International Journal of Energetica (IJECA)
https://www.ijeca.info
ISSN: 2543-3717 Volume 2. Issue 1. 2017 Page 42-45
IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 42
Seasonal effect on solar distillation in the El-Oued region of south-east
Algeria
A. Khechekhouche
1,3
, A. Boukhari
2
, Z. Driss
3
, N. Benhissen
4
1Renewable Energy Research Center in Arid Zones, El-Oued University, ALGERIA
2Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Technology, El-Oued University, ALGERIA
3Laboratory of Electromechanical Systems (LASEM), ENIS, University of Sfax, TUNISIA
4Electrotechnical Department, University of Trois révères, Québec, CANADA
abder03@hotmail.com
Abstract – In the present purely experimental work, we tested a solar distiller with a simple
slope in the region of El-Oued located in the south-east of Algeria, during the winter then the
summer seasons at the same place. Dimensions of the studied device are 1000 x 500 mm, while the
depth of the water to be distilled is 1 cm, the glazing thickness is 4 mm, and the tilt angle with
respect to the horizontal is 10 °.The aim of this work is to compare distillation between winter
(January) and summer (May) to show that weather factors such as solar radiation, ambient
temperature and humidity are influential on the distiller productivity. The amount of distilled
water in winter was about 119 ml per day. However, that in summer was 1127 ml per day in total,
so it is an increase of more than 9 times the production of distilled water.
Key words: solar distiller, solar radiation, humidity, distilled water, productivity
Received: 31/05/2017 – Accepted: 27/06/2017
I. Introduction
Desalination technology has become very
developed due to the new techniques that often appear,
but each technique has its advantages and disadvantages
[1, 2]. The most economical way to purify or desalt water
is by solar distillation. The efficiency of this technique is
relatively low compared to the other distillation modes,
but this drawback is compensated for by the fact that this
process only requires the sun's radiation to function.
Several researchers have studied and improved flat solar
distillers by adding a black absorber, a mirror, or
preheating. Others have doubled the glass of the distiller
[3], whilst others have played the angle of the glazing
[4]. The water desalination technology has its advantages
and disadvantages [5]. Elango et al. [6] studied the
performance of a single slope solar distiller with and
without nanofluids. The distillers were tested with three
nanofluids (Al2O3, ZnO, SnO2) with different
concentrations. Using Al2O3 nano-water fluid at 0.1%
concentration gave 29.95% more distillate output due to
its higher thermal conductivity. The preparation of
nanofluids is a costly and dangerous technique.
This work gives us a clear experimental response
on the solar radiation and also the ambient temperature
influences on solar distillation with a simple effect.
II. Materials and method
II.1. Description of the solar distiller
The single slope solar distiller (see Figure 1) is a
well-known device, with simple design and construction
because its components are available in all world’s
markets.
Figure 1. Single slope solar distiller
II.2. Operating principle
The increase in temperature due to the greenhouse
effect causes the air to warm up above the saline water,
which in turn evaporates. This evaporation capacity
increases as the temperature rises until the air reaches its
saturation with water vapour: the relative humidity is
then 100%. The steam contained in the hot air condenses
in contact with the cold glazing (Figure 2). This contact
led to the formation of water droplets, which flow
towards the lower part of the sloped glazing. A collector
(tube) groups these droplets and then led them to be
A. Khechekhouche et al.
IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 43
accumulated into a storage tank.
Figure 2. The prototype distiller
II.3. Essential experimental system components
The solar distiller is essentially composed of:
• A box of wood having the dimensions (1000 x 500
mm), the lid slope is 10° with respect to the horizontal
direction, in the way to have the maximum of sunshine.
• An ordinary glass lid (1000 x 600 mm) with a thickness
of 4 mm.
• A PVC plastic tube of 1100 mm length and 25 mm in
diameter.
II.4. Thermocouples locations
Temperature measurements are made by means of
five thermocouples positioned as perfected in Figure 3:
• Temperature of the inside face of the glazing.
• Temperature of the outside face of the glazing.
• Temperature inside the distiller.
• Temperature of the water to be distilled.
• Ambient temperature.
Figure 3. Locations of the used thermocouples
II.5. Meteorological conditions of the experiments
Two experiments were carried out at the
University of El-Oued (south-east Algeria). The first on
January 13, 2017 and the second on May 5, 2017 during
the summer. Table 1 shows the meteorological
conditions of the experiments.
TABLE 1
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN SUMMER AND WINTER
May (Summer
2017)
January (Winter
2017)
Sunrise
Sunset
Ambient temperature
Atmospheric pressure
05:41 am
07:19 pm
26-35°C
1013 mb
07:38 am
05:46 pm
11-17°C
1031 mb
II.6. Conduct of the experiment
The experiments are made according to the
geographical coordinates of the city of El-Oued located
at 33.3676° N latitude and 6.8516° E longitude.
The same distiller was exposed to the sun in the same
place, same position, same water nature and the same
water quantity to be distilled, but in two different
seasons.
The first experiment was carried out in January 2017 (in
winter), while the second in May 2017 (in summer) in
order to see the influence of meteorological effects on the
phenomenon of solar distillation. Temperature sampling
was carried out every one hour during the period from
9:30 am to 4:10 pm for both experiments, so the same
period of sunshine was maintained to eliminate any
ambiguities in relation to this factor (i.e. sunshine
duration).
III. Results and discussion
Meteorological factors such as solar radiation,
ambient temperature and humidity influence the distiller
operating. The results obtained are illustrated in the
following figures.
