Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region
This study investigates the energy consumption and environmental challenges of the Phosboucraa seawater desalination plant in Laayoune, southern Morocco, used as a work-study to explore strategies for enhancing energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and sustainability. The plant, which produces 4000 m...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001405 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850118725173248000 |
|---|---|
| author | Otman Abida Hanane Ait Lahoussine Ouali Nouhaila Belkaid Mohamed Essalhi Emil Obeid Nisar Ali |
| author_facet | Otman Abida Hanane Ait Lahoussine Ouali Nouhaila Belkaid Mohamed Essalhi Emil Obeid Nisar Ali |
| author_sort | Otman Abida |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the energy consumption and environmental challenges of the Phosboucraa seawater desalination plant in Laayoune, southern Morocco, used as a work-study to explore strategies for enhancing energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and sustainability. The plant, which produces 4000 m3/day of fresh water for phosphate washing, currently operates at a high energy demand of approximately 8 kWh/m3. To address these challenges, four strategic scenarios were evaluated: the implementation of Pressure Exchanger (PX) technology, Ultrafiltration (UF), a single sand filter type, and the integration of renewable energy sources into the desalination process. Key findings indicate that PX technology significantly reduced energy consumption to 2.8 kWh/m3, while UF pretreatment provided a balanced outcome with a permeate flow rate of 78.62 m3/h at 2.88 kWh/m3. The single trilayer sand filter scenario achieved the highest permeate flow rate of 82.18 m3/h, but at a higher energy consumption of 3.01 kWh/m3. The optimal hybrid renewable energy system, comprising a 233 kW Photovoltaic (PV) panel, two 1500 kW wind turbines (WTs), a 965 kW converter, a 2100 kW diesel generator, and 3963 batteries, achieved the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) at 0.194 $/kWh and the lowest Net Present Cost (NPC) of 21.9 million $, with a renewable fraction of approximately 80.5 %. The integration of renewable energy sources led to a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, decreasing by approximately 80 % compared to conventional diesel-powered operations. Future work will focus on integrating battery storage and developing intelligent control mechanisms to improve system stability and reliability, making hybrid desalination systems a key solution for water security in energy-resource-rich coastal regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-69bd1412a13449998e892c176ec24241 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-69bd1412a13449998e892c176ec242412025-08-20T02:35:47ZengElsevierCleaner Engineering and Technology2666-79082025-07-012710101710.1016/j.clet.2025.101017Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal regionOtman Abida0Hanane Ait Lahoussine Ouali1Nouhaila Belkaid2Mohamed Essalhi3Emil Obeid4Nisar Ali5African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, 70000, Laayoune, Morocco; Corresponding author.African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, 70000, Laayoune, MoroccoAfrican Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, 70000, Laayoune, MoroccoAfrican Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, 70000, Laayoune, MoroccoCollege of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, KuwaitAfrican Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, 70000, Laayoune, MoroccoThis study investigates the energy consumption and environmental challenges of the Phosboucraa seawater desalination plant in Laayoune, southern Morocco, used as a work-study to explore strategies for enhancing energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and sustainability. The plant, which produces 4000 m3/day of fresh water for phosphate washing, currently operates at a high energy demand of approximately 8 kWh/m3. To address these challenges, four strategic scenarios were evaluated: the implementation of Pressure Exchanger (PX) technology, Ultrafiltration (UF), a single sand filter type, and the integration of renewable energy sources into the desalination process. Key findings indicate that PX technology significantly reduced energy consumption to 2.8 kWh/m3, while UF pretreatment provided a balanced outcome with a permeate flow rate of 78.62 m3/h at 2.88 kWh/m3. The single trilayer sand filter scenario achieved the highest permeate flow rate of 82.18 m3/h, but at a higher energy consumption of 3.01 kWh/m3. The optimal hybrid renewable energy system, comprising a 233 kW Photovoltaic (PV) panel, two 1500 kW wind turbines (WTs), a 965 kW converter, a 2100 kW diesel generator, and 3963 batteries, achieved the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) at 0.194 $/kWh and the lowest Net Present Cost (NPC) of 21.9 million $, with a renewable fraction of approximately 80.5 %. The integration of renewable energy sources led to a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, decreasing by approximately 80 % compared to conventional diesel-powered operations. Future work will focus on integrating battery storage and developing intelligent control mechanisms to improve system stability and reliability, making hybrid desalination systems a key solution for water security in energy-resource-rich coastal regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001405DesalinationReverse osmosisEnergy consumptionPV/Wind systemMorocco |
| spellingShingle | Otman Abida Hanane Ait Lahoussine Ouali Nouhaila Belkaid Mohamed Essalhi Emil Obeid Nisar Ali Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region Cleaner Engineering and Technology Desalination Reverse osmosis Energy consumption PV/Wind system Morocco |
| title | Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region |
| title_full | Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region |
| title_fullStr | Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region |
| title_short | Performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the Moroccan coastal region |
| title_sort | performance enhancement and integrating renewable energy into reverse osmosis seawater desalination system in the moroccan coastal region |
| topic | Desalination Reverse osmosis Energy consumption PV/Wind system Morocco |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001405 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT otmanabida performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion AT hananeaitlahoussineouali performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion AT nouhailabelkaid performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion AT mohamedessalhi performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion AT emilobeid performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion AT nisarali performanceenhancementandintegratingrenewableenergyintoreverseosmosisseawaterdesalinationsysteminthemoroccancoastalregion |