Abstract
This paper presents an experimental investigation of a single-effect vertical tubular solar brackish water desalination device, with an aim to determine the mass transfer coefficient and its enhancement. The device consists of two closely spaced concentric pipes. The outside of the inner pipe is covered with a wicking material and wetted with hot brackish water. The water vapor evaporated from the wicking material condenses on the inside of the outer pipe. The measured productivity and temperatures at various points are given for different wicking materials thickness, water flow rates and chamber pressure under the condition of given heating power. Mass transfer coefficients are calculated from the experimental results and then applied in the prediction of water productivity. The maximum discrepancy between the calculation yield and measurement yield is relatively small compared with previous study. In addition, it was found that the yield of the solar still is 23.9% higher when the chamber pressure is lower by 25kPa due to the enhanced mass transfer. Similar, doubling the ambient air velocity can increase the water yield by about 17.0%.
Highlights
Fresh and safe water is a necessity for healthy human habitation and for industrial and agricultural production
This paper presents an experimental investigation of a single-effect vertical tubular solar brackish water still with a concentric structure, in which the outside of the inner pipe is covered with a wicking layer to provide a uniform of water film
The second, the feed brackish water flow rate of the device was adjusted by varying the valve to check the evaporation performance of the water absorption materials
Summary
Fresh and safe water is a necessity for healthy human habitation and for industrial and agricultural production. Among solar brackish water desalination technologies, solar stills have been considered potentially applicable device to produce clean drinking water to rural, arid and remote communities, which assembles simple, costs effective and operates simple. They have the major drawbacks of lower productivity compared with conventional solar desalination methods. This paper presents an experimental investigation of a single-effect vertical tubular solar brackish water still with a concentric structure, in which the outside of the inner pipe is covered with a wicking layer to provide a uniform of water film. The experimental results will be used to calculate the mass transfer coefficient, based on which the water yield of a vertical tubular solar still can be predicted
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