A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait
Water scarcity is a global issue recognized by the United Nations under Goal 6 of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. This challenging goal requires innovations, especially in areas with freshwater sc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8530 |
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| author | Hidab Hamwi May S. Al-Suwaidan Ali A. Al-Naser Ali Al-Odwani Rawan Al-Sammar Sara A. Aldei |
| author_facet | Hidab Hamwi May S. Al-Suwaidan Ali A. Al-Naser Ali Al-Odwani Rawan Al-Sammar Sara A. Aldei |
| author_sort | Hidab Hamwi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water scarcity is a global issue recognized by the United Nations under Goal 6 of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. This challenging goal requires innovations, especially in areas with freshwater scarcity. Coupling this with the expected significant growth in population, especially in developing countries, presents major challenges to obtaining the appropriate levels of water provision needed. The development of seawater desalination technologies offers hope to alleviate freshwater shortages whilst supporting SDG 6. This research addresses the development of small-scale technology utilizing solar energy for providing clean drinking water in rural, hot, arid, and remote communities. To alleviate water scarcity in rural and isolated areas, a micro solar still (MSS) system that supports a multistage distillation process can be utilized, which evaporates and condenses the saline feed water into pure drinking water with highly efficient solar heat collectors. The focus of this study was to assess the performance of two prototypes, with minor improvements to the wicking structure. Such a system has the advantage of recycling wasted latent heat in the process to increase productivity. Two prototypes were tested to assess the performance of the solar still construction material and yield, and to test the water quality and quantity under the climatic conditions of Kuwait. The operation and efficiency of the prototypes were observed across four characteristics: solar irradiance, ambient temperatures, feed water and water production. The performances of the two prototypes were comparable to the results of previously published work on MSS prototypes that utilize wicking. The recovery rates of the two prototypes were 22 and 25%, respectively. The maximum production of potable water achieved from the two prototypes was 900 and 1160 g, respectively, using a feed of 4 and 3.7 kgs. The quality of the produced water met the WHO’s standards for drinking water. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:21:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f3982d99efb4883856fcc2ac0e195df |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:21:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f3982d99efb4883856fcc2ac0e195df2023-11-24T08:14:31ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-11-011522853010.3390/en15228530A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in KuwaitHidab Hamwi0May S. Al-Suwaidan1Ali A. Al-Naser2Ali Al-Odwani3Rawan Al-Sammar4Sara A. Aldei5Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), P.B. No. 24885, Safat 13109, KuwaitWater scarcity is a global issue recognized by the United Nations under Goal 6 of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. This challenging goal requires innovations, especially in areas with freshwater scarcity. Coupling this with the expected significant growth in population, especially in developing countries, presents major challenges to obtaining the appropriate levels of water provision needed. The development of seawater desalination technologies offers hope to alleviate freshwater shortages whilst supporting SDG 6. This research addresses the development of small-scale technology utilizing solar energy for providing clean drinking water in rural, hot, arid, and remote communities. To alleviate water scarcity in rural and isolated areas, a micro solar still (MSS) system that supports a multistage distillation process can be utilized, which evaporates and condenses the saline feed water into pure drinking water with highly efficient solar heat collectors. The focus of this study was to assess the performance of two prototypes, with minor improvements to the wicking structure. Such a system has the advantage of recycling wasted latent heat in the process to increase productivity. Two prototypes were tested to assess the performance of the solar still construction material and yield, and to test the water quality and quantity under the climatic conditions of Kuwait. The operation and efficiency of the prototypes were observed across four characteristics: solar irradiance, ambient temperatures, feed water and water production. The performances of the two prototypes were comparable to the results of previously published work on MSS prototypes that utilize wicking. The recovery rates of the two prototypes were 22 and 25%, respectively. The maximum production of potable water achieved from the two prototypes was 900 and 1160 g, respectively, using a feed of 4 and 3.7 kgs. The quality of the produced water met the WHO’s standards for drinking water.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8530solar energydesalinationmicro solar stilllatent heat |
| spellingShingle | Hidab Hamwi May S. Al-Suwaidan Ali A. Al-Naser Ali Al-Odwani Rawan Al-Sammar Sara A. Aldei A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait Energies solar energy desalination micro solar still latent heat |
| title | A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait |
| title_full | A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait |
| title_fullStr | A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait |
| title_short | A Pilot Study of Micro Solar Still Technology in Kuwait |
| title_sort | pilot study of micro solar still technology in kuwait |
| topic | solar energy desalination micro solar still latent heat |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/22/8530 |
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