Mousa S. Mohsen

Multi-criteria selection of electric power plants using analytical hierarchy process

Abstract This paper uses analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology to perform a comparison between the different electricity power production options in Jordan. The systems which were considered, in addition to fossil fuel power plants, are nuclear, solar, wind, and hydro-power. Results on cost-to-benefit ratios show that solar, wind, end hydro-power may be the best alternatives for electric power production. Nuclear electricity turns out to be the worst choice, followed by fossil fuel electric power.

Experimental evaluation of a single-basin solar still using different absorbing materials

Single-basin solar stills can be used for water desalination. Probably, they are considered the best solution for water production in remote, arid to semi-arid, small communities, where fresh water is unavailable. However, the amount of distilled water produced per unit area is somewhat low which makes the single-basin solar still unacceptable in some instances. The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of using different absorbing materials in a solar still, and thus enhance the productivity of water. Experimental results show that the productivity of distilled water was enhanced for some materials. For example, using an absorbing black rubber mat increased the daily water productivity by 38%. Using black ink increased it by 45%. Black dye was the best absorbing material used in terms of water productivity. It resulted in an enhancement of about 60%. The still used in the study was a single-basin solar still with double slopes and an effective insolation area of 3 m2.

Experimental study of the basin type solar still under local climate conditions

This paper presents experimental results obtained using the basin type solar still. The experiments were conducted in Jordan using a solar still with various cover tilt angles of 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55°. An optimum tilt angle for water production was found to be 35° during the month of May. Salt was added to study the effect of the salinity of water on solar distillation. Distilled water production decreased with salinity. The effect of water depth was also studied. The results show that water production decreased in a somewhat linear relationship with increasing water depth in the still.

Evaluation of non-conventional water resources supply in Jordan

The severity of the water problem in Jordan was realized in the beginning of the 1980s. Many strategies and measures were proposed to alleviate and overcome this serious problem. These mainly include supply augmentation measures through constructing of various hydraulic structures and groundwater exploitation. In addressing supply management, it was concluded that no single supply could remedy the nations water shortage. Rather many integrated actions are needed to ensure water availability, suitability, and sustainability. Among those options is the development of new water resources such as brackish water. It was proposed that desalinated brackish water could increase water supply in different regions of the country. This paper describes the development of a decision-support system for the evaluation and selection of potential non-conventional water resources supply; these include desalination of brackish and seawater, treated waste water, importation of water across boundaries and water harvesting. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), it was concluded that water desalination was ranked the highest, i.e., the most promising resource, followed by water harvesting.

Brackish groundwater treatment by reverse osmosis in Jordan

Jordan is characterised by an arid to semi-arid climate and its population is increasing at an annual rate of 3.6%. With such a high population growth rate and fast social-economical development, water demand and wastewater production are steeply increasing, and the gap between water supply and demand is getting wider. Furthermore, the constraints for water resources development are also rising due to high investment costs and water quality degradation due to over-exploitation of aquifers. Desalination of Red Sea water by reverse osmosis (RO) and/or brackish groundwater desalination by nanofiltration or RO might be technically and economically viable to cope with water scarcity and overcome the water deficit in Jordan. The technical-economical feasibility of brackish groundwater treatment by RO for potable water production was investigated in this work. Brackish groundwater samples were collected from the Zarqa basin, Jordan, and characterised in terms of pH, conductivity, total solids, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and volatile solids. The water samples were pre-treated through a microfiltration cartridge (5 μm pore diameter) in order to eliminate the suspended matter. A pilot plant equipped with a FilmTec RO membrane (SW30-2521) was operated at 20–30 bar, 40°C, natural pH and up to a water recovery ratio of 77.5%. The results showed that RO is actually efficient since it highly reduced the content of organic and inorganic matters present in raw waters (rejections >98.5%) at a relatively affordable price (0.26 €/m3). This study contributes to the development of efficient technologies to produce affordable potable water in Mediterranean countries where the threat of water shortages is a severe problem.

Some prospects of energy savings in buildings

Abstract The results of a recent survey on energy consumption in the residential sector of Jordan were used to evaluate energy conservation in residential buildings. Space heating accounts for 61% of the total residential energy consumption with kerosene as the most popular fuel used for heating. In light of the fact that only 5.7% of dwellings in Jordan’s urban areas have been provided with wall insulation and none with roof thermal insulation, the heating loads were calculated for a typical single house using different insulation materials. It was shown that energy savings up to 76.8% can be achieved when polystyrene is used for both wall and roof insulation.

EFFICIENCY OF MILLER ENGINE AT MAXIMUM POWER DENSITY

Thermodynamic analysis of an ideal air-standard Miller cycle is presented in this paper. The paper outlines the effect of maximizing power density on the performance of the cycle efficiency. The power density defined as the ratio of the power to the maximum cycle specific volume. Although the efficiency of Atkinson and Joule-Brayton cycles at maximum power density is greater than that of Miller cycle, it is important to note that the total cycle volume and pressure ratio at maximum power density of Miller is smaller. The results obtained from this work can be helpful in the thermodynamic modeling and in evaluation of Miller engines over Atkinson and Joule-Brayton engines.

Brackish water desalination: an alternative for water supply enhancement in Jordan

This paper aims to assess desalination technologies for the utilization of desalinated brackish water in Jordan. Brackish waters in Jordan are viewed as a potential and viable resources to alleviate water scarcity and overcome water budget deficit. The evaluation of various desalination technologies was carried out using multi-criteria analysis. The criteria adopted for evaluation was based on technical, economic, and environmental aspects. Assessment of both quantity and quality of brackish waters were outlined. Inter-basin allocation of desalinated water was described as part of the emergency water plan in Jordan. The analysis reveals that reverse osmosis (RO) technology followed by electodialysis (ED) are ranked among the most appropriate.

EVALUATION OF DOMESTIC SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM IN JORDAN USING ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

In addition to the solar water heating (SWH) system, other domestic water heating systems used in Jordan were considered in terms of benefits and costs using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. In terms of cost, the SWH system was the least expensive. On a percentage basis, the SWH cost about 13% compared to the most expensive heating system, LPG, of about 28%. In terms of benefits, the SWH was also the most beneficial. Approximately, the SWH benefits were about 31%, while the least benefits were obtained from the kerosene water heating system, which is about 9%. By considering both cost and benefit (i.e. cost-to-benefit ratio), solar was also the least expensive, about 7%, with kerosene being the most expensive, over 30%. 6 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. Water heating Solar water heating systems Analytic hierarchy process

A neuro-fuzzy program approach for evaluating electric power generation systems

This paper uses neuro-fuzzy programming to perform a comparison between the different electricity power generation options for Jordan. Different systems are considered: in addition to fossil fuel power plants, nuclear, solar, wind, and hydropower systems are evaluated. Based on cost-to-benefit ratios, results show that solar, wind, and hydropower are considered to be the best systems for electricity power generation. On the other hand, nuclear electricity turns out to be the worst choice, followed by fossil fuel electric power.