Figure 4 shows the solar radiation evolution in
Wh/m
2
during the day time (in hours) for both
experiments, one in winter and the other in summer. The
radiation increases gradually in both cases until reaching
a maximum value between noon and 2:00 pm with the
only difference that the solar radiation in winter has not
exceeded the value of 600 Wh/m
2
but in summer it has
reached the value of 1000 Wh/m
2
. Solar radiation is the
key parameter in solar distillation.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
9h00 10h00 11h00 12h00 13h00 14h00 15h00 16h00
Time (h)
R
a
d
ia
ti
o
n
(
W
h
/m
2
)
Summar
Winter
Figure 4. Evolution of solar radiation
A. Khechekhouche et al.
IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 44
Figure 5 shows the relationship between the day
time (hours) and the ambient temperature for the two
experiments. The latter increases gradually until reaching
a maximum constant value between 01:00 pm and 04:00
pm [7]. Figure 5 also shows that the ambient temperature
is greater in summer where it has exceeded 30 °C, than
that in winter which has not reached the value of 18 °C.
The ambient temperature is also a crucial factor
influencing the phenomenon of solar distillation.
Figure 5. The evolution of the ambient temperature
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate the dependence between
the day time (hours) and the interior temperature of the
glazing for water distiller in the experiments. We can see
that the temperature difference between the basin water
and the inner glazing temperature is also another
important factor for the distillation process. The mean
temperature difference between the inner glazing and the
basin water in the first experiment (carried out in winter)
is of the order of 32 °C. However, it is of the order of
130 °C in the second experiment (carried out in summer).
This large difference is favorable for the improvement of
the productivity of distilled water due to the evaporation
phenomenon of water.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
A
m
b
ie
n
t
T
e
m
p
e
ra
tu
re
(
°C
)
Winter
Summar
Figure 6. Time evolution of the inner glazing temperature
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
T
e
m
p
e
ra
tu
re
(
°
C
)
Winter
Summar
Figure 7. Time evolution of the basin water temperature
Figure 7 shows that the temperature evolution of the
basin water in summer is very high, and exceeds the
value of 50 °C to reach a maximum temperature of 73 °C
at 01:30 pm. All temperatures in winter are below the
value of 40 °C. The temperature of the water to be
distilled in the basin is an essential factor in the
phenomenon of solar distillation.
Figure 8 shows the temporal evolution of the internal
temperature of the distiller in the two seasons. This
temperature is maximal between 12:30 am and 03: 30
pm. Also, high difference between summer temperatures
and those taken in winter is obvious.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
T
e
m
p
e
ra
tu
re
(
°
C
)
Winter
Summar
Figure 8. Temperature evolution inside the distiller during winter and
summer
Figure 9 illustrates the relation between the day time
and the outer glazing temperature, where the
phenomenon of natural convection between the glazing
and the atmosphere takes place. The temperature
increases until reaching a maximum value between noon
and 04:00 pm.
A. Khechekhouche et al.
IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 45
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
T
e
m
p
e
ra
tu
re
(
°C
)
Winter
Summar
Figure 9. Evolution of the glazing temperature on its external face
Obviously, from figure 10 we can see the
dependence of the productivity of the distilled water on
daytime and season for both experiments. Note that the
first 4 sunshine hours in the winter did not trigger the
distillation, but the first hour of sunshine in the summer
triggered the distillation. Consequently, the production of
distilled water in summer is more profitable than in
winter.
The total amount of water produced by the winter
experiment was 119 ml, and that in summer was 1127 ml
over a period of 6 hours and 40 minutes. The distillate
yield increased by 1008 ml / day in the summer.
0
50
100
150
200
250
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
M
L
Winter
Summar
Figure.10. Productivity of distilled water through experiments
IV. Conclusion
According to the results obtained in the present
work, solar distillation is more productive and more
favorable in the summer period than in the winter period.
This fact is due to the increase of the solar radiation. The
maximum distilled water quantity for 6 hours and 40
minutes is recorded in May 2017 (in summer) for an
amount of 1127 ml, whereas in January 2017 (in winter),
the yielded quantity is about 119 ml. Those results
demonstrate manifestly the difference in distilled water
productivity between the two seasons. Therefore, any
increase in solar radiation necessarily yields an increase
in the distilled water productivity, without neglecting
other key parameters such as ambient temperature.
References
[1] N. Ghaffour, J. Bundschuh, H. Mahmoudi, M.F.A.
Goosen. Renewable energy-driven desalination
technologies: A comprehensive review on challenges and
potential applications of integrated systems, Desalination,
Vol 356, 15 January 2015, pp. 94-114.
[2] K. Choon Ng, K. Thu, S. Jin Oh, L. Ang, M. Wakil
Shahzad, A. Bin Ismail, Recent developments in
thermally-driven seawater desalination: Energy efficiency
improvement by hybridization of the MED and AD cycles,
Desalination, Vol 356, January 2015, pp. 255-270.
[3] J. Lindblom, Solar Thermal Technologies for Seawater,
Desalination: State of the Art, Renewable Energy System
Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, 2010.
[4] N. Retiel, Etude expérimentale d’un distillateur solaire
plan amélior, Revue des Energies Renouvelables Vol. 11,
no 4, 2008, pp. 635 – 642.
[5] L. Cherrared, amélioration du rendement d’un distillateur
solaire à effet de serre, Revue des Energies Renouvelables,
Valorisation, 1999, pp. 121-124.
[6] T. Elango, A. Kannan and K. Murugavel, Performance
study on single basin single slope solar still with different
water nanofluids. Desalination, volume 360, 2015, pp. 45–
51.
[7] M. Ghodbane et B. Boumeddane, Estimating solar
radiation according to semi empirical approach of
PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT: application on several
areas with different climate in Algeria, International
Journal of Energetica, vol. 1, no 1, 2016, pp. 20-29.
I. Introduction
II. Materials and method
II.5. Meteorological conditions of the experiments
II.6. Conduct of the experiment
III. Results and discussion
IV. Conclusion
References