Techno-economic analysis of a hybrid thermal desalination system integrated with a PVT collector

Sustainable societies will require innovative technical solutions to fulfil the mounting demand for water and energy to support urban lifestyles. Meeting the challenges of the water-energy nexus requires the implementation of sustainable technologies such as photovoltaics, solar desalination, and their integrated solutions, to meet a growing demand. The novelty of the present work is to utilizing the waste heat in proposed photovoltaic thermal (PVT) based hybrid desalination system with a step-wise solar still (SSS) and humidification-dehumidification (HD) desalination is being studied with an emphasis on life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of the proposed configuration. Life cycle studies reveal that the average energy production factor (EPF) is 14.84, the average life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) is 72.82 % over a 25-year life span, and the energy payback time (EPBT) is about 1.9 years on an energy basis with an average thermal efficiency of 77.72 %. The significance of hybrid systems for sustainable development has been highlighted, along with the possibility of 4.53 tons of CO 2 reduction and 389.58 USD in carbon credits that can be obtained annually for a typical solar radiation of 610 W/m 2 by deploying this hybrid system.