Experiment of Passive Solar Desalination with Inclined Heating Type with Variation of Cover Glass Distance

Abstract:

Solar desalination is a process to reduce the salt content in seawater by utilizing solar heat. In recent years, the interfacial heating method has been proposed as an alternative to evaporation by creating localized heat on the surface of the liquid. This study investigated charcoal briquettes as a solar absorber material to accelerate the evaporation rate. The experiment was carried out on four basins of single slope type using charcoal briquettes for 8 hours in the sun with variations in the distance between the cover glass and the absorber, namely 3 cm, 4 cm and 5 cm. Charcoal-free basins were also tested for comparison. Temperature is measured at several points in the basin to identify factors affecting evaporation. The results showed that the structure of charcoal briquettes can concentrate the heat required for phase change. The temperature and humidity in each basin also have a similar changing trend where solar radiation strongly influences temperature. Using charcoal can also increase the basin's convection and evaporation heat transfer rates. The maximum desalination efficiency is obtained in basin 2 with a variation of 4 cm cover glass spacing of 31.45%, followed by a variation of 5 cm cover glass distance in basin 3 of 29.92 %, and the variation of 3 cm glass spacing in basin 1 was 26.98%. Whereas in basin 4, with the variation without charcoal, an efficiency of 38.28% was obtained. Desalination efficiency is influenced by several factors: sun intensity, distillate productivity, latent heat of evaporation, and capillary action.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 927)
• Pages: 51-57
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-R5Ila2
• Online since: June 2025
• Authors: Rahmad I. Muhamad, Muhamad Jafri*, Ben Vasco Tarigan
• Keywords: Charcoal Briquettes, Cover Glass Distance, Desalination Solar Passive, Evaporation Rate, Interfacial Heating

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