Abstract
Desalination using fossil fuels is so far the most common technique for freshwater production worldwide. However, such a technique faces some challenges due to limited fossil fuels, high pollutants in our globe, and its high energy demand. In this study, solutions for such challenges were proposed and investigated. Renewable biofuel blends were introduced and examined as energy/sources for desalination plants and, in turn, reduced dependency on fossil fuels, enhanced pollutants, and recovered energy for desalinations. Eight different blended biofuels in terms of dual and ternary blend approaches were investigated. Results displayed that dual and ternary blends of gasoline/n-butanol, gasoline/isobutanol, gasoline/n-butanol/isobutanol, gasoline/bioethanol/isobutanol, and gasoline/bioethanol/biomethanol were all not highly recommended as energy sources for desalination units due to their low heat recovery (they showed much lower than the gasoline, G, fuel); however, they could provide reasonable emissions. Both gasoline/bioethanol (E) and gasoline/biomethanol (M) provided high heat recovery and sensible emissions (CO and UHC). Gasoline/bio-acetone was the best one among all blends and, accordingly, it was upper recommended for both heat recovery and emissions for desalination plants. In addition, both E and M were recommended subsequently. Concerning emissions, all blends showed lower emissions than the G fuel in different levels.