Wave Power for Desalination

Abstract: This doctoral thesis presents work related to wave powered desalination. Wave power for desalination could be an interesting alternative for islands or coastal regions facing freshwater shortage, and several systems have been proposed in literature. However, desalination is a process which demands a lot of energy. Studies presented in the thesis indicate that the wave energy converter designed at Uppsala University in Sweden could be used for desalination. This wave energy converter includes a floating buoy connected via a wire to a linear generator. The linear generator has magnets mounted on its movable part (the translator). Small-scale experiments have been included, indicating that intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wave power, could be used for reverse osmosis desalination. Moreover, hybrid systems, including several different renewable energy sources, could be investigated for desalination. There may be interesting minerals in the desalination brine. The thesis also includes investigations on the magnetic material inside the linear generator, as well as on control strategies for wave energy converters. An opportunity of including different types of ferrites in the linear generator has been analyzed. The thesis also presents pedagogic development projects for the electro engineering education at Uppsala University, suggesting that including a greater variability and more student-centered learning approaches could be beneficial.