Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Review

Osmotic desalination by solar energy: A critical review

Alibakhsh Kasaeian a, *, Fatemeh Rajaee a, Wei-Mon Yan b, **
a
Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
b
Department of Energy and Refrigerating Air-Conditioning Engineering, National Taipei, University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This review deals with the membrane desalination techniques, reverse and forward osmosis, run by solar
Received 27 January 2018 energy. Photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors are favorable substitutes for fossil fuels, which
Received in revised form are being plundered and cause climate changes. The present paper provides its readers with a novel
17 August 2018
classification of previous works on membrane methods and the kinds of collectors, which shed light on
Accepted 13 September 2018
Available online 15 September 2018
the significant role of solar energy and systems as green renewable energy in producing drinking water
for human beings. The photovoltaic-integrated reverse osmosis systems are advocated by 53% percent of
all articles. In addition, energy, exergy, and techno-economic analyses have been done under various
Keywords:
Solar energy
conditions. The optimized and modified designs of reverse osmosis, powered by solar thermal collectors,
Reverse osmosis make the systems greatly expanded the entire world. From another side, the capability of forward
Forward osmosis osmosis (FO) to provide potable water provokes researchers to investigate the ambiguities about the
Desalination influence of solar collectors on the system performance and water production cost. Nevertheless, the
efforts continue to retrofit FO, the number of papers is not sufficient, and the wide field of the subjects
about solar forward osmosis has not been covered yet.
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1474
2. Reverse osmosis by photovoltaics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476
2.1. The effect of parameters on the PV-RO performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476
2.2. Modified PV-RO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
2.3. Hybrid PV-RO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
2.4. Economic aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1479
3. Reverse osmosis by solar collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1481
3.1. Trough collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1481
3.2. Evacuated tube collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1481
3.3. Other collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1483
3.4. Comparison of different collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1483
4. Solar forward osmosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1486
5. Conclusion and suggestions for future works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1488
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1488

Abbreviations: Electrodialysis, ED; Energy Conversion, EC; Energy Recovery Devices, ERD; Flat Plate Collector, FPC; Forward Osmosis, FO; Greenhouse Gas, GHG; Linear
Fresnel Rankine Cycle, LFRC; LNG, liquefied natural gas; Multi-effect distillation, MED; Multi-stage flash, MSF; Parts per million, ppm; Pelton Wheel Turbine, PWT; Pressure
Exchanger, PEX; Pressure Transfer, PT; Pressure-Retarded Osmosis, PRO; Reverse Osmosis, RO; Solar Organic Rankine Cycle, SORC; Specific Energy Consumption, SEC;
Seawater Reverse Osmosis, SWRO; Total Dissolved Solids, TDS; Vapor Compression, VC.
* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: akasa@ut.ac.ir (A. Kasaeian), wmyan@ntut.edu.tw (W.-M. Yan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.09.038
0960-1481/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1474 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
1. Introduction
Human's life depends on water, which covers three-fourths of
the planet's surface, while just three percent of the earth water
recourses including poles (in the form of ice), groundwater, lakes,
and rivers are fresh water. Throughout the mentioned recourses,
lakes and rivers are easy to reach which contain just a little more
than 0.25% of all fresh water. About 70%, 20% and 10% of total water
consumption are allocated to agriculture, industry and household
needs, respectively. The quick industrial growth and the worldwide
population explosion from one hand and the lack of fresh water
resources from another hand, provoke people to seek the manners
in order to use local water resources such as brackish and seawater
[1], [2]. Desalinating means to reduce the salt from brackish or sea
water which is up to 35000e45000 parts per million (ppm) to the
World Health Organization standard which is about
500e1000 ppm [1], [2]. Fig. 1 shows the range of commercially
available seawater desalination technologies all around the world
[3].
Finding the sustainable and viable energy for desalinating water
is a crucial and profound issue. Also, the large amount of hot-gas
emission resulting from intensive conventional energy consump-
tion could be prevented by renewable energy [4]. Based on the
energy experts’ predictions, renewable energy would generate
around 50%e80% of all electricity, and the solar energy is one of the
most economical among the renewable resources [5]. Fig. 2 justifies
this fact that the communities have a trend to employ solar energy
for the developed technologies like desalination techniques [6] [7].
Growing the usage of renewable energy-based desalination is
broadly related to the development of renewable energy technol-
ogies. According to recent data, the amount of produced energy
through the green energy climbs of five times over the last decade
[8].
All the mentioned proofs reveal the significance of the combi-
nation of solar energy and desalination technologies. Thermal and
membrane processes are two main techniques, which have been
developed to desalinate water. Fossil fuel sources, nuclear energy,
solar energy, geothermal energy and wind energy could be
employed to provide the thermal energy or electricity for the
methods mentioned above [9]. The membrane process is classified
as reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis (FO), and electrodialysis
(ED). The reverse osmosis desalination relies on typically 50e80 bar
pressure for sea water and 20e30 bar for brackish water, which is
Fig. 1. The shares of desalination methods in installed capacity [3] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
obtained by high-pressure pumps [4], [9]. In addition, the required
electricity could be supplied directly by photovoltaic panels or
indirectly by using a thermal cycle that converts the thermal energy
into mechanical energy. For instance, the solar organic Rankine
cycle (SORC) coupled RO was investigated at the end of the 1970s
for brackish water desalination [10]. Also, using the combination of
solar-wind [11] [12], or solar-geothermal [13] energy to provide RO
system with sufficient electricity has been studied and recom-
mended. The minimum required work for separating salt from
seawater with 3300 ppm salinity at 25
C, by using the Van't Hoff
formula, is 0.77 kW h/m3 [14]. Generally, the energy consumption
depends on the plant capacity, the unit design and the seawater
feed stream quality [4]. Therefore, the average energy consumption
would be up to 3.7e8 kW h/m3 for sea water and 1.5e2.5 kW h/m3
for brackish water [15]. The osmotic pressure allows the water, and
not the salt, to pass through a semi-permeable membrane surface
and divide feed water into brine and fresh water. Fig. 3 [4] depicts
the principle of the function of a reverse osmosis system.
The forward (direct) osmosis method started in the 1970s for
separating salt from water [16], while it has been revitalized again
since the membranes were developed [17]. In contrast with reverse
osmosis, the separation of water and salt in forward osmosis is due
to the natural osmosis by a concentrated draw solution. The specific
energy consumption (SEC) in FO for feed water with concentrations
of salts up to 40 g/l and temperature of working fluid up to
30e40
C was 0.5 kWh/m3. While, under the given condition, the
SEC for RO was about 2e4 kWh/m3 [18]. Moreover, forward osmosis
has indicated great potential for energy production (pressure
retarded osmosis (PRO)), food processing, controlled drug release,
and medical product enrichment [17]. The internal concentration
polarization and the energy-efficient recovery of the draw agent
necessitate more investigation to raise the extent to which FO
technics are applied for treating the sea/brackish water [19].
The utilization of renewable energy sources such as solar energy
systems to drive FO plants has not been discussed and received
attention as it truly deserved [20]. The ongoing research for finding
a favorable draw solution provides a situation to promote FO and
turn it into a competitive technology [17]. However, the influence of
membrane material on the energy efficiency of the process is not
explicit [21]. Although a full-scale operation data for FO is not
available, lower energy consumption and less fouling potential than
RO have been observed [22], [23]. The easy cleaning, low costs, high
salt rejection and high water flux could be referred to as the other
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490 1475

