Numerical simulation and analysis of Atmospheric Water Harvesting Prototype for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants

The water physical scarcity due to increasing consumption and the water economic scarcity affecting the most disadvantaged populations are increasing in many regions of the world. In a future in which water will be considered a precious and limited commodity, many scientists are investigating and developing new technologies and alternative solutions to the rising problems of water scarcity. This thesis aims to fully study the potential applications of the Atmospheric Water Harvesting Prototype in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants technology. For this purpose an overview of the existing CSP plants , the most water intensive technology, is carried out with particular attention to water management and consumption. Thanks to the prototype, which uses low temperature heat in an absorption bed, realized in the laboratory of the Polytechnic of Turin, based on the simulations of tests operating in arid or semi-desert environments , it has been possible to quantify the performance of a complete adsorption-desorption cycle. Besides, employing a Matlab code simulating the adsorption unit, energy consumption, water yield for different efficiency conditions and condensation temperatures for different cycle rankings have been evaluated. Furthermore a techno-economic analysis of CSP plants in terms of levelized cost of Electricity is conducted and emphasis is given to the water consumption impact on operations and maintenance cost (OPEX). In conclusion, the results achieved with the model developed in this thesis provide information for the future development and improvement of the prototype as well as potential uses in a CSP plant: on the one hand a reduction of the water demand producing it directly on site; on the other hand, a consequent decrease in water costs and Operations and maintenance (O&M) costs that are relatively high for CSP plants.