Solar thermal desalination technologies

The use of solar energy in thermal desalination processes is one of the most promising applications of the renewable energies. Solar desalination can either be direct; use solar energy to produce distillate directly in the solar collector, or indirect; combining conventional desalination techniques, such as multistage flash desalination (MSF), vapor compression (VC), reverse osmosis (RO), membrane distillation (MD) and electrodialysis, with solar collectors for heat generation. Direct solar desalination compared with the indirect technologies requires large land areas and has a relatively low productivity. It is however competitive to the indirect desalination plants in small-scale production due to its relatively low cost and simplicity. This paper describes several desalination technologies in commercial and pilot stages of development. The primary focus is on those technologies suitable for use in remote areas, especially those which could be integrated into solar thermal energy systems.     

Solar desalination using humidification—dehumidification technology

A numerical study has been carried out to investigate the performance of a simple solar desalination system using humidification—dehumidification processes. The desalination system consists of a solar air heater, humidifier, dehumidifier and a circulating air-driving component. The study covers the influence of different environmental, design, and operational parameters on the desalination system productivity. Environmental parameters include solar intensity, ambient temperature and wind speed. Design parameters include the solar heater base insulation, the humidifier and the dehumidifier effectiveness. Operational parameters include air circulation flow rate, feed water rate and temperature. The results indicated that the solar air heater (energy source) efficiency significantly influences system productivity. Increasing the solar intensity and ambient temperature and decreased wind velocity increases system productivity. Increasing the air flow rate up to 0.6 kg/s increases the productivity, after which it has no significant effect. The feed water flow rate has an insignificant influence on system productivity. The surprising result is that the dehumidifier effectiveness has an insignificant influence on system productivity, which has a very important implication for the system's economy. The physical explanation of this finding is given.     

Sun tracking system for productivity enhancement of solar still

A sun tracking system was deployed for enhancing the solar still productivity. A computerized sun tracking device was used for rotating the solar still with the movement of the sun. A comparison between fixed and sun tracked solar stills showed that the use of sun tracking increased the productivity for around 22%, due to the increase of overall efficiency by 2%. It can be concluded that the sun tracking is more effective than fixed system and it is capable of enhancing the productivity.     

Experimental study of basin-type, multiple-effect, diffusion-coupled solar still

Basin-type, multiple-effect, diffusion-coupled solar stills consisting of a tilted double glass cover, a horizontal basin liner and a number of closely spaced vertical partitions in contact with saline-soaked wicks were constructed and then examined in an outdoor experiment in fall and winter at Okinawa, Japan. This new type of still is greatly improved by narrowing diffusion gaps between the partitions, increasing the number of partitions, sandwiching small spacers between partitions and insulating the frame of the glass cover. The daily performances of the improved still are in good agreement with predictions calculated from the theoretical model developed by Tanaka et al. [1]. The still with 5-mm diffusion gaps between 11 partitions produces 14.8-18.7 kg/d distillate per unit effective area of the glass cover at 20.9-22.4 MJ m⁻² d⁻¹ solar radiations incident on the glass cover and 19-30°C ambient air temperatures and is highly productive in comparison with the 7-effect diffusion-type still with 8-mm gaps developed by Okamura et al. [2] and the 3-effect diffusion-type still with 19-mm gaps of Cooper and Appleyard [3].     

Theoretical study on multi-effect solar distillation system driven by tidal energy

Based on an analysis of the characteristics of solar and tidal energy, an innovative, multi-effect solar distillation unit for seawater desalination utilizing solar and tidal energy has been developed. The uniqueness of the system is that without being transferred to electricity, tidal energy is utilized to supply power for water supply and drainage, and vacuum extraction instead of pumps powered by electricity. So the cost can be greatly reduced. The system is based on multi-effect evaporation-condensation processes and operates under vacuum condition, so low grade solar heat can be used with a high thermal efficiency. Hydrodynamic and thermal analysis is carried out for the water supply and drainage system driven by tidal energy. The operating mechanism of the vacuum extraction system driven by tidal energy is presented. A parametric study of the behavior of the solar desalination unit has been performed.     

Thermal modeling of a controlled environment greenhouse cum solar distillation for composite and warm humid climates of India

The present study is concerned with the analysis of solar desalination system combined with a greenhouse for both composite and warm humid climate of India. Analytical expressions for water temperature, greenhouse room air temperature, glass cover temperature, flowing water mass over the glass cover, hourly yield of fresh water and thermal efficiency have been derived in terms of design and climatic parameters for a typical day of summer and winter period. Temperature rise of flowing water mass with respect to distance and time in solar still unit has also been incorporated in the mathematical modeling. The effects of various still and design parameters on its performances have been discussed in detail. The yield of fresh water was found to be higher in warm humid climate than composite climate.     

