Single-slope modification design for experimental study of solar desalination system performance

Abstract

Large quantities of freshwater from desalination are expected to be commercially produced for global consumption. In this study, experimental testing was conducted to determine the overall characteristics of a desalination device to suit the placement of the test area. A single-slope passive desalination tool model with a slope of 35° has been used for testing because of its low cost and environmentally friendly use of solar energy. Performance improvement can be achieved after obtaining the characteristics of the desalination tool. The heat energy absorbed reached 0.31 kWh with a solar intensity of 534.40 W/m2 simultaneously. The amount of fresh water produced during the test is always related to the solar intensity. We experimentally obtained exergy from a desalination device of 0.53 kW/m2 with an energy efficiency of 58.4% and the highest hourly freshwater production of 2.6 kg.