TITLE:
Improvement of PV/T Based Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant Performances Using Fuzzy Logic Controller
AUTHORS:
Mahmoud Ammous, Sana Charfi, Ahmad Harb, Maher Chaabene
KEYWORDS:
PV/T Collector, Reverse Osmosis, Control, Fuzzy Logic Controller
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Modern Nonlinear Theory and Application,
Vol.5 No.1,
March
2,
2016
ABSTRACT: Photovoltaic
based reverse osmosis desalination systems (PV/RO) present an effective method
of water desalination especially in remote areas. The increase of the feed
water temperature leads to an amelioration of the plant performances.
Photovoltaic Thermal Collector (PV/T) represents an ideal power source as it
provides both electric and thermal energies for the reverse osmosis process. Nevertheless,
PV/T based RO plants should be controlled in order to solve operation problems
related to electrical efficiency, reverse osmosis membrane, produced water and
the rejected salts. This paper suggests a fuzzy logic controller for the flow
rate of the circulating fluid into the PV/T collectors so as to ameliorate the
system performances. The designed controller has improved the PV/T field
electrical efficiency and preserved the reverse osmosis membrane which upgrades
the system productivity. LABVIEW software is used to simulate the controlled
system and validate the effectiveness of the controller.