SOLAR DISTILLATION OF WATER USING INCLINED TUBES AS RECEIVER AND CONDENSER

Hieu  Tri Le; Tawit  Chitsomboon; Atit  Koonsrisuk

Authors

Hieu Tri Le School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Rachasima, Thailand.
Tawit Chitsomboon School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Rachasima, Thailand.
Atit Koonsrisuk School of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang District, Nakhon Rachasima, Thailand.

Keywords:

Solar still, solar collector, distillation, water production

Abstract

Recently, the consumption of fresh water has been rising in the world. Although approximately 71% the Earth's surface is covered by water, only a very limited amount is drinkable. Solar water distillation can be used to purify water by using solar energy. In this study, a solar still was designed whereby black metal tubes, much like those used in a solar water heater, are employed in place of transparent glass in traditional distillation devices. Three models and a conventional solar still were fabricated and have been studied experimentally. The temperatures of the water inlet (Twi) and water outlet of the collector (Two), the water in the basin (Tws), the condenser tubes (Tcd), collector tubes (Tcol1 and Tcol2), and basin (Tb) were measured. It was found that the highest water production is 2.3 L/m2 day. The water outlet temperature from the tube system is very high. However, there are heat losses from the system and this leads to a lower water temperature in the basin.

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