A comprehensive and comparative study of an innovative constant-pressure compressed air energy storage (CP-CAES) system

Electricity and potable water are two vital resources for the world's population. A pioneering green energy storage system for power and potable water production has been introduced and investigated in this context. The innovative system integrates compressed air, pumped hydro, and thermal energy storage, along with multi-effect desalination. This combination enables the generation of power and potable water without exerting any adverse impact on the environment. This technology manages the start-up time of the desalination unit by using a low thermal energy storage unit and allows potable water to be generated throughout the day. By conducting a comprehensive analysis including energy, exergy, economic, and exergoeconomic, the performance of the system has been carefully examined and the effect of various parameters has also been considered. Finally, the advantages of the proposed system are compared to the conventional system. According to the study, round trip efficiency and total cost rate have been calculated as 62.18% and 618.6 USD/hr, respectively. Based on a case study conducted in the coastal areas of the state of California, the proposed system has the potential to generate 138 m3 of potable water and 88.11 MWh of electricity per day. This could lead to a total profit of 27.65 million dollars with a payback period of 3.82 years.