This work presents the development of an innovative, carbon neutral desalination process by addressing key challenges in sustainable process engineering. At its core is a rigorously formulated theoretical framework for a multi-effect distillation (MED) process integrated with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC). The theoretical model is validated against an operational plant data from in Libya. This validated model not only confirmed accuracy but also demonstrated superior performance compared to conventional approaches.To further enhance efficiency and sustainability, a mechanical vapor compression (MVC) system is integrated with the MED. In this configuration, a heat integration scheme is employed to extract the heat from the hot brine and distillate streams to pre-heat the feed to MED. A multi-objective genetic algorithm is employed to optimize conflicting goals like freshwater productivity, carbon emissions, and freshwater production cost inclusive of carbon pricing indices. The goals reflect the complexity of real-world decision-making in industrial process design. Advancing toward carbon neutrality, solar energy is introduced to supply the required utilities for operation. This transition results in a fully sustainable desalination process that not only eliminates emissions but also delivers higher productivity, thus exemplifying the role of integrated process engineering in the commercialization of clean technologies.
