Distillate control to reduce electricity consumption in a solar multi-effect plant

This paper proposes a control strategy for a solar desalination plant included in a suggested micro-grid framework. The main purpose of the controller is to reach a daily volume of distillate demanded by an office building. This daily water demand is mapped into a time-dependent reference signal following a predicted solar irradiance curve. In a lower layer, the temperature references in the desalination unit and in the solar field are calculated to assure enough energy and reach the water requirements while reducing the electricity consumption. These two temperatures are controlled by a three-way regulation valve and by the solar field pump respectively. Simulation results under different operating conditions are discussed.