Experimental investigation on a vacuum still integrated with concentrating PVT hybrid system

Abstract

A vacuum still integrated with concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (VSICPVT) hybrid system for desalination is proposed in this paper. This system consists of a vacuum still, a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPVT) module and a solar collector thus can produce freshwater and electricity simultaneously. Its prototype was established in North China Electric Power University (NCEPU), Beijing, China. In order to study the performance of this hybrid system with different inlet temperature of the vacuum still but with constant flow rate of saline water in the CPVT module, the experiments were conducted. And the electric efficiency, power, vaporization rate and freshwater yield of the system were analyzed.