Etude et amélioration de la performance d’un distillateur solaire simple par un système de couplage (chauffage - distillation)

Abstract

Nowadays, the lack of fresh water in remote arid and desert areas in the south-east of Algeria has reached an alarming point. The dwellers of these sites use groundwater that is abundant but often too salty for human consumption. Solar distillation using simple small-scale stills is one of the cheapest solutions given the high intensity of solar irradiance that characterizes the region of Southern Algeria throughout the year; and simplicity of these devises. The laboratory of new and renewable energies in arid zones (LENREZA) at Ouargla University is searching for methods and techniques to improving the average daily output in distilled water. One of these techniques practiced and recommended in winter and spring is the coupling (Heating-Distillation). This technique is based on the fact that during the cold climate, the solar water heater located upstream of solar distiller serves as thermal medium replacing the lack of solar irradiance during this season. After preheating, the brine water evaporates quickly from the basin and condenses easily on the glass-cover because of its contact with fresh environment. The experiments carried out during early spring 2012 show that the daily cumulative of distilled water by the coupling system without dye is greater than that produced by the conventional still with an average of enhancement of 82.61 %. Adding dye to coupling system further enhances productivity by 22.14 % without affecting the distilled water quality.