Techno–Enviro–Economic Feasibility Assessment of Family-Scale Solar Still (F-SSS) Desalination Plant in Central American and Caribbean Sites for Sustainable Clean Water Supply

The viability of the family-scale solar still (F-SSS) desalination plant in nine low- and middle-income Central American and Caribbean sites, with improper water treatment facilities and supply networks, has been analyzed and reported in detail. The sizing of the desalination plant was done based on the still’s performance, clean water requirement and solar radiation potential. The still’s performance was estimated using an experimentally validated thermodynamic model. Annual desalinated water productivity per still was about 979.0 L (highest) and 836.0 L (lowest) in Port-au-Prince and Belize City, respectively. The lowest and highest potable water production price was observed in Havana (19.75 to 20.22 USD/m3) and Port-au-Prince (59.23 to 60.62 USD/m3) due to their low and high local interest rates, respectively. The decarbonization potential of the F-SSS desalination plant with a 25-year lifetime ranged between 37 and 641 tons of CO2 emission. The specific CO2 generated was found to be the least and highest in San Salvador (4.24 to 4.34 g/L of desalinated water) and Port-au-Price (13.70 to 14.04 g/L of desalinated water), respectively. The energy, finance payback time and sustainability index of the F-SSS desalination plant ranged between 0.59 and 0.67 years, 1.2 and 18.0 months, and 1.03 and 1.04, respectively. The performance, economic and environmental aspects revealed positive signs on the applicability of the F-SSS desalination plant in Central American and Caribbean sites for reliable and sustainable clean water supply. However, this process can be ratified if the concerned governments implement a reasonable subsidy, as is the case with other renewable energy systems.