International experiences for Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Research Paper

International experiences for Utilization of Solar Energy For Thermal Desalination - Research Paper Example Therefore, there has been a considerable interest in the use of renewable or alternative energy sources to meet the demands of the industry (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2245), since the supply of these renewable forms is potentially unlimited and the generation of energy is almost completely clean. That, and given their low cost of maintenance (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2245), such energy sources, especially the harvesting of solar energy, has been getting much attention lately. The ultimate use of solar energy is for the desalination of brackish water in order to produce and supply WHO approved drinkable water to areas that are almost deprived of fresh water resources (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2246). Water is the fundamental need of humanity, and a fundamental requirement for the functioning of industry and society. However, the overwhelming ratio of water is in the form of seawater or other forms of brackish water; it is estimated that only 3% if water is available as fresh water, and out of that, less than 1% is accessible (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2246). ... Already, over a billion of the world’s population has no access to fresh water, and the demand is likely to increase by 40% of the present amount (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2246). In light of these statistics, it has become imperative that new avenues be explored that should provide with an easy, cheap and clean method of fresh water production. To that end, the utilisation of solar energy is the most effective. This paper analyses three methods of harbouring this technology, namely Multi-effect distillation or MED, Multistage Flash Distillation or MSF, and Reverse Osmosis, the distribution for which is given below. Fig. 1: â€Å"Distribution of renewable energy powered desalination technologies† (Eltawil, Zhengming, and Yuan 2009: 2248). It explores which of these methods is the most efficient and cost-effective. It will start with a discussion of each of these methods, as follows, followed by a study of advantages of MED over the other methods. Multi-effect d istillation, or MED, is the most common and the oldest of all the techniques used for freshwater desalination (Bruggen 2003: 7). It harnesses the concept of evaporation-condensation, in that steam obtained from brackish water by evaporation is allowed to condense at a low temperature and pressure, and the heat thus given off is utilised to evaporate more water from the brine (Bruggen 2003: 7). The water produced upon condensation of steam is collected as non-saline fresh water; the ultimate goal of the set up. It is obvious that initially some energy from an external source would be needed in order to produce steam and start the cycle; the rest of the steps in the cycle are