Investigation of a Solar Concentrator for Water Distillation

The non-availability of freshwater is one of the major problems faced by humanity. Major developments in water purification technologies are needed in the current scenario at an affordable price. Different types of treatment processes are available to supply freshwater to rural and urban areas at large and small scales. However, conventional fossil-fuel-powered desalination techniques consume extensive amounts of resources and can have damaging impact on the environment. Abundant, cheap and clean renewable energy sources are a promising alternative for powering modern desalination processes. The present paper focuses on an experimental study of a dish-type solar concentrator for water distillation. Different types of receivers (pressurized/non-pressurized and transparent/opaque) are tested, and analysis is made for the optimization of receiver design and to obtain maximum yield. Tests are also performed with transparent receiver in order to execute further tests with activated charcoal (AC), graphene and metal nanoparticle-dispersed water. In water quality test, TDS and pH values are measured before and after the experiments.