Component innovations for lower cost mechanical vapor compression

•A cost-optimization model of a single-stage MVC system is presented.•Cases treating seawater at 25–150 g/kg to 40–80 % recovery ranges are analyzed.•When treating feed > 100 g/kg, MVC is the lowest cost compared to osmotic processes.•Sensitivity analyses to the key performance and financial parameters are presented.•A dual-parameter sensitivity analysis shows that the evaporator isocost curve is linear. Despite significant capital and operating costs, mechanical vapor compression (MVC) remains the preferred technology for challenging brine concentration applications. This work seeks to assess the dependence of MVC costs on feedwater salinity and desired water recovery and to quantify the value of improved component performance or reduced component costs for reducing the levelized cost of water (LCOW) of MVC. We built a cost optimization model coupling thermophysical, heat and mass transfer, and technoeconomic models to optimize and identify low cost MVC system designs as a function of feedwater salinity and water recovery. The LCOW ranges over 3.6 to 6.1 $/m3 for seawater feed salinities of 25–150 g/kg and water recoveries of 40–80 %. We then perform sensitivity analysis on parameter inputs to isolate irreducible costs and determine high value component innovation targets. The LCOW was most sensitive to evaporator material costs and performance, including the overall heat transfer coefficient in the evaporator. Process and material innovations such as polymer-composite evaporator tubes that reduce evaporator costs by 25 % without reducing heat transfer performance by more than 10 % would result in MVC cost reductions of 8 %. [Display omitted]