Fig. 2. Distribution of renewable-assisted desalination techniques [6] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

Fig. 3. Typical layout of reverse osmosis system [4] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

advantages of FO [17]. Besides the high price of renewable energies,
these are ultimately economic for the solar desalination plants in
remote areas where suffer from water and conventional energy
scarcity. The shortage of water and conventional energy in arid and
insolated areas lead to the expansion of desalination market [9].
The intake water quality, the plant capital cost, energy consump-
tion, labor cost, maintenance, the concentrate disposal cost, and
financing interest rate influence on the economics of desalination.
Therefore, as far as the FO technology is in its preliminary stages of
progress, the economic aspects of this method have not been
investigated empirically. Hence, the details of expenses have not
been derived yet [4].
Regarding the fact that desalination technics integrating
renewable energy could have a dominant role in the near future, it
would be beneficial to acquire a quick prospect of the issue by
reviewing previous reviews. El-Ghonemy [9] investigated the
desalination technologies by renewable energy, in a review paper.
In this review, he categorized the desalination methods into ther-
mal, membrane and the combination of desalination systems. In
addition, the economic aspects of each item were studied. The first
thermal distillation technologies are the multi-stage flash (MSF),
multi-effect distillation (MED), and vapor compression (VC),
whereas the main membrane technologies are the reverse osmosis
(RO) and electrodialysis (ED and EDR). In 2013, the details of the
mentioned methods were reviewed, and the energy consumption,
environmental impacts and water production cost were studied
thoroughly.
Moreover, the possibility of using geothermal and wind re-
sources coupled with desalination systems was discussed [4].
Shalaby [24] have reviewed PV modules, and Rankine cycles inte-
grated with reverse osmosis desalination and compared them with
each other. In addition, he concentrated on the different designs
1476 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
and software used to improve the operation of the devices.
Delgado-Torres and García-Rodríguez [25] focused on the SORC-RO
and presented useful suggestions about the selection of the work-
ing fluid, boundary conditions of the ORC, the operational tem-
peratures, the configuration of the solar field, the suited solar
collectors, and the thermal energy storage technology. In 2017, a
detailed comprehensive review of active solar distillation was car-
ried out on in terms of design, effective parameters and different
hybrid combinations. The authors concluded that, although RO and
ED were extremely appropriate for small and medium scale puri-
fication, but required a high amount of energy [26]. Also, in 2018,
the developing technologies, leading to lower energy consumption
as well as a reduction in carbon dioxide emission, have been
reviewed [27]. Hybridization of SWRO (seawater by reverse
osmosis) with FO pretreatment and PRO post-treatment, using
renewable energies, are some recommendations by that study. Ali
et al. [8] conducted a comprehensive review of membrane tech-
nology in renewable-energy-driven desalination. They found the
solar energy as the most tested form of renewable energy for
desalination, which is extensively coupled with the RO process.
Moreover, regarding the recent developments and progress in
membrane technology, the FO has been introduced as an alterna-
tive process to exploit solar energy directly. In another review pa-
per [6], the authors provided the latest developments in the
renewable energy systems to run desalination plants. They
expressed some existing challenges such as the limitation of
daylight hours which interrupt the continuous operation of PV-RP.
Also, they recommended using nanofluid in solar thermal desali-
nation, which could increase the water evaporation rate to a
reasonable extent.
In this study, the focus is on the reverse and forward osmosis
techniques, connected to the solar energy resource. Classifying the
papers in a novel method could help to understand the most
effective parameters for these types of systems; consequently,
prediction of the techniques which might make the systems much
more efficient would be available. Solar thermal collectors, as other
energy supplying devices, were studied as well. Moreover, our at-
tentions have been beyond organic Rankine cycles, and we inves-
tigated the other cycles such as the CO2 and piston power cycles.
Another strength of our work is to consider the forward osmosis as
a practical and useful method to desalinate brackish or seawater.
Finally, the main methods, the recent development, the future
projects, and suggestions are proposed for further studies.
2. Reverse osmosis by photovoltaics
Considering the shortage of fossil fuels, moving away from these
resources seems vital. Solar energy captured by photovoltaic panels
could provide the required energy for systems such as reverse
osmosis desalination plants. Moreover, it can overcome the limi-
tations on the isolated areas which hardly have access to local
electrical grids and drinking water [28]. Also, Hrayshat [29] showed
a proper prospect of the production of potable water by reverse
osmosis desalination unit with photovoltaic panels which treated
the various contaminations of feed water [30]. On the other side
renewable energies preserve the environment and protect it from
the harmful impacts of supplying water by conventional desalina-
tion plants which emit CO2 [31], [32]. In addition, these kinds of
energies eliminate the dependence on the imported fuel and its
policy [33]. According to the main concept of the reviewed papers,
we categorized the articles into four subtitles as the effect of pa-
rameters on the PV-RO unit performance, the modified PV-RO
units, hybrid PV-RO, and economic aspect of the PV-RO systems.
2.1. The effect of parameters on the PV-RO performance
Mellit et al. [34] believed that the most effective factor to
determine the PV panels size was the magnitude of solar radiation.
The favorable radiation for the competent performance of system
ranged 400e1200 W/m2. In a study in 2015, the countries were
ranked based on the lack of clean water, brackish or seawater re-
sources and intensity of solar radiation to identify the regions
which are capable of installing solar desalination units. The Middle
Eastern and North African countries reveal high potential to employ
solar desalination to meet inhabitants water demand [35]. Thom-
son and Infield [36] [37],in 2003 and 2005 tracked the solar irra-
diance and used an industrial inverter to exploit the PV-RO panels
without using the battery. In addition, a favorable comparison be-
tween one-axis tracking system and fixed flat plates were con-
ducted, and increases in voltage, current and generated power in
the one-axis tracking system were reported [38]. Similarly, the in-
fluence of fluctuations of solar irradiance on the performance of PV-
RO was identified by Richards et al. [39].
Ahmad et al. [40] shed some light on the effect of tilt angle and
azimuth angle (orientation) of photovoltaic panels on permeate
flow rate, by using a single and dual axis tracking system in-
stallations. For the case study, located on Dhahran city, Saudi Ara-
bia, the annual gain due to the employed single and dual tracking
was 43% and 62% more in comparison with the fixed flat PV panels.
The effect of solar irradiation on the retention of dissolved con-
taminants was observed by Richards et al. [41]. They found the
independence of retention of strontium, calcium, and uranium
from energy fluctuation and reported that the lowest solar irradi-
ance yielded the lowest retention of nitrate, potassium, sodium,
and total dissolved solids (TDS). The association between the
feasibility of photovoltaic-run reverse osmosis and environmental
features was proposed by Bilton et al. [42]. Based on their results,
the high ambient temperature, corresponding to high solar radia-
tion, decrease the photovoltaic panel's efficiency. The parallel result
was found by Soric et al. [43] who observed a negative influence on
the electrical production due to the high values of local tempera-
tures (at the surface of the panels) above 50
C. Also, The decrease
in quality in permeate water is reported due to the high tempera-
ture of feed water during summer time [44].
The effect of the feed pressure was identified by Gandhidasan
and Al-Mojel [45]. The results showed that the high-pressure feed
water caused the low permeate TDS, low specific energy, high level
of generated drinking water and a high percentage of recovery.
Moreover, Clarke et al. [46] simulated a PV-RO and indicated the
deviation of the nominal (time-averaged) results of the power
characteristics of the system elements from the time-resolved one.
It could be concluded that the solar irradiance is the most impor-
tant parameter in the PV-RO units, which determine the capacity
and efficiency of the plant. It would be useful that an algorithm is
proposed in order to evaluate the relative efficiency of the plant
based on the geographical location and the amount of solar
radiation.
Mohamed et al. [47] compared a battery-based PV-RO system
with a battery-less one, which was actuated by the energy recovery
devices. In this case study, the energy consumption and the pro-
duced water in the battery-based system were a little more than
that of the battery-less one. Hence, they concluded that the addi-
tion of a small battery bank and a charge controller is not
economical. It shall be noted that the number of PV panels should
provide enough electricity for the minimal number of operational
hours in a battery-less plant [48]. Kumarasamy et al. [49] consid-
ered battery-less RO-PV desalination with and without permeate
buffer tank. The differences in quantity and quality of produced
water and ease of implementation in two cases were observed.
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490 1477

