Solar Desalination With Solar Concentrator
Solar desalination technology is used world-wide in areas where potable water is either scarce or contaminate. Climate change conditions are affecting the water cycle and more and more regions in the world are experiencing drought and water scarcity.
Solartron’s 9M solar concentrator works with various desalination systems:
- Reverse Osmosis Desalination
- Multi-Effect Distillation (MED)
- Multi-stage Flash Distillation
As the demand for desalinated water or purification of brackish water continues to increase – so is the need for reducing the energy cost for water production. Never before has it been so affordable for solar desalination and produce clean water on a micro scale. Micro multi-effect distillation systems, capable of producing 24,000 litres per day, can be packaged with the 9M solar concentrator. These systems can be easily deployed in any part of the world for immediate solar desalination for clean water.
Reverse Osmosis Desalination
The solar concentrator can be used for reverse osmosis desalination plants to increase the temperature of the water running through the membrane and increase production efficiency (membrane capacity) by 3% per degree in water temperature increase. The report on the Performance of Reverse Osmosis Units at High Temperatures presented actual data from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to prove that considerable savings in water production can be achieved by increasing water temperatures.
How Does the Solar Concentrator Technology Work with Solar Desalination?
The 9M Solar Concentrator is an extremely versatile system. It can work as a stand-alone solar thermal energy system and provide 45 KW thermal heat for the solar desalination process. In the hybrid application, the 9M solar concentrator can provide 20KW of solar electricity with the high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) technology utilizing multijunction solar cells and 25 KW thermal energy for the solar desalination process.
Without a cooling system, the 9M solar concentrator is capable of generating 800 degrees Celsius at the focal point. CPV solar cells have an optimum operating temperature below 90 degrees Celsius. In order to keep the multijunction solar cells cool, a closed loop cooling system circulates water through the heat exchanger that is surface mounted to the back of the CPV solar cells.
Stand-Alone Solar Concentrator System
For stand-alone HCPV (high-concentration photovoltaic) solar electricity applications, the heat is dissipated through a radiator and fan system (typically how a car engine is cooled).
Hybrid Solar Concentrator System for Solar Desalination
In the hybrid solar desalination application, the water coolant used for cooling the concentrated photovoltaic multijunction solar cells is used by the multi-effect distillation system.
ROI for Micro Solar Desalination*
- SOLAR HEATING: 80 deg.
- Number of Dishes: 12X
- Desalinator/Purifier: 1 X (26,000 litres/day)
- Water Purification Cost per Litre: $0.0018
- Yearly Water Production: 8,760,000 Litre
- Payback: 3.6 years
*Solar thermal power: 600kW
Water Sold @ $0.01/L profit
Solar Radiation Location: Jordan
