A Feasibility Study - Aaltodoc - Aalto-yliopisto

11 Conclusion
This thesis presented the AaltoRO concept – a wave powered reverse osmosis
desalination system – for the production of fresh water from seawater. At present there
are over 700 million people suffering from water scarcity and the number is estimated to
grow significantly in the future. Fossil fuel reserves are also diminishing, so the need to
produce more fresh water without using fossil fuels is urgent.
The first part of this thesis consisted of a Literature Review, which comprised of a
market study to investigate which areas of the world would be suitable for the AaltoRO
system, and of a section presenting the major desalination technologies and markets.
The second part of the thesis consisted of a Feasibility Study, in which the goal was to
determine would AaltoRO be economically feasible and on what terms.
The market research of the Literature Review examined the world according to three
parameters: the wave energy resource, the need for fresh water and the cost of
electricity. If an area met all three of the criteria, it was considered a potential location
for the AaltoRO system. The research revealed six suitable areas: Australia, the Canary
Islands, Chile, Hawaii, South Africa and the western parts of the United States.
The Feasibility Study consisted of a detailed description of the AaltoRO system and of a
case study, which examined the economic feasibility of AaltoRO in four areas. First, the
optimum pressure level for the operation was determined on Site 1 and found to be 45
bar. Second, the permeate production on each Site was calculated according to the wave
data supplied by AW-Energy. Third, by estimating the capital and operational costs of
the system and by applying the annuity method, the cost of water was calculated.
The results of the Feasibility Study demonstrated that as the wave power level increases
the cost of the produced water decreases. This is evident from the fact that on Site 2,
(wave power 9,5 kW/m), the minimum cost of water was 1,5 €/m³ and on Site 4, (38
kW/m), the minimum cost of water was 0,60 €/m³. However, the cost of water is highly
susceptible to the nature of the wave power, which was illustrated when the minimum
cost of water from Site 1 (15 kW/m) was 0,76 €/m³ while Site 3 (16 kW/m) produced
water with a minimum cost of 1,02 €/ m³.
In order to determine, if the water produced with AaltoRO is on a suitable level, it was
compared with cost details from other sources. On the largest SWRO plant in the world,
the Hadera in Israel, the cost of water is 0,49 €/m³. A research group in the Queen’s
University Belfast have also studied wave powered desalination and estimated the cost
to be 0,56 €/m³. Compared with these figures, AaltoRO seems economically feasible.
The production of fresh water by reverse osmosis using the renewable energy of the
seas is a viable option and could be a significant source of drinking water, which is not
dependent on diminishing fossil fuels. There are still many hurdles to overcome, but all
in all this thesis has proved that wave powered desalination is an economically viable
option and that it could provide more fresh water to a world desperately craving for it.
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