The overriding technical objective of the AGRISOL project is to design, develop and test a cost-effective desalination system for application at farm-scale to the production of irrigation water and high value crops in semi-arid environments. To achieve this objective, we will build upon the results of two previous research projects (the CSPD-COMISJO and OASIS projects), in which some of the partner institutions collaborated on the theoretical calculations and modeling of solar desalination and the construction and testing of a first-generation solar desalination prototype unit located in the agricultural experimental station of Hatzeva, Israel.
The overall goal will be subdivided into the following specific tasks:
- To optimize the design of solar NF desalination to achieve energy efficient and low maintenance units producing permeate water of suitable composition for crop irrigation;
- To construct two solar-powered NF pilot desalination units with the optimized design, one in Israel and one in Jordan;
- To evaluate the technical and economical sustainability of the two units for the cultivation of (at least) two different types of high-value crops over two seasons;
- To disseminate the findings of the project to the farming communities in the Arava region of Jordan, The Palestinian Authority and Israel and the scientific community.