Fig. 4. Flow diagram of brackish water treating [52] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

Also, an innovative method was explained to optimize an off-grid,
battery-less RO-PV based on pinch analysis and genetic algorithm
[50]. The performance of small-scale RO-PV was tracked during a
year. It was observed that, due to the high PV module temperature
(exceeding 45
C) and battery temperature conditions (exceeding
35
C), the system encountered decreasing the output power, and
compounding the battery autonomy [51].
The influence of temperature and operating pressure on the
specific energy consumption, recovery percentage and salt rejec-
tion were studied on the system illustrated in Fig. 4 [52].
For instance, when the percentage of the recovery ratio in-
creases, the area of PV module would increase. Furthermore, the
authors displayed that the high concentration of salt in the feed
water caused an increase in some factors such as minimum
reversible work to supply drinking water from seawater, the
osmotic pressure, and the minimum initial cost. The recovery ratio
(R) is defined by Eq. (1) as shown below [53]:
mass of product water
R¼ (1)
mass of feed water
Khayet et al. [54] designed a PV-RO to find the optimum of the
salt rejection coefficient and permeate flux under the given con-
ditions. They used a solar thermal spherical collector to fix the feed
salt solution temperature and found that the mentioned indices for
this system were higher in comparison with the RO plant operated
not coupled with solar systems. In a case study in Tunisia, three
algorithms were developed to optimize the storage tank volume,
and the photovoltaic thermal collectors surface to provide the
required annual water (Fig. 5) [55]. Considering the importance of

Fig. 5. A view of the photovoltaic-thermal collector employed by Ammous and Chaabene [55][Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
1478 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
feed water temperature in RO and its brine disposal, a solar pond
was added to the RO system. It can be observed that the solar pond
could provide the system with permanent high-temperature feed
water, which increased the water production rate [56]. In terms of
the membrane, the effect of permeability of membrane on RO-PV
system was tested in an Australian remote national park site [57].
In addition, an experimental study was conducted to investigate
the effect of the intermittent operation of a renewable-powered
desalination system on the membrane performance. It was found
that this regulation did not have a significant adverse impact on the
membrane [58].
The influence of some parameters such as feed pressure, tem-
perature, water concentration on the specific energy consumption,
quantity and quality of fresh water were reviewed here. More
experimental and empirical data are needed in order to conclude
the exact effects of the parameters. Determining the standard range
of variation of each parameter in the classified conditions and ca-
pacity could make the evidence much more practical.
2.2. Modified PV-RO
Since finding the methods to recover waste energy in all PV-RO
systems are one of the main challenges, the recent efforts have
improved the efficiency of these systems. Some useful methods were
mentioned in order to recuperate the PV operation and decrease the
cost of water production in 2009 [59]. Energy recovery devices (ERD)
have been categorized into energy conversion (EC) and pressure
transfer (PT) in PV-RO units by Went et al. [60]. They analyzed five RO
concepts for small desalination plant with the output ranged be-
tween 200 and 1000 L. Their cases included the system without en-
ergy recovery and with energy recovery consisting reverse running
pump or turbine, pressure exchanger, intermittent operation with
pressure storage, and pressure intensifier. Thus, the best performance
in these concepts is attributed to the pressure exchanger with the
lowest increase in the specific energy consumption. Additionally, The
energy recovery equipment in PV-RO makes the system efficient
without the usage of pre-heating of feed water [24]. Concentrator
Fig. 6. Modified RO-PV system by concentrating mirrors and heat exchanger [62] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
mirrors could aid the solar cells in order to capture more solar irra-
diance and minimize the needed cell area for the given output. In
addition, uniformly concentrated radiations on the PV panels would
be possible by using the flat mirrors [61]. Fig. 6 illustrates a PV-RO
system that is modified by a heat exchanger and concentrator mir-
rors. This concept is predicated on the fact that photovoltaic panels at
lower temperatures and reverse osmosis at higher temperatures of
feed water are more efficient [62]. Similarly, the performance of a
hybrid system comprising PV/T and RO was considered. In the study,
the impact of some characteristics like fluid flow rate and hours of the
day were studied [63].
The main aim of improving solar photovoltaic modules is to
convert more solar radiation to electrical power for RO unit.
Regarding that, Vyas et al. [64] compared the power delivered to RO
in four different cases. Case 1 consisted of 32 modules, electrically
assisted the RO, the V-trough reflectors were added in case 2, case 3
involved both V-trough reflectors and cooling circulation, and case
4 included all the mentioned items beside heating water entering
the RO module. Fig. 7 shows the power delivered to the RO plant for
each case versus daytime.
The researchers' efforts to seek the manners to retrofit the RO-
PV are outstanding. For instance, in 2016, the water production
rate was optimized by joining the control system of a high-pressure
pump and the retentate valve, which maximized the utilization of
renewable energy [65].
2.3. Hybrid PV-RO
The PV-RO could be integrated with other units and conventional
resources in order to operate more efficiently and reliably. These
kinds of systems could be beneficial both in small and large-scale
desalination [66]. Helal et al. [67] conducted a comparison be-
tween three alternative designs for RO plants as diesel, PV-RO, and
both. As a result, the PV-RO plant was very competitive, and the
water cost was less than the others. However, a PV-diesel system,
proposed by Scrivani [68], mitigated the effect of fluctuation of
consumption of potable water in various months. Garg and Joshi [69]
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
Fig. 7. Comparison of the power delivered to RO between four cases [64] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
concentrated on small-scale nanofiltration and reverse osmosis
desalination together driven by photovoltaics and compared that
device with PVeNF and PVeRO systems. Hybrid PVeNF/RO is, by far,
the most economical system in the aspect of water production cost.
In the other study, photovoltaic panels and the pressure-retarded
osmosis (PRO) contributed to desalinate seawater in a hybrid sys-
tem [70]. Surprisingly, the annual produced water in this plant was
nine times more than the non-hybrid PV-RO.
As a suggestion, the PV/electrical grid connected-RO might be
considered as an effective hybrid system in some regions. In this
case, the electricity could be transferred between the PV-RO plant
and the main electrical distribution network in order to produce
water during the night or on cloudy days. Moreover, these kinds of
systems could be studied in the areas, which do not have a high
potential for radiation. Ultimately, the mentioned hybrid systems
need more and deep studies under various conditions. The initial,
maintenance and repairs expenses should be recognized in detail by
experimental data. On the other side, the relation between the
environmental and social features and the secondary system shall be
considered which could alleviate the effect of additional costs.
2.4. Economic aspects
The economic feasibility of running a reverse osmosis plant by
PV, which has been operated since 1967 in Australia was studied in
2009 [71]. Considering the high-energy cost in South Australia, PV
panels are the desirable solution to overcome the issue. Fiorenza
et al. [72] indicated the effective parameters on produced water cost
in PV-RO is unit plant capacity and the number of photovoltaic
modules. In 2008, based on the empirical data from the RO plants
located in the Mediterranean and Red Sea regions, the equations for
estimating the unit production costs (US$/m3) were provided [73]. In
a case study, the economic acceptability of PV-powered water
pumping and desalination for agriculture was investigated in the
Jordan Valley [74]. In this paper, the authors compared three types of
power generations including PV, diesel and a grid-connected power
supply. The photovoltaic power supply was recognized as more cost-
effective than the diesel and less economical than the grid-
connected system. However, the PV was introduced to withstand
drastically in the given locations with shallow groundwater depths,
1479
low salinity raw water, high solar irradiance and crops which are
high-yield and require relatively low water. Furthermore, the RO-PV
system could be considered a secure and economical approach for
irrigating and ensuring the availability of agricultural land [75].
The influence of photovoltaic usage on the production cost
water from an RO unit was analyzed by Poullikkas [76]. Likewise,
The technical and economic performance of PV-RO desalination in
a remote village in Mexico was reported by Elasaad et al. [77].
Interestingly, purchasing water by residents in the mentioned
research shows that the social acceptability and the economical
operation of the system. Techno-Economic feasibility of two
methods of water desalination including electrodialysis reversal
(EDR) and reverse osmosis was carried out in New Mexico [78]. The
researchers concluded that the EDR, in comparison with RO, was
more profitable and economical to treat the water with a low level
of total dissolved solids; but when the TDS was around 3500 mS/cm,
the RO was preferred. Ahmad and Schmid [79] demonstrated that,
with an increase in the size and period of exploitation, the prom-
ised trend toward the decrease in cost would occur. Table 1 shows
energy consumption and average water production cost of PV-RO
desalination [4] (see Table 2).
The ultimate target of optimizing and modifying the PV-RO unit
is to minimize the water production cost. Hence, the majority of the
papers focused on the effect of parameters on the water production
cost. We believe, a comparison between the water production cost
by a conventional method with PV-RO unit and showing the ad-
vantages makes the system more reliable and acceptable for resi-
dents. Furthermore, the influence of feed water concentration on
the water production cost should be studied deeply. This parameter
not only affects the feed water pressure but also have an impact on
the equipment lifetime. Especially, the quality of the feed water
pump and membrane in RO modules, which could increase the
Table 1
Energy consumption and water production cost of PV-RO desalination.
Feed water Typical Energy Water production
capacity (m3/day) demand (kWh/m3) cost (US$/m3)
Seawater <100 4e6 11.7e15.6
Brackish water <100 1.5e4 6.5e9.1
1480 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490

