Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 4 January 2021 doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0033.v1 Review Commercial Thermal Technologies for Desalination of Water from Renewable Energies: A State of the Art Review Jhon Feria-Díaz 1, 2, *, María López-Méndez 1, Juan Rodríguez-Miranda 3, Luis Sandoval-Herazo 1 and Felipe Correa-Mahecha 4 1 Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Misantla, Km 1.8 Carretera Lomas del Cojolite, 93821 Misantla, México;
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[email protected] 3 Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Cra. 7 #40b-53, Bogotá, Colombia;
[email protected] 4 Fundación Universidad de América, Avda Circunvalar No. 20-53, Bogotá, Colombia;
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[email protected] Abstract: Thermal desalination is yet a reliable technology in the treatment of brackish water and seawater; however, its demanding high energy requirements have lagged it compared to other non- thermal technologies such as reverse osmosis. This review provides an outline of the development and trends of the three most commercially used thermal or phase change technologies worldwide: Multi Effect Distillation (MED), Multi Stage Flash (MSF), and Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD). First, state of water stress suffered by regions with little fresh water availability and existing desalination technologies that could become an alternative solution are shown. The most recent studies published for each commercial thermal technology are presented, focusing on optimizing the desalination process, improving efficiencies, and reducing energy demands. Then, an overview of the use of renewable energy and its potential for integration into both commercial and non- commercial desalination systems is shown.