Studies on a single-stage solar desalination system for domestic applications

In this paper, an attempt has been made to study a single stage solar desalination system to get a daily yield of 10 1 of potable water. The experimental system consists of a flat plate collector, an evaporator, a single stage vacuum pump and a condenser. The input parameters such as solar irradiance and vacuum pressure in the flash evaporator are varied to find its influence on the performance output viz., system efficiency and yield per day. Efficiency of this plant is found to vary from 15% to 26% for the variation in beam solar radiation from 400 W/m² to 900 W/m². A maximum distillate yield of 8.5 1/d is obtained with collector area of 2 m². The frequency of operation of the vacuum pump and the yield of desalinated water for various beam solar radiations is carried out from which the cost of water is determined. The cost of desalinated water is found to be 0.9 e/l. The desalinated water is tested for various parameters and the results indicate that the quality of water is satisfactory and well below the permissible limits.     

Optimization of solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination pilot plant using response surface methodology

A solar thermal and photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant has been constructed and optimized for brackish water desalination. The central composite experimental design of orthogonal type and response surface methodology (RSM) have been used to develop predictive models for simulation and optimization of different responses such as the salt rejection coefficient, the specific permeate flux and the RO specific performance index that takes into consideration the salt rejection coefficient, the permeate flux, the energy consumption and the conversion factor. The considered input variables were the feed temperature, the feed flow-rate and the feed pressure. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been employed to test the significance of the RSM polynomial models. The optimum operating conditions have been determined using the step adjusting gradient method. An optimum RO specific performance index has been achieved experimentally under the obtained optimal conditions. The RO optimized plant guarantees a potable water production of 0.2 m³/day with energy consumption lower than 1.3 kWh/m³.     

A simple and highly productive solar still: a vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type solar still coupled with a flat-plate mirror

This paper presents a newly designed simple solar still: a vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type solar still consisting of a flat-plate mirror, a number of vertical parallel partitions in contact with saline-soaked wicks with narrow air gaps between partitions, and casters for azimuth tracking by human power. The proposed still is designed so that non-skilled persons can construct it with common materials in developing countries. We theoretically analyzed the dependence of the solar absorption on the first (or heated) partition on the angle of the flat-plate mirror and the azimuth angle of the still, and found that the solar absorption on the first partition can be significantly increased by rotating the still at southing of the sun just once a day, and the daily solar absorption would be about 85% or 99% of the daily solar radiation on a horizontal surface on the spring equinox or winter solstice, respectively. We also theoretically analyzed the heat and mass transfer in the proposed still, and found that a proposed still of 10 partitions with 10 mm diffusion gaps between partitions was predicted to produce 29.2 34.5 kg/m²d on sunny spring equinox and winter solstice days respectively at the equator.     

Dynamic pressure modulation for solar desalination system

Obtaining drinking water from seawater is usually done through the process of desalination. The conventional desalination processes at present are centralized, require huge capital cost, and enormous amount of concentrated energy from fossil fuel. Issues like optimal chamber pressure, pressure control and energy savings for desalination are not adequately addressed. This paper proposes a novel pressure control method by means of dynamic pressure modulation within the evaporation chamber. A performance index is proposed that results in a dynamic optimal external pressure and maximum energy saving for a specific flow rate. Experimental results from the laboratory setup that validate the proposed concepts are presented in the paper.     

A solar multiple effect distiller for Jordan

The potential of desalination as a viable alternate water source for Jordan using a multiple effect distiller (MED), evolved to operate using solar energy under Jordanian conditions is discussed. A computer code in C++ was generated in order to simulate the MED process, and to predict the water production at 10 different Jordanian sites, based on available solar radiation data and salinity of the feed water (TDS of 3000, 5000, 7000, and 10,000 mg/L). It was found that Tafila, Queira, H-4, H-5, and Ras Muneef, are the most favorable sites for installing the proposed solar MED system. With a TDS of 7000 mg/L, the annual water production for these sites was 12,342, 10,950, 10,367, 10,262 and 10,063 m³ respectively. Furthermore, in all of these sites about 63% of the daily amount of water produced during a 1-year cycle occurs during the summer months (April to September), when the water consumption is the highest, and water desalination is a necessity.     