Table 2
The summary of studies of reverse osmosis photovoltaics.

Authors Brief title Highlights Ref.

Al Suleimani and PV-RO in a remote area An experimental study on PV-RO was conducted and the Capability of PV-RO to overcome the limitations [28]
Nair (2000) on isolated areas was recognized.
S. A. Kalogirou (2001) Price of desalination The feasibility of PV-RO in Cyprus and the advantages of PV-RO opposite of fossil fuel. [33]
Ahmad and Schmid Feasibility of PV-RO The feasibility of PV-RO in Egypt and the influence of PV-RO size was studied. [79]
(2002)
Thomson and Infield PV-RO without batteries Tracking of solar irradiance and using an industrial inverter to exploit the PV-RO panels. [37]
(2003)
Fiorenza et al. (2003) Techno-economic evaluation of a Concentrating on the effect of plant capacity and photovoltaic modules on water cost. [72]
PV-RO
Scrivani (2005) Energy management for a PV-diesel PV/diesel-RO was investigated, and the stable production of water in PV-RO by using diesel was [68]
observed.
Abdallah et al. (2005) PV-RO under local climatic Increase in voltage, current and generated power due to using one-axis tracking. [38]
conditions
Sch€afer and Richards Testing of a hybrid membrane The effect of permeability of membrane on PV-RO a variable power source was studied. [57]
(2005) system
El-Sayed (2007) The potential of solar desalination PV-RO preserve the environment and decrease CO2 emission. [31]
Helal et al. (2008) Economic feasibility of PV-RO A comparison between PV-RO, diesel-RO and PV/diesel-RO was carried out, and PV-RO was the most [67]
cost-effective.
Sh. Mohamed et al. PV-RO toward battery based systems A comparison between battery-less and battery-based PV-RO systems was conducted. [47]
(2008)
Hrayshat (2008) PV-RO for remote Australian PV-RO could treat a high amount of contaminant and showed a high capacity to desalinate seawater for [29]
communities future.
Mellit et al. (2008) predicting solar radiation in remote The effect of solar radiation on the efficiency of PV-RO and water production were concentrated. [34]
areas
Lamei et al. (2008) Impact of solar energy on water Finding the equations to estimate water production cost. [73]
production cost
De Munari et al. Application PV-RO in a remote town Acceptability and feasibility of Replacement of PV on fossil fuel in old RO desalination in Australia. [71]
(2009)
Gandhidasan and Al- Effect of feed pressure on the PV-RO High-pressure feed water has a positive impact on PV-RO and improves the performance of the system. [45]
Mojel (2009) system
Al-karaghouli et al. Technical and economic assessment The electricity need, capital and operational costs, and fresh-water production costs in PV-RO were [59]
(2009) of PV-RO evaluated and the method to decrease the costs was introduced.
Ghermandi et al. Solar-driven desalination with RO Considering the ambiguity in operation and reliability of battery-less systems. [66]
(2009)
Khayet et al. (2010) Optimization of PV-RO plant Optimizing of the salt rejection coefficient and permeate flux under given conditions by using response [54]
surface methodology.
Poullikkas (2010) An optimization model for PV-RO Considering how water cost varies by the variable number of PV panels in the PV/diesel-RO system. [76]
Went et al. (2010) Desalination with solar powered Energy recovery devices were employed in PV-RO unite, and the influence of them was recognized. [60]
reverse
Bilton et al. (2011) The feasibility of community-scale Environmental features that are suitable for PV-RO units was recognized. [42]
PV-RO
Qiblawey et al. Performance of PV-RO The influence of temperature and operating pressure on specific energy consumption, recovery [52]
(2011) percentage and salt rejection were considered.
Richards et al. (2011) PV-RO: removing Salt The effect of solar irradiation on the retention of dissolved contaminants was studied. [41]
El-shaarawi et al. Effect of thermodynamic limitation Introducing the recovery ratio and showing its effect on the system's factors. [53]
(2011) on PV-RO cost
Soric et al. (2012) PV-RO with battery-less solar energy a portable battery-less desalination prototype with a low environmental impact was developed and [43]
studied.
Carvalho et al. (2013) Feasibility of PV-RO plant Estimating the number of PV panels to provide the sufficient electricity in the battery-less system. [48]
configurations
Clarke et al. (2013) Modeling of a small-scale PV-RO Using the result of simulating PV-RO in MATLAB to investigate a small PV powered (RO). [46]
Kelley and Thermal control to maximize PV-RO PV-RO was modified by a heat exchanger and concentrator mirrors. [62]
Dubowsky (2013) productivity
Garg and Joshi (2014) Economic analysis of small-scale Hybrid PVeNF/RO is by far the most economical system in the water production cost than PV-RO and PV- [69]
nanofiltration and PV-RO NF.
Ahmad et al. (2015) simulation of PV-RO by fixed and A single and dual axis tracking system was used, and their influence on permeate flow rate was observed. [40]
tracking panels
Pen~ ate et al. (2015) Uninterrupted eight-year operation The decrease of quality in permeate water is reported due to the high temperature of feed water. [44]
of PV-RO
Ammous and Economic analysis of PV-RO without The usage of PV-RO to irrigation of crops and considering on water production cost. [55]
Chaabene (2015) energy storage
Vyas et al. (2015) Energy efficiency of community- Improving solar photovoltaic modules characteristics in order to convert more solar radiation into [64]
scale PV-RO electrical power.
Richards et al. (2015) Impact of solar irradiance Investigating the effect of solar irradiation on PV-RO and determining favorable radiation for capable [39]
fluctuations on PV-RO performance.
Kumarasamy et al. Optimal operation of battery-less Considering battery-less RO-PV desalination with and without permeate buffer tank. [49]
(2015) PV-RO
Elasaad et al. (2015) Field evaluation of a community Focus on the technical and economic performance of PV-RO desalination in remote the village in Mexico. [77]
scale PV-RO
Karimi et al. (2015) comparison of off-grid PV-EDR and Concentrating on the selection between PV-RO and EDR regarding the amount of TDS. [78]
PV-RO
He et al. (2015) Stand-alone seawater PV-RO Considering a hybrid system including pressure retarded osmosis and PV to drive RO module. [70]
Lee et al. (2016) PV-RO optimized for maximum Retrofitting the RO-PV by using duty of the high-pressure pump and the openness of the retentate. [65]
production
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490 1481

