Comparison of solar thermal technologies for applications in seawater desalination

This paper deals with a global analysis of the use of solar energy in seawater distillation under Spanish climatic conditions. Static solar technologies as well as one-axis sun tracking were compared. Different temperature ranges of the thermal energy supply required for a desalination process were considered. At each temperature range, suitable solar collectors were compared in some aspects as: (1) fresh water production from a given desalination plant; (2) attainable fresh water production if a heat pump is coupled to the solar desalination system; (3) area of solar collector required for equivalent energy production. Results showed that direct steam generation (DSG) parabolic troughs are a promising technology for solar-assisted seawater desalination.