambiente - Instituto Superior de Agronomia

Coping with water scarcity is one of the world biggest challenges, and in this sense, desalination has assumed an important role as an alternative solution for water supply. However the high energy consumption is a main drawback of this technology. The use of renewable energy as an alternative energy supply can contribute to a more environmentally sustainable desalination process. This work aims to illustrate the different available desalination technologies, and understand how these technologies can be combined with renewable energy sources, with more emphasis on humidification - dehumidification technology using solar energy. Since solar desalination is more applicable for decentralized production of water on a small scale, a case study was conducted on Culatra Island. This included geographical and climate characterization and, analysis of water needs. Based on this information a humidification-dehumidification desalination system was designed in order to supply part of the water needs of the community, including a solar thermal system dimensioned through the software SolTerm, in order to assess ih this system can be an alternative to the existing water supply.