Table 2 (continued )

Authors Brief title Highlights Ref.

Pugsley et al. (2016) Global applicability of solar Showing the high potential of (MENA) for erecting the PV-RO by determining solar irradiance. [35]
desalination
Esfahani and C. Yoo pinch analysis and GA for PV-RO Pinch analysis of an off-grid battery-less RO-PV. [50]
(2016)
Alghoul et al. (2016) Experimental PV-RO photovoltaic Observing the negative impact on battery and output power, due to the high temperature. [51]
Shalaby (2017) PV/SORC-RO desalination A reviewing on PV and ORC-RO and suggesting the recommendations. [24]
Manzoor et al. (2017) Solar pond and membrane Investigating the integrated system to understand the effect of feed temperature on the permeate flux. [56]
distillation
Ammous and Photovoltaic thermal and RO Considering the operation of the hybrid system during a typical day. [63]
Chaabene (2018)
Freire-Gormaly and Effect of intermittent operation on The researchers observed that the intermittent operation did not influence the membrane. [58]
Bilton (2018) the membrane

repairs and maintenance expenses, could be the determining parts exergy and thermo-economic analysis. The schematic diagram of
in the economic calculations. three different processes, including RO basic, RO-PWT and RO-PEX
It seems that the PV-RO technique is within the way of maturity configuration is illustrated in Fig. 9. The results showed that the
to treat water for the people who have no access to drinking water needed area for the solar collector to drive the ORC in PEX is 65%
and accessible energy. The majority of the studies about PV-RO are less than the basic configuration, and 43.5% less than the PWT.
focused on economic, social, energetic and exergetic aspects, and Owing to this fact, the cycle total irreversibility and flow rate in the
their advantages and drawbacks have been discussed. Also, such Rankine Cycle would decrease. Hence, under the same operation
systems have been employed in many countries ranging from conditions, by considering the economic aspects, the PEX is placed
Australia to Mexico. Furthermore, the recent development of PV at the top, then comes PWT, and the last would be the basic
modules and the decrease in the panel's cost proves that the PV-RO configuration [85].
unit could be a certain way to desalinate sea or brackish water in The majority of the recent studies have concentrated on small
many areas. capacity systems. In case of comparison between the two
mentioned steps, Pen ~ ate and Rodríguez [86] presented a favorable
design for a medium-to-large capacity, 2500 m3/day particularly.
3. Reverse osmosis by solar collectors They studied an interesting cycle of a solar ORC with PEX, super-
heating, and a cascade ORC. Two different kinds of trough collec-
3.1. Trough collectors tors, including direct and indirect steam generation, were tested.
The results revealed that the cascade ORC needed 23% larger area
Regarding the fact that the overall efficiencies of ORC are than the other one.
correlated to the collector type and the operating conditions,
parabolic trough collectors yield higher efficiency, which peaks at
3.2. Evacuated tube collectors
32% [80]. Parabolic trough collectors absorb solar irradiance to ORC
to power reverse osmosis desalination. Most of the previous studies
Evacuated solar energy collectors generate the required heat for
have focused on improving the operation of the system, thereby
decreasing the cost. Salcedo et al. [81] showed that integrating RO
with solar energy have profound implications for global warming
by reducing CO2. Antipova et al. [82] considered the configuration
of the system and the operating conditions to optimize the eco-
nomic and environmental performance of standard reverse
osmosis, driven by solar thermal energy and thermal energy stor-
age. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be reduced by
using heat storage, although this may impose an increase in the
expenses. Also, thermal storage makes it possible for the system to
operate at partial loads with stable efficiency, regardless of the
fluctuations of the solar resource [83].
It is essential to find an innovative design to generate the suf-
ficient electrical energy for the solar desalination system. In the
previous works [84] [85], two different options have been identi-
fied as a double-cascade of ORC and a solar ORC with Pressure
Exchanger (PEX) equipped with superheating or a Pelton Wheel
Turbine (PWT) as recovery units. In the first option, Torres and
Rodríguez [84] investigated a double-cascade organic Rankine cycle
for solar-driven reverse osmosis desalination. In this process, as
shown in Fig. 8, the top cycle provides energy for the high-pressure
pump, and the bottom cycle consumes the waste thermal energy
from the top cycle and supplies energy for driving the auxiliaries.
They concluded that the performance of this system with proper
working fluid was higher and the required area was smaller,
compared to the conventional solar reverse osmosis systems (run Fig. 8. A cross-sectional view of the solar thermal cascade Organic Rankine Cycle to
by photovoltaic panels). Regarding the second option, a comparison provide adequate energy for desalination unit [86] [Reprinted with permission from
has been proposed among three distinct systems based on the Elsevier].
1482 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490

