An Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of a Vacuum Tube Solar Collector-assisted Solar Distillation System

Abstract

The conventional distillation processes, such as multi effect evaporation, reverse osmosis, and electro dialysis, are not only energy intensive but also are uneconomical for small demands of fresh water. However, developments in the use of solar energy have shown that it is ideally suited for desalination, when the demand of fresh water is not so much. Distillation is one of the important methods of getting clean water from brackish and sea water using the free energy supply from the sun. A vacuum tube solar collector-assisted solar water distillation system was designed and tested under actual conditions of Turkey. This study is the first to use vacuum tube solar collectors in distillation systems. As expected, the vacuum tube solar collector increased the fresh water generation. Additionally, a mathematical model is presented and compared with experimental results. The model gives a good match with experimental values.

Keywords:

• solar collector
• solar distillation
• theoretical and experimental analysis
• vacuum tube