Exploring water desalination in an arid climate: An experimental and numerical analysis of a compact solar chimney

Abstract

Water scarcity has been proclaimed one of the biggest challenges in the 21st century. This study developed a novel compact solar desalination system based on a chamber (basin) and a chimney where water is evaporated and condensed, respectively. A transient numerical model based on fundamental principles was developed, which uses actual weather conditions to predict the performance of the solar tower desalination system. It was validated with the obtained experimental hourly water production and temperatures in the chimney in a city with a desert climate. A detailed thermal analysis with contours of temperature and mass fraction and streamlines is presented. Also, profiles of water evaporated/condensed are exhibited. Finally, the overall and condensation efficiencies were computed. The transient computational model could replicate experimental hourly water production and temperatures in the chimney with good agreement. The system in the actual state could produce up to 6052 mL of clean water under summer weather conditions. The increase in air velocity to 3.5 m/s improved clean water production by 19.82 % and condensation efficiency by 18.38 %.