Fig. 9. A schematic diagram of the RO system connected to three types of energy recovery units [85] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

solar organic Rankine cycles, coupled with reverse osmosis desa- from solar energy. They indicated that, although the system did not
lination. Manolakos et al. [87] addressed a feasible system which achieve a favorable efficiency, it operated constantly and safely at
could exploit a low-temperature source and provide treated water the low temperatures (temperature range is in the order of 140
C

Fig. 10. A simplified block diagram of the two-stage solar organic Rankine cycle system.
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
and 80
C for high and low temperature, respectively). Kosmadakis
et al. [88] matured the system mentioned above by adding a high-
temperature stage operation. As it is shown in Fig. 10, the high-
pressure pump in the RO unit and the other pumps including
cooling water, working fluid, and circulation pumps are powered by
the high and low-temperature stages, respectively.
As a result, the efficiency of the two-stage thermodynamic
system was 68% more than the one-stage, and the desalinated
water production raised up to 260%. In the other study, the treated
water cost, comprising the cost of the energy system and desali-
nation system in each case was estimated [89]. Then, it was found
that the specific cost of the two-stage ORC-RO was 37% less than
that of the low-temperature ORC-RO. The exergy topological
method, employed by Tchanche et al. [90], proved that a simple
Rankine cycle operating at a low temperature below 100
C was
more suitable than the modified Rankine cycle for running at an RO
plant. In a recent study, with the intent of improving the efficiency
of conventional and low-temperature ORC-RO, a novel isothermal
ORC system was experimentally examined. The authors observed
that the energy requirement of the system was half of the con-
ventional ORC-RO [91].
3.3. Other collectors
The other kinds of collectors including compound and dish
collectors and solar pond were employed to heat up the working
fluid in Rankine cycles to assist the reverse osmosis water desali-
nation. Attia [92] estimated the capability of dish collector to power
reverse osmosis water. Fig. 11 shows the performance of the system
which could be divided into three stages including:
1) Increasing the temperature of the working fluid from 25
C to
100
C
2) Increasing the pressure in the first part of a pressure tank to
provide the pressure of RO module
3) Expansion of working fluid to produce drinking water
In addition, this study indicated that the production rate of
treated water and the energy consumption of this system were
reasonable in comparison with the other solar methods in the
reverse osmosis desalination.
Fig. 11. The operation of dish collector-integrated reverse osmosis desalination [92] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
1483
The other cycle, which could be integrated with reverse osmosis
desalination, is the transcritical carbon dioxide power cycle. Xia
et al. [93] considered this system based on the recovery of the
cryogenic energy of LNG (liquefied natural gas). Fig. 12 displayed
the properties of the system including five subsystems as a com-
pound parabolic collector with intermittent sun tracking, thermal
storage, a CO2 power cycle, an LNG, and an RO desalination. They
optimized the thermodynamic characteristics to obtain the
maximum daily potable water and exergy efficiency under the
given conditions. The finding of the study indicated that the ther-
mal storage helped the process to provide potable water continu-
ously during the given time. Also, their results showed that the
losses of LNG, the solar collector heat losses, and the increases in
condenser temperature, decline the exergy efficiency. While the
optimum CO2 turbine inlet pressure makes increasing in the exergy
efficiency.
The salinity-gradient solar ponds are the other sources of en-
ergy, which have the potential of running ORC-ROs. According to
research regarding this subject, the overall efficiency of the solar
pond-powered ORC (composing 15% of the solar pond and 10% from
the ORC) was 1.5% [94]. Besides, the operation of flat plate collectors
is recognized as appropriate ones for the other solar desalination
methods such as the solar driven spiral-wound air gap membrane
distillation [95] and humidification-dehumidification integrated
RO [96]. Recently, an energetic and exergetic analysis of a hybrid
system consisting of desalination (RO), electricity and hydrogen
generation has been carried out. The obtained maximum energy
and exergy efficiencies were 33.1% and 8.9%, respectively [97]. An
identical study has been done by El-Emam and Dincera [98]. They
found that the energy and exergy efficiencies crucially depended on
the solar radiation intensity and receiver efficiency. Askari et al. [99]
compared the performance of multi-effect (LFRC/MED) and RO
(LFRC/MED) desalination, driven by linear Fresnel Rankine cycle.
Their achievement illustrated that the electrical efficiency of (LFRC/
RO) was higher than the LFRC/MED.
3.4. Comparison of different collectors
The production of fresh water using desalination technologies,
driven by ORC, is the feasible method, which could be used in the
arid area. Moreover, the proposed methods for predicting the
1484 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490

Fig. 12. The properties of solar-powered transcritical CO2 power cycle integrated with the recovery of the cryogenic energy of LNG to run the reverse osmosis desalination [93]
[Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

Table 3
Specific annual cost (in V/m3) for different kinds of solar collectors in two Mediterranean regions [101] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].

Location Raw water ORCeRO-FPC ORCeRO-ETC ORCeRO-PTC Solitem ORCeRO-PTC Eurotrough RO-PV

Almeria Brackish 2.86 2.36 2.03 2.30 3.8

Seawater 7.99 6.28 4.32 4.9 12.83
Barcelona Brackish 3.31 3.29 2.36 2.33 4.31
Seawater 9.54 7.87 5.5 4.66 14.85

Table 4
Summary of the studies about the applications of solar thermal collectors in reverse osmosis.

Authors Brief title Highlights Ref.

