Solar Distillation Thermoelectric Power Generation

Abstract

In this paper, a phase change material (PCM) heat storage and thermoelectric cells were integrated into a solar still. This project aim is to store the available solar heat using the PCM for generating power and increasing freshwater production. An experimental test rig of the solar still was designed, built and tested. The solar still consists of a single slope basin container with a PCM storage located at the bottom. The thermoelectric cells were installed beneath the PCM storage. The natural convection cooling method was used to cool the thermoelectric cells. The study showed that the solar still thermoelectric power generation (SSTEG) was able to produce 9.6 ml/m2 of fresh water and at the same time generated peak open circuit voltage of 44mV. The study is hopefully could provide a simple and cheap solar still system that can solve the water and electricity problem in rural areas.