Membrane Distillation When Rivers Run Dry

Abstract: This thesis is a techno-economic analysis of five potential energy sources that can be used to drive a water purifying system called the WaterApp. The Product will be installed for a pilot project in Balasore in Odisha, India, which is the case which this study is based on. The prime focus of the techno-economic analysis is to get a broad look on the possible energy sources to provide a basis for further investigation on the implementation of the WaterApp. Today, the WaterApp is still under research and development at Scarab Development AB. The future goal is to commercialize the WaterApp and a target is providing clean drinking water for communities that are suffering from inorganically contaminated well water. Many of these communities are also suffering from poverty, which poses a great challenge in finding an altogether sustainable water providing solution. This solution could possibly be the WaterApp. The water purifying process in the WaterApp is membrane distillation (MD), which is a thermally driven process. This means that there is a need for heat source and sink, which could be a source of high costs. This in turn could threaten to obstruct further market establishments of the WaterApp. Finding a sustainable energy providing solution is thereby an important research area for the WaterApp market establishment. The five energy sources that are investigated are solar power, wind power, waste heat from a diesel generator, biogas and electricity from the grid. The basis for the techno-economic analysis is technical properties of the equipment used for each energy source as well as the levelised cost for the specific equipment. The sizing and properties of the energy providing equipment is chosen with respect to the WaterApp. Each energy scenario is simulated separately using the computer software HOMER Energy. The results from these simulations show that the most economical solution would be to use waste heat from a diesel generator. This is largely due to the low investment costs in energy equipment.