No Salt, No Problem: Genetic Algorithms for Cost-Optimization of Solar Desalination Plants

Team: Martina Dwek (ME), Megan Dyer (IEOR), Coleman Thompson (CEE), Vaitea Bahri (CEE), Valentina Dai (CEE)

Advisor(s): Gabriel Gomes

By 2025 nearly 1.8 billion people are projected to live with absolute water scarcity, adding to the large portions of the world’s population already suffering from water access problems. Sponsored by Optony, a clean energy consultancy, the goal of the project is to research and develop a practical software model for cost-optimization of design and operation configurations of solar-driven desalination plants. The team uses genetic algorithms to improve the design of the plant and allow investors, developers, and water utilities to quickly define and improve the viability of solar desalination projects.