A parametric study of the thermal solar collector coupled with vacuum membrane distillation

Abstract

The problem of shortage of water has been caused partly by the drought in many countries suffering from complete hydraulic failure systems and severe structural wing damage, water is being rationed, and its distribution in some areas is very erratic. Algeria is well positioned to take advantage of its resources, particularly along its long Mediterranean coast, where the demand for freshwater is high, which can produce water anywhere using a small land makes solar desalination unit by vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). This work aims to establish the estimating model of potable water production that could be exploited from non-conventional water resources by using a thermal solar energy system coupled with a VMD unit. The proposed models are used to determine the optimal conditions of the operating parameters, including VP, feed circulation velocity, flow rates through the collector and heat exchanger, and solute concentration. The optimum conditions obtained in the treatment of the brine solution were 10000 Pa, feed mass flow rate 1000 kg/h, and the flow rates through the collector and heat exchanger were 637 kg/h and 689 kg/h, respectively. Moreover, under these conditions, the permeate flux reached 9 kg/m2 h at 12 hours for the salt concentration of 30 g/L.