Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
DESALINATION PROCESS POWERED BY SOLAR ENERGY
Submission Author:
José Roberto Simões Moreira , SP , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Beethoven Narváez-Romo
Presenter: José Roberto Simões Moreira
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-2418
Abstract
Saltwater desalination is the process of obtaining fresh and drinkable water from seawater or brackish water, which requires a high degree of thermal energy due to the regular desalination process based on vaporization followed by condensation. For small and isolated communities, solar energy can be a solution to power the process. Therefore, the objective of this work is to investigate the heat transfer performance of a new desalination process using a compact two-tube configuration, where the internal tube acts as an evaporator and the external tube serves as a condenser. An experimental test rig was designed and tested in steady-state operating conditions, with experiments based on falling film technology used to vaporize water and condensate on a colder surface. Mass and energy balances were carried out for each component. Additionally, the heat transfer performance of the evaporation process was evaluated using both smooth tubes and meshed tubes. The condensation heat rate was analyzed, and it was found that the radiative heat transfer rate mechanism contributed to about 60% of the total heat transfer rate. Finally, it was noted that the operating temperature obtained in the experimental runs could be used for solar applications, and the use of solar energy as the driving power for the process could be a solution for small and isolated communities.
Keywords
desalination, Solar Energy, Salt Water, Fresh Water, Falling film, Heat transfer
