Assessment of the Use of Solar Desalination Distillers to Produce Fresh Water in Arid Areas

Joaquim Monteiro, Andresa Baptista, Gustavo Pinto, Leonardo Ribeiro and Hélder Mariano
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Joaquim Monteiro: ISEP—School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Andresa Baptista: ISEP—School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Gustavo Pinto: ISEP—School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Leonardo Ribeiro: ISEP—School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Hélder Mariano: ISEP—School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Water is an important resource for human beings, yet there are inhabited places tormented by the scarcity of it. The present study is concerned with places where, seemingly, the best way to get water is through solar distillers. These places should have, typically, high values of solar irradiation and a lack of human and economic resources to build and operate complex equipment. A set of sites scattered around the world was chosen, and then the presumed productivity and thermal efficiency that solar distillers would have if they were installed at these places was calculated. The mathematical model used with this purpose assumes steady state operation; the values of mass of water distilled and distiller efficiency were calculated for every hour, but the results presented are annual averages. Then, an economic study was made based on local costs of construction materials for the distillers, the work force, and the prices of water to predict the payback time of solar distillers. Finally, a study on environmental impact, particularly in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, was made to compare reverse osmosis (RO) with solar distillation. For the sites studied, typical values of annual water output are in the range of 414 dm 3 /m 2 , for Évora, up to 696 dm 3 /m 2 , for Faya Largeau; the minimum efficiency was found for Évora, as 11.5%, and the maximum efficiency was found for Tessalit, as 15.2%. Payback times are very high, regardless of the areas of the globe where solar distillers are implanted. Regarding the GHG emissions, solar distillation is preferable to RO.

Keywords: solar desalination; distillers; fresh water; arid areas; GHG emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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