A review of solar compound parabolic collectors in water desalination systems

ABSTRACT

The essential role of water in all the human being daily activities is undeniable, and the consumption of it by increasing the human life standards is increasing considerably. The shortage of drinkable water for people around the globe is becoming a very serious problem; therefore seawater desalination via renewable energy technologies like solar energy would be an environmentally friendly and favorable way to deal with the water shortage problem. Solar collectors by absorbing the solar radiation and converting it to thermal energy can directly be utilized for various applications like solar cooling systems which operate based on the solar absorption and adsorption of solar heating energy, the solar central power generation systems, solar desalination systems, solar water disinfection systems, etc. This article presents an overview on more-than-twenty-years research and development on applications of solar Compound Parabolic Collectors (CPCs) in desalination systems. As non-imaging and stationary collectors, CPCs by having relatively wide angle apertures receive the incoming solar radiation and reflect it to the absorber. It was perceived that CPCs are cost effective and useful for low-temperature applications (T < 100 ºC) and medium temperature range (100ºC < T < 250ºC) within which they are capable of being used in solar desalination systems and during recent years there has been an increasing tendency in using them in solar desalination systems.

KEYWORDS:

• Water desalination
• renewable energy
• solar energy
• solar compound parabolic collector

Article highlights

• More than twenty years of research and development of CPCs in desalination technologies are reviewed

• Different Configurations of CPCs as well as their equations are reviewed

• The application of CPCs in different desalination technologies is mentioned

• Different experimental and numerical CPC desalination systems are reviewed

• CPCs are cost effective and are promising in desalination technologies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Seyed Mostafa Mortazavi

Seyed Mostafa Mortazavi is currently a PhD student in Energy Systems Engineering at Kyoto University, JAPAN. He received his BSc. and MSc. Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Energy Systems Engineering at Shahrekord University and University of Tehran, respectively. His research interests include Energy System Sustainability Assessment, System Dynamics, and Energy Security.

Akbar Maleki

Akbar Maleki is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran. He received his Ph.D. in energy engineering at the Faculty of New Science & Technologies, University of Tehran. His research interests are in the fields of energy, renewable energy, and optimization methods. Dr. Maleki is an active teacher and researcher in energy, sustainability and energy optimization. He has received numerous awards and honours, including an Award of Outstanding Researcher from the University of Tehran.