A naturally circulated humidifying/dehumidifying solar still with a built-in passive condenser

A numerical study has been carried out to investigate the transient thermal performance of a naturally circulated humidifying/dehumidifiying solar still. A comparison of forced circulation performance and the influence of different environmental, design, and operational parameters on the still productivity and efficiency were investigated. The naturally circulated still shows very similar results to that of forced circulation. This finding is of significant technical and economic importance. Different attempts have been considered to investigate the effect of partial storage of basin energy and partial recovery of condensation energy. The results show insignificant changes on still performance. An economic assessment of water production cost was also highlighted and showed that solar stills can challenge other technologies for special applications.     

Performance correlations for basin type solar stills

Many experimental and numerical studies have been done on different configurations of solar stills to reach the optimum design by examining the effect of climatic, operational and design parameters on its performance. Some of the most important parameters investigated were solar radiation, cover tilt angle, brine depth, and using dyes with the brine. The majority of the investigators presented their results in scatter diagrams rather than correlations. Four correlations are derived in this work to illustrate the effect of solar radiation, dyes, cover slope and brine depth on the productivity of the basin type solar still using the available data given by the different investigators. The correlations developed illustrate that the still productivity could be influenced by the brine depth alone by up to 33% and by the tilt angle alone by up to 63%. A cover tilt angle of about 30° gives the highest productivity. The still productivity could be enhanced by adding dark soluble dye to the brine by up to 20%. The still productivity increases with the increase of insulation thickness of the still and the solar radiation received.     

A small solar desalination plant for the production of drinking water in remote arid areas of southern Algeria

The common methods of desalination salt water for production of fresh water by distillation, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis are intensive energy techniques. However, in remote arid areas, the desalination needs not exceed a few cubic meters per day. This decentralised demand favours local water production by developing other desalination processes, especially those using renewable or recovered energy (solar, geothermal, etc.). Solar desalination process is one of these methods used to resolve the scarcity of fresh water. Several reviews have been published by different authors. Small production systems as solar stills can be used if fresh water demand is low and the land is available at low cost. To supply the population of remote arid lands of South Algeria with drinkable water, solar distillation of brackish waters is recommended. It satisfies some of theses demands. Solar stills are used to produce fresh water from brackish water by directly utilising sunshine. These stills represent the best technical solution to supply remote villages or settlements in South Algeria with fresh water without depending on high-tech and skills. The production capacity indicates a possible daily production of far more than 15 l/m²d. Therefore, the still has a place in the upper range of known comparable products with regards to production output. This depends on the material used and the price of the solar stills and their accessories. The best working temperature solves most problems. Small, modular high-performance stills with features like the possibility of decentralised use, less maintenance and robust construction can help to reduce fresh water scarcity. The recent development of stills based on new concepts and heat recovery has been successful. The technical optimization is still in process today, it aims to improvement of the efficiency of these distillers. In our research work, a plant for brackish water distillation by directly sunshine and heat recovery was constructed and investigated experimentally and theoretically in South Algeria. This study aims the improvement of the performance of this solar distillation plant, conducted under the actual insulation, for brackish underground geothermal water desalination.     

Thermal performance of a single-sloped basin still with an inherent built-in additional condenser

This paper presents a theoretical study of the thermal performance of a single-sloped basin still with enhanced evaporation and a built-in additional condenser. The still was built so that one of its cover sides (the condenser) is tilted to be parallel to the sun rays and, therefore, be in the shaded area. The condenser heat capacity and surface area (finned) could be increased so that it will always be cooler than the other glass cover sides and act as a more effective heat and mass sink. Enhancing evaporation is carried out by adding black dyes in the still basin to improve basin absorbitivity and increase evaporation surface area. The proposed still design is simple and is not more complex than the conventional design. The effect of different design, operational, and environmental parameters on still performance are studied. The most influencing parameters are found to be solar intensity, base insulation effectiveness, basin mass, evaporation surface area and condenser inner reflectivity. Other parameters such as condenser material, mass, outer emissivity and surface area, cover angle, and wind speed were found to be of less importance. The effect of glass cover frequent instantaneous cooling (up to once every hour) was also investigated as one of the operational parameters and was found to have insignificant effect. Factors having the most influence were combined together and found to produce a yield of about 55% over the base case.     

