Combined system for desalination

In this study, a coupling technique between a nuclear power plant and a desalination unit is being examined, with full consideration given to the safety aspects. This can be achieved by using a heat pipe waste heat recovery boiler to utilize the energy from the nuclear plant and direct it to the desalination unit. The heat pipe, which is an individual tube fabricated with a capillary wick structure, is evacuated, filled with operating fluid and permanently sealed. Thermal energy applied to either end of the pipe vaporizes the fluid at that end. The vapour travels to the pipe's opposite end, where the thermal energy is removed, condensing the vapour into liquid and giving off the latent heat of condensation. The condensate liquid flows back to the hot end to be evaporated, completing the cycle. The closed loop condensing/evaporating heat pipe cycle is characterized as a double separation boundary between the primary heat source and the secondary fluid, which is an ideal double separation boundary if a combined nuclear desalination system is planned. In the process of testing heat pipe performance, consideration is being given to coupling a gas turbine (as an alternative to a nuclear power plant) to a multi-effect-thermal vapour compression (ME-TVC) unit by a heat pipe waste heat recovery boiler