Experimental Study of a Tubular Solar Distillation System with Heat Exchanger Using a Parabolic Trough Collector

Abstract

One way to overcome the scarcity of clean water through sustainable approach is by utilizing a solar distillation system. This easy-to-use technology is adopting tubular solar distillation. The three main components, which are the most essential for producing the amount of permeate, are the solar collector, tubular and heat exchanger (HE). This study aims to determine the performance of a tubular solar distillation device equipped with HE using a parabolic trough collector (PTC). The PTC has an area of 5.1 m2 covered with a solar reflective chrome film. Aluminum tubular acts as the feedwater heater. The HE is placed inside the tubular, which acts as a coolant to convert the steam phase into freshwater/permeate and as a feedwater heater to flow into the tubular. In the present study, several parameters were tested: comprise temperature, solar radiation, pressure, humidity, mass flow rate, permeate productivity and efficiency. This study demonstrated the production of a sufficient amount of permeate, which was 5.32 L for 6 h. The efficiency of this device yielded a peak of 48.2% during solar radiation of 813 W/m2 in an average ambient temperature of 32 °C, with an overall average of 44.59%.