Solar Desalination:

Solar desalination is a technique to desalinate water using solar energy.

There are two basic methods of achieving desalination using this technique; direct and indirect.

Direct Method:
A solar collector is coupled with a distilling mechanism and the process is carried out in one simple cycle. Solar stills of this type are described in
survival guides, provided in marine survival kits, and employed in many small desalination and distillation plants. Water production by direct
method solar distillation is proportional to the area of the solar surface and incidence angle and has an average estimated value of 3-4L/m2/day.
Because of this proportionality and the relatively high cost of property and material for construction direct method distillation tends to favor plants
with production capacities less than 200m3/day.

Indirect Method
Indirect solar desalination employs two separate systems; a solar collection array, consisting of photovoltaic and/or fluid based thermal collectors,
and a separate conventional desalination plant. Production by indirect method is dependent on the efficiency of the plant and the cost per unit
produced is generally reduced by an increase in scale. Many different plant arrangements have been theoretically analyzed, experimentally tested
and in some cases installed. They include but are not limited to Multiple Effect Humidification (MEH), Multiple Stage Flash Distillation (MSF),
Multiple Effect Distillation (MED), Multiple Effect Boiling (MEB), Humidification Dehumidification (HDH), Reverse Osmosis (RO), and Freeze effect
distillation.
Indirect solar desalination systems using photovoltaic (PV) panels and reverse osmosis (RO) have been commercially available and in use since
2009. Output by 2013 is up to 1,600 liters (420 US gal) per hour per system, and 200 liters/day per square metre of PV panel. Municipal-scale
systems are planned.

Types of solar desalination:

There are two primary means of achieving desalination using solar energy, through a phase change by thermal input, or in a single phase through
mechanical separation. Phase change (or multi-phase) can be accomplished by either direct or indirect solar distillation. Single phase is
predominantly accomplished by the use of photovoltaic cells to produce electricity to drive pumps although there are experimental methods being
researched using solar thermal collection to provide this mechanical energy.

Solar humidification
The solar humidification-dehumidification method (HDH) is a thermal water desalination method. It is based on evaporation of sea water or
brackish water and consecutive condensation of the generated humid air, mostly at ambient pressure. This process mimics the natural water cycle,
but over a much shorter time frame.

The simplest configuration is implemented in the solar still, evaporating the sea water inside a glass covered box and condensing the water vapor
on the lower side of the glass cover. More sophisticated designs separate the solar heat gain section from the evaporation-condensation chamber.
An optimized design comprises separated evaporation and condensation sections. A significant part of the heat consumed for evaporation can be
regained during condensation. An example for such an optimized thermal desalination cycle is the multiple-effect humidification (MEH) method
of transportation.
Solar humidification takes place in every greenhouse. Water evaporates from the surfaces of soil, water and plants because of thermal input. In
this way the humidification process is naturally integrated within the architecture of the greenhouse. Several companies like Seawater greenhouse
utilize this inherent feature of a greenhouse in order to conduct desalination inside the atmosphere of the facility. The integrated biotectural
system, or IBTS Greenhouse mimics the natural process of cloud formation respectively desalination exactly.

Multiple-effect humidification
Multiple-effect humidification (MEH) is a method used for thermal desalination of sea water. It uses multiple evaporation-condensation cycles at
separate temperature levels to minimize the total energy consumption of solar humidification processes.