Thermal-economic analysis and comparison between pyramid-shaped and single-slope solar still configurations

This paper presents an analytical study as well as thermal and economic comparisons between two solar still configurations: the pyramid and the single slope. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the two configurations and study their thermal performance. The meteorological data of Aswan City (south of Egypt) were used, and the daily total energy received by each still basin was calculated. The main performance parameters such as still productivity and efficiency are presented for the whole year. In addition, an economic assessment of the distilled water production cost has been carried out. On the basis of yearly performance results, the single slope still was found to be slightly more efficient and economical than the pyramidal one.     

Performance study on solar still with enhanced condensation

Water scarcity and pollution pose critical situation in all walks of life especially in the developing countries. Among the available purification technologies, solar desalination process proves to be a suitable solution for resolving this existing crisis. This renewable energy technology operates on a basic principle of which the solar radiation enters through the glass surface inside a closed chamber touching the black surface generating heat energy, which gets trapped inside. This gradually raises the temperature of the liquid resulting in evaporation process and further condensation, which is drained out for use. In this connection, a basin type solar still (0.5 m²) with improved condensation technique was designed and built, and a performance study was carried out with different samples such as tap water, seawater and dairy industry effluent. The condensation occurs due to the temperature difference not only on the glass surface but also on the four sidewalls, which can be cooled by water circulation through tubes attached on the wall surface for efficiency enhancement. The maximum daily production of the solar still was about 1.4 L/m².d, and its efficiency was about 30%. The condensate water quality was analysed and compared with water quality standards, which was found to be comparable with rainwater and mineral water. Efficiency of the still was calculated for all the samples and compared with each other. The reasons for the findings and their implications for the design of the system are discussed. Some design features that would further enhance the thermal performance of the still were also identified from this present investigation and highlighted.     

Transient performance of a stepped solar still withbuilt-in latent heat thermal energy storage

The transient performance of a stepped solar still with built-in latent heat thermal energy storage was studied. Thestill was designed for heating and humidification of agriculture greenhouses (GH) in remote areas. The solar still consists of five stepped basins with an inclined glass cover and is insulated on the bottom. The basin was placed on a slab filled with a layer of paraffin wax (phase change material, PCM) that acts as a latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTESS). Air from GH enters the still from the bottom, flows between the basins and glass cover where it is heated and humidified, and then flows back into the GH. The still performance parameters investigated were analyzed, and the results compared with the case of a still without the LHTESS. The results showed that the still with LHTESS has an efficiency of 57%, and the total daily yield is about 4.6 L/m². The still temperature as well as outlet air temperature and GH heat load are more uniform compared to the sinusoidal trends for the still without LHTESS. It was found that the relative humidity of circulating air increased along the still and always leaves at saturation conditions. The results indicated that decreasing the air flow rate has an insignificant influence on the still yield, while the GH heat load experiences a decrease. For a selected design and operational parameters, the still was able to provide heat for the GH for 24 h/d. This finding is important since heat could be provided to the GH at night and when it is most needed.     

Applicability of flashing desalination technique for small scale needs using a novel integrated system coupled with nanofluid-based solar collector

The present study introduces an attempt for the application of flash desalination technique for small scale needs. An integrated system uses a flashing desalination technique coupled with nano-fluid-based solar collector as a heat source has been made to investigate both the effect of different operating modes and that of the variation of functioning parameters and weather conditions on the fresh water production. The flashing unit is performed by similar construction design technique of commercial multi-stage flashing (MSF) plant. The thermal properties of working fluid in the solar collector have been improved by using different concentrated nano-particles. Cu nano-particle is used in the modeling to determine the proper nano-fluid volume fraction that gives higher fresh water productivity. An economic analysis was conducted, since it affects the final cost of produced water, to determine the cost of fresh water production. Although a system may be technically very efficient, it may not be economical. The effect of different feed water and inlet cooling water temperatures on the system performance was studied. The mathematical model is developed to calculate the productivity of the system under different operating conditions. The proposed system gives a reasonable production of fresh water up to 7.7 l/m²/day under the operation conditions. Based on the cost of energy in Egypt, the estimated cost of the generated potable water was 11.68 US$/m³. The efficiency of the system is measured by the gained output ratio (GOR) with day time. The gained output ratio (GOR) of the system reaches 1.058. The current study showed that the solar water heater collecting area is considered a significant factor for reducing the water production cost. Also, the produced water costs decrease with increasing the collecting area of the solar water heater. The volume fractions of nano-particle in solar collector working fluid have a significant impact on increasing the fresh water production and decreasing cost.