Wright (1982) working fluid for an ORC coupled
with a solar pond
Manolakos et al. (2005) Design of low-temperature ORC-
RO
Torres and Rodríguez (2007) Double Cascade ORC-RO
Letelier et al. (2008) Modeling and optimization of
ORC-RO
Nafey et al. (2010) Thermo-economic analysis of an
ORC-RO
Tchanche et al. (2010) ORC-RO for high recovery of
freshwater
Nafey and Sharaf (2010) ORC-PV: Energy, exergy, and cost
evaluations
Torres and Rodríguez (2010) Preliminary design of ORC-RO
Torres and Rodríguez (2012) Design recommendations for
ORC-RO
Attia (2012) Thermal analysis for ORC-RO
system
Ibarra et al. (2014) Performance of a 5 kW ORC-RO
plant
Pouyfaucona and García- Solar desalination for a potential
Rodríguezb (2018) market
Igobo and Davies (2018) Isothermal ORC driving RO
Laissaoui et al. (2018) Techno-economic analysis
Siddiqui and Dincer (2018) Solar-based integrated system
El-Emam and Dincera (2018) Solar heliostat-based system
Askari et al. (2018) Desalination powered by Linear
Fresnel
Introducing of the solar ponds as a collector to run ORC and determining proper working fluid for [94]
ORC.
Exploiting of low-temperature sources to run ORC-RO and considering the efficiency. [87]
Introducing a double cascade of ORC and providing electricity for high-pressure pump and [84]
auxiliary by top and bottom cycle respectively.
The specific annual cost in V/m3 for the kinds of solar collectors powered RO was investigated. [101]
Concentrating on the exergy and thermo-economic analysis of ORC-RO with recovery units. [85]
Employing the exergy topological method to investigate low-temperature ORC-RO. [90]
Focusing on working fluid for a thermal solar collector and its influence on the efficiency and water [102]
production cost.
Finding the most efficient collector to power the low-temperature ORC-RO. [103]
Proposing design recommendations for particular ORC-RO such as selection of the working fluid [25]
and top and a condensation temperature of SORC.
A dish collector coupled with the piston cycle, which drove the RO unit, was considered. [92]
Studying the influence of thermal storage on the performance of the system and predicting the [83]
water production.
Figuring out the potential demand for solar thermal-powered desalination. [104]
Energy efficiency boosted by using Isothermal (ORC) according to the empirical data. [91]
The operation of PV-CSC is technically and financially better than PV-RO [105]
Investigating hybrid system including desalination, electricity generation and hydrogen [97]
production, coupled with the solar tower.
Considering and optimizing a solar heliostat-based hybrid system regarding energy and exergy [98]
efficiencies
Making a comparison between the desalination techniques concerning energy and exergy [99]
efficiency.
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490 1485

performance of large-scale solar thermal systems, to evaluate the
expected daily energy output [100], make solar collectors much
reliable to employ. Kosmadakis et al. [89] compared a two-stage
low-temperature SORC-RO with PV- RO systems, with and
without batteries. They found that the PV-RO system could produce
drinking water more cost-effective than the two-stage SORC.
Interestingly enough, the two-stage RO-solar Rankine system was
resistant to the variations of the interest rate (mean annual infla-
tion rate), which was effective on the specific cost of the developed
system. Table 3 reveals the specific yearly cost in V/m3 for different
kinds of solar collectors, which provide the required energy to
desalinate brackish and seawater in two Mediterranean regions.
According to Table 3, the PTC is more favorable than the other kinds
of collectors; especially the PV-RO has a higher cost than the
optimized solar ORCeRO system [101] (see Tables 4 and 5).
The energy efficiency, the total exergy destruction, and the
specific capital cost are the influencing criteria to choose the proper
solar thermal collectors as a flat plate, parabolic trough, or com-
pound parabolic concentrator to run RO. Also, the working fluid and
the operating conditions for each collector are the noteworthy
points of the system performance. Nafey and Sharaf [102] recog-
nized the best working fluid for each collector under given condi-
tions and found butane with (FPC) collector as a qualified choice
which yielded the lower destruction exergy and lower collector
area. Also, a comparison was made among the solar collectors that
were employed to absorb the solar irradiance of 1000 W/m2 to
power the low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle with 30
C
of condensation temperature [103]. In this case study, the
maximum volumetric flow rate of the permeate water per square
meter of aperture area was attributed to ETC. Torres and Rodríguez
[25] advised on designing the low to medium size solar desalina-
tion systems with a mechanical expanded power of SORC cycle. The
cycle had a power of 500 kW, the maximum top temperature of
350
C and fixed or single-axis tracking solar collectors. They used
three different types of solar collectors including a flat plate,
evacuated tube, and compound parabolic collectors in a typical day
of June to find the best configuration for the mentioned system. In
2018, the solar thermal-powered desalination technologies have
been considered to detect the future market potential for each of
them [104]. The authors found that the ORC-RO system, driven by

Table 5
Summary of the literature on solar forward osmosis.

Authors Brief title Highlights Ref.

Khaydarov and Solar powered direct osmosis introducing the direct osmosis as a novel method to desalinate water and presenting the [18]
Khaydarov (2007) principle of the operation of FO
Martinetti et al. High recovery of concentrated RO brines Concentrating on hybrid FO/RO, which the pilot-scale RO system provide the FO system with a [107]
(2009) using FO constant-concentration draw solution.
Razmjou et al. (2013) Functional Polymer Hydrogel As FO Draw Hydrogels as a draw agent and concentrated solar energy as the source of heat were employed [111]
Agents in FO process.
Ghaffour et al. (2014) Renewable energy-driven desalination Developing solar-powered FO desalination system at KAUST. [106]
Nguyen et al. (2015) An innovative surfactant for FO desalination Determining the properties of proper draw solutions for FO process. [109]
Hoyer et al. (2016) Hybrid water treatment using FO with A novel hybrid FO process using surfactants as draw solution was proposed, and waste heat or [108]
thermal regeneration solar heat were offered to regenerate draw solution
Khayet et al. (2016) optimization of a solar FO pilot plant by The FO solar-powered pilot plant was investigated under the determined optimal operating [20]
response surface methodology conditions.
Monjezi et al. (2017) Regeneration of FO with solar pond Considering solar pond/FO system performance and estimating some parameters such as SEC. [112]
Fane (2018) Membrane desalination Reviewing the methods for achieving more water and less CO2 such as the combination of FO [27]
and RO

Fig. 13. The system layout for the operation of FO.

1486 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490

parabolic troughs or linear Fresnel collectors and micro gas turbines
coupled with dish concentrators, might be more economical and
applicable than the other methods. In another study, the perfor-
mance of PV-RO and ORC-RO were compared. The results revealed
that the ORC-RO was more efficient and reliable than the other one
[105].
Nevertheless, the number of the researched in the field of Solar
thermal ORC is not sufficient the mentioned facilities of this
equipment prove that they will have the main contribution to
provide the needed energy for RO. The solar thermal collectors
could cover a vast range of temperatures, which indicate that these
systems are proper for different conditions and situations. The
experimental evidence and data about the operations of some
collectors such as flat, compound, dish collectors under various
conditions have not been much explained; this issue makes col-
lectors seem to be inefficient. The main concern is about the low
efficiencies of the solar thermal systems and the high costs in the
fields, which have not been paid commercially. Therefore, more
economic studies and financial developments are recommended.
4. Solar forward osmosis
Forward osmosis has a great potential for desalinating brackish
or seawater which consumes much lower energy than the RO
process [17]. The principle of the operation of FO is shown in Fig. 13.
Section A contains feed water with molar concentration Ca, and in
section B, there is a water solution of a certain substance with an
initial molar concentration of Сbi. A permeable membrane sepa-
rates section A from B, which avoids passing the salt and contam-
inants. The main assumption is that the Сa≪Сbi which makes the
water diffuse through the membrane and, consequently, the Cbi
become diluted. The energy-consuming part of this technique is in
part C, in which the solution is divided into desalt water and
working substance by evaporation, freezing or forming crystalline
hydrates; then, the draw solution is regenerated [18].
The SEC DE (kJ) of the water desalination process and the
permeate flow are estimated by Eqs. (2) and (3), respectively [18]:


