Review on Solar Thermal Desalination in Libya

Abstract

Libya is suffering from freshwater shortage as most of its land is semi-arid to arid with very low precipitation rates and too limited fresh water sources. Libya is in one of the driest regions of the world with an annual rainfall ranging from just 10 mm to 500 mm, and only 5% of its land receives more than 100 mm annually. This review summarizes the most important published studies related to solar thermal desalination research in Libya. Brief description of the most thermal desalination technologies is also presented. The study has shown that only few in-completed pilot projects were carried-out for desalination using renewable energy. The research activities in the field of using renewable energy especially solar thermal energy to desalinate water are limited and do not give a comprehensive idea on the potential of different thermally driven solar desalination technologies. However, most of the recent pilot studies refer to using CSP desalination in providing most of the future water demand in Libya by 2035. A lot of efforts need to be done to carry-on a genuine research to put strategic plan to tackle the deficit water issue in Libya through using desalination driven by conventional and renewable energies.