Evaluation of Photovoltaic Reverse Osmosis Desalination System (PV-RO), Case Study: Suburban Villages of Fars Province, Shiraz

The reduction of renewable and fresh water resources has resulted in a drinking water supply deficit in many parts of Iran, including Fars province. Considering that most of the water resources in Fars province and the suburbs of Shiraz city have become saline, one of the efficient solutions to supply drinking water to people living in villages with limited population is desalination. In this research, a photovoltaic reverse osmosis desalination system (PV-RO) was designed and built. Three saline water samples from; Zarghan Agricultural Research Center, Sultanabad village, and Kamalabad village were collected for evaluation of the desalination system in 2021. The results showed that it is possible to supply daily drinking water of 10 liters per capita for 146 people in the first study area, 122 people in the second area, and 50 people in the third area. The maximum flow rate of permeate water production is 61 L/h with a 41% recovery factor. Moreover, the required energy for desalination is 1.98 kWh/m3, and the permeate water production cost per cubic meter of fresh water is determined as 180,000 Rials. Therefore, it is possible to use this system in the study area to supply drinking water under drought conditions with reasonable efficiency.