Solar-powered desalination, a novel solar still directly connected to solar parabolic trough

Abstract

Technologies that utilize natural renewable resources and rely on no fuels are more sustainable and could, in part, solve the world’s current water and energy problems. The aim of this study is to fabricate and develop a single solar still that is directly connected with a solar parabolic trough and does not utilize any heat exchanger. An innovative feeding water tank was installed with the parabolic unit. Fieldworks and manufacturing, laboratory experiments, and water quality analysis were the tools used in this study. The results of the field experiments demonstrated that the overall water productivity of the modified solar still increased by 177% compared to the conventional still. The average hourly quantity of freshwater obtained from the modified and unmodified models of the solar still were 0.67 L/m2/hr and 0.38 L/m2/hr, respectively. Building on these results, this study also proposed the future investigation of a step-shaped conical unit for the same device, which appears more promising and easier to handle, install, and maintain. This study showed feasible and viable results and verifies the importance of technologies that rely on renewable resources to achieve secure and sustainable management of the world’s water and energy needs.

Keywords

• Renewable resources
• Solar energy
• Water/ energy crisis
• Water purification
• Desalination