Current Status of Theoretical and Practical Research of Seawater Single-Effect Passive Solar Distillation in Mexico

Abstract

Solar distillation is a practical alternative for freshwater production in arid zones where seawater is abundant. The attractiveness of this approach resides in the simplicity of the solar still, equipment used to produce saline-free water for drinking, intensive agriculture, domestic use and other purposes. A solar still is an apparatus exposed to solar radiation that consists essentially of a basin with a solar collector where saline water is deposited and covered with a transparent inclined glass plate. The system operates as a greenhouse where the heated seawater evaporates and condensates on the inner surface of the cover. The distillate yield is collected in an external container. A research group in Mexico has been working for years doing research on the process of freshwater production with solar stills. Various research aspects have been addressed, among which are mathematical modeling of the physical phenomenon, practical research by building solar stills with different geometries and sizes, and the proposal of a process for mass-production manufacturing of solar stills with technology innovations. This paper is an overview of some of the most relevant results obtained by these research efforts.

Solar energy analysis in use and implementation in Mexico: a review

“…Various research aspects have been addressed like practical research by building solar stills with different geometries and sizes and the proposal of a process for mass-production manufacturing of solar stills with technology innovations. Mexico can, thus, become an international leader in solar distillation of seawater (Rubio et al , 2020).…”

The Effect of Geometry on the Yield of Fresh Water from Single Slope Solar Stills

“…One of the oldest and most widely used approaches to describe the exchange between the glass cover and water basin is a relationship developed by Dunkle [12]. This equation has been extensively used [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] to estimate the convective heat (and mass) transfer coefficient in single slope solar stills. However, when examining the secondary reference upon which it was developed [27], it is apparent that the relationship applies to natural convection heat transfer occurring between two parallel horizontal surfaces.…”