CIEMATRI-009

MED

Other · 1988–2012

Approximately 70 °CTop brine temperature
125 kWth at 200 °CNEP parabolic-trough solar field nominal power

About this facility

MED is a pilot plant based on multi-effect distillation, with 14 vertically stacked effects in a forward-feed configuration. Evaporation and condensation stages desalinate water at a top brine temperature of approximately 70 °C. At design conditions, the process requires approximately 200 kW of thermal power to produce 3 m³ of desalinated water per hour, with a recovery ratio of 37.5%. Solar heat can be supplied by the AQUASOL-II flat-plate collector field or, for MED processes coupled with an absorption heat pump, by a small-aperture parabolic-trough field.

Sectors and technologies

Desalination, Agriculture, Solar thermal energy

Technical specifications

14 parameters
Facility typeOther
Year of construction1988–2012
MED effects14, vertically stacked
Nominal fresh water production72 m³/day (3 m³/h)
MED thermal consumption200 kW
Top brine temperatureApproximately 70 °C
Recovery ratio37.5%
Double-effect absorption heat pump consumption100 kW at 180 °C
NEP parabolic-trough solar field area230 m²
NEP parabolic-trough solar field nominal power125 kWth at 200 °C
AQUASOL-II flat-plate solar field area606 m²
AQUASOL-II nominal thermal output323 kWth
AQUASOL-II collector count60
AQUASOL-II heat storageTwo water tanks, total 40 m³

Available services

  • Solar Thermal Desalination by Multi-Effect Distillation
  • Efficiency improvement of low temperature distillation processes by absorption heat pumps
  • Efficiency improvement of MED processes by absorption heat pumps
  • Low-temperature solar collectors for thermal water treatment

Contact & links

Patricia Palenzuela (patricia.palenzuela@psa.es)/Lidia Roca (lidia.roca@psa.es)