Abstract:
The increase of population worldwide makes the availability of fresh water an important issue especially for developing countries. Fortunately, most of the developing countries are characterized by a high intensity of solar radiation. The solar desalination using the free energy supply from the sun is promising option to reduce the operating cost for the desalination plant. In this study a simulation of water desalination system using solar energy and operates at sub-atmospheric pressure is presented. The system consists of a solar basin connected to an air cooled condenser and utilizes natural means-atmospheric pressure and gravity-to develop a vacuum condition. The system requires simple technology with less number of problems and can be used anywhere as low maintenance and no skilled workers are needed. The simulation results under the meteorological conditions of Cairo, Egypt indicated significant improvements in the system efficiency and daily water productivity of the present system compared with conventional solar techniques.