DE cbf Dt þ lws Cbf
¼ (2)
Dmw 1  Cbf
where mw (kg) is the mass of desalinated water, Cbf (kJ/kg-K) is the
specific heat of water solution of WS (working substance) with final
molar concentration, Dt
(K) is the difference between the ambient
temperature and the WS boiling-point, and lws (kJ/kg) is the

Fig. 14. Basic scheme of the FO pilot plant: 1-Feed container; 2-Permeate container; 3-Liquid sample collector for analysis; 4- Thermostat; 5-Batteries; 6-Circulation pumps; 7-Heat
exchanger; 8-Valves; 9-Manometers; 10 Temperature sensors; 11-Digital multi-meter; 12-Membrane module; 13- Thermal solar collector; 14-Photovoltaic panel [20] [Reprinted
with permission from Elsevier].
 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
specific heat of evaporation of WS in the solution with final molar
concentration Cbf.
Q ¼ A S kt kf ðPa þ kr Dp  Pb Þ
where A (m3/m2.s.Pa) is the water permeability coefficient of the
membrane, S (m2) is the membrane surface area, Kt is the tem-
perature correction factor, Kf is the fouling factor, Kr is the reflection
coefficient for measuring the selectivity of the membrane, Pa (Pa) is
the pressure in section A, Pb (Pa) is the pressure in section B, and Dp
(Pa) is the difference between the average concentrate osmotic
pressures in sections A and B. The selection of a proper draw agent,
is the main challenge in an FO system.
Ghaffour et al. [106] considered the implementation of solar-
powered FO desalination unit without any storage devices and
connection to the electrical grid. The system worked at low tem-
peratures and pressures with the aim of achieving an energy con-
sumption below 2 kW h/m3. Khayet et al. [20] optimized a solar
thermal and photovoltaic FO pilot plant, as proposed in Fig. 14.
Pumps ranged at 50e70 kPa made the pressure differences, and the
thermal or RO process could do the regeneration of the draw so-
lution. Fig. 15 shows a hybrid FO/RO, which supplies a constant-
concentration draw solution for the FO module and produces
potable water [107]. The required energy for this system could be
supplied by PV panels or solar thermal cycles. It shall be notified
that the economic aspects, energy and exergy analysis for this
system under variable conditions have not been identified yet. Also,
a Pressure-Retarded Osmosis unit could be added to the hybrid FO/
RO in order to exploit more energy [27].
The other combination, which has already been paid, is the FO
with thermal regeneration. With this regard, Hoyer et al. [108]
tested 12 different surfactants to find the most qualified one based
on high affinity toward water in FO and the lowest temperature in
thermal regeneration. In general, the high osmotic pressure, inex-
pensive standard chemicals, low reverse flux, and non-toxic ma-
terials are the desired draw agent properties to use in FO devices
[109], [110]. The vast majority of solar collectors may cope with
thermal regeneration. The permanent relation between the
Fig. 15. The combination of a bench-scale FO and pilot-scale RO [107] [Reprinted with permission from Elsevier].
1487
separation temperature in thermal regeneration and the produced
water quality is the infrastructure of the promising concept which
states that the low and high thermal collector could generate the
(3) desired heat for the particular target. The operation of FO/Thermal
regeneration illustrated in Fig. 16. The osmotic pressure in the FO
process has been generated by thermos responsive polymer
hydrogels poly- (N-isopropylacrylamide) which consist of an
absorptive layer for creating high osmotic pressures across the FO
membrane, and dewater layers for releasing the absorbed water
[111]. In an interesting research, a solar pond was integrated to FO
in order to regenerate the draw solution. This system is capable of
producing fresh water at varying rates. Meanwhile, the amount of
electricity consumption of the system is at a low rate of 0.46 kWh/
m3 [112].
According to the literature, numerous questions about the FO
process have been left unanswered. Although most of the previous
studies focus on the draw solution and membrane, a vast field of
the research about these topics is remained untouched. Moreover,
the biggest gap is the considerable existing vagueness about the
methods of regeneration of draw solution. Obviously, in the FO
desalination, the thermal regeneration is the part that could actuate
solar collectors to produce potable water. The gaps in the literature
and suggestions are as followings:
 All of the mentioned collectors could be integrated with FO, and
the results would be derived.
 Before conducting experimental works, the required simula-
tions shall be carried out by the proper software
 As far as the energy and exergy analyses of the solar FO desa-
lination have not been concentrated yet, it will give researchers
the opportunity to carry novel research in this field.
 Hybrid systems consisting of diesel or local electrical grids with
FO device may be considered.
 The water production cost of the system needs to be clarified,
and the effects of different required parameters should be
focused.
1488 A. Kasaeian et al. / Renewable Energy 134 (2019) 1473e1490
Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of a novel FO process.
5. Conclusion and suggestions for future works
The water and energy scarcity in many parts of the world reveals
the significance of sea or brackish water desalination. Desalination
methods are the intensive energy processes which could be pow-
ered by solar energy. The solar energy-driven reverse osmosis
desalination is an appropriate system, which has been employed in
many arid areas. Solar collectors and photovoltaic panels can cap-
ture solar radiation and run high-pressure pumps. Most of the re-
searchers have focused on the PV-RO units, which are in the way of
maturity to treat water, and investigated the effective parameters
on the efficiency and water production cost. According to the
literature survey, the following suggestions could be proposed for
future studies, in the field of PV-RO:
 It would be useful that an algorithm is recommended to eval-
uate the relative efficiency of the plant based on the
geographical location and the amount of solar radiation.
 Determining the standard range of variation of the parameters
such as the feed pressure, temperature, water concentration in
the classified conditions and capacity could make the evidence
much practical.
 The PV/electrical grid connected-RO might be considered as an
effective hybrid system in some regions to increase the reli-
ability of the applied units.
 More experimental data could help to optimize these systems to
become more efficient and cost-effective in the future.
Trough, evacuated, dish, flat collector and solar pond can run the
thermal cycles to power reverse osmosis desalination. The solar
thermal collectors could cover a vast range of temperatures, which
indicate that these systems are proper for different conditions and
situations. Despite the findings of previous works about solar thermal
collectors, run reverse osmosis has been helpful. Whereas, further
studies are required to validate the capability of the process to treat
water in the arid and isolated areas. Also, the experimental evidence
and data about the operations of some collectors such as flat, com-
pound, and dish collectors under various conditions have not been
expounded sufficiently. By considering that the brine disposal is one
of the problems of the desalination process, the hybrid cycles, pow-
ered by a solar pond and other solar collectors, are recommended.
Forward osmosis has a great potential for desalinating brackish
or seawater, which consumes much lower energy than the RO
process. According to the literature, numerous questions about the
FO process have been left unanswered. The high value and
importance of solar forward osmosis guide us to propose con-
ducting more research on this vast area. Integrating many kinds of
solar collectors to FO, energy and exergy analysis, SEC and water
production cost have been vagueness yet; so, theoretical and
experimental studies are needed to be conducted. Classifying and
reviewing the previous papers on the membrane methods and
different kinds of solar collectors gives us a deep insight into the
role of solar energy for treating sea or brackish water. In addition,
the environmental policy by focusing on the decrease of CO2
emission and the governmental supports make the utilization of
renewable energies much more economical.
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