See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318044123

Seasonal effect on solar distillation in the El-

Oued region of south-east Algeria

Article · June 2017

CITATIONS READS

0 151

4 authors, including:

Abderrahmane Khechekhouche Ali Boukhari

El-Oued University El-Oued University
10 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS 16 PUBLICATIONS 14 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Zied Driss
Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax
120 PUBLICATIONS 387 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

wind rotor optimisation View project

Solid State Hydrogen Storage View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Abderrahmane Khechekhouche on 18 September 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

International Journal of Energetica (IJECA)
https://www.ijeca.info
ISSN: 2543-3717 Volume 2. Issue 1. 2017 Page 42-45

Seasonal effect on solar distillation in the El-Oued region of south-east

Algeria

A. Khechekhouche1,3, A. Boukhari2, Z. Driss3, N. Benhissen4

1
Renewable Energy Research Center in Arid Zones, El-Oued University, ALGERIA
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Technology, El-Oued University, ALGERIA
3
Laboratory of Electromechanical Systems (LASEM), ENIS, University of Sfax, TUNISIA
4
Electrotechnical Department, University of Trois révères, Québec, CANADA
[email protected]

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 well-known device, with simple design and construction

Desalination technology has become very because its components are available in all world’s
developed due to the new techniques that often appear, markets.
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 Figure 1. Single slope solar distiller
nanofluids (Al2O3, ZnO, SnO2) with different
concentrations. Using Al2O3 nano-water fluid at 0.1%
concentration gave 29.95% more distillate output due to II.2. Operating principle
its higher thermal conductivity. The preparation of
nanofluids is a costly and dangerous technique. The increase in temperature due to the greenhouse
This work gives us a clear experimental response effect causes the air to warm up above the saline water,
on the solar radiation and also the ambient temperature which in turn evaporates. This evaporation capacity
influences on solar distillation with a simple effect. 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
II. Materials and method in contact with the cold glazing (Figure 2). This contact
II.1. Description of the solar distiller led to the formation of water droplets, which flow
towards the lower part of the sloped glazing. A collector
The single slope solar distiller (see Figure 1) is a (tube) groups these droplets and then led them to be

IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 42

 A. Khechekhouche et al.

accumulated into a storage tank. TABLE 1

METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN SUMMER AND WINTER

May (Summer January (Winter

2017) 2017)
Sunrise 05:41 am 07:38 am
Sunset 07:19 pm 05:46 pm
Ambient temperature 26-35°C 11-17°C
Atmospheric pressure 1013 mb 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
Figure 2. The prototype distiller water quantity to be distilled, but in two different
seasons.
II.3. Essential experimental system components The first experiment was carried out in January 2017 (in
The solar distiller is essentially composed of: winter), while the second in May 2017 (in summer) in
• A box of wood having the dimensions (1000 x 500 order to see the influence of meteorological effects on the
mm), the lid slope is 10° with respect to the horizontal phenomenon of solar distillation. Temperature sampling
direction, in the way to have the maximum of sunshine. was carried out every one hour during the period from
• An ordinary glass lid (1000 x 600 mm) with a thickness 9:30 am to 4:10 pm for both experiments, so the same
of 4 mm. period of sunshine was maintained to eliminate any
• A PVC plastic tube of 1100 mm length and 25 mm in ambiguities in relation to this factor (i.e. sunshine
diameter. duration).

II.4. Thermocouples locations III. Results and discussion

Temperature measurements are made by means of Meteorological factors such as solar radiation,
five thermocouples positioned as perfected in Figure 3: ambient temperature and humidity influence the distiller
• Temperature of the inside face of the glazing. operating. The results obtained are illustrated in the
• Temperature of the outside face of the glazing. following figures.
• Temperature inside the distiller. Figure 4 shows the solar radiation evolution in
• Temperature of the water to be distilled. Wh/m2 during the day time (in hours) for both
• Ambient temperature. 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/m2 but in summer it has
reached the value of 1000 Wh/m2. Solar radiation is the
key parameter in solar distillation.

1200 Summar
Winter
1000
Radiation (Wh/m2)

800
Figure 3. Locations of the used thermocouples
600
II.5. Meteorological conditions of the experiments 400
Two experiments were carried out at the
University of El-Oued (south-east Algeria). The first on 200
January 13, 2017 and the second on May 5, 2017 during
the summer. Table 1 shows the meteorological 0
conditions of the experiments. 9h00 10h00 11h00 12h00 13h00 14h00 15h00 16h00
Time (h)

Figure 4. Evolution of solar radiation

IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 43

 A. Khechekhouche et al.

Figure 5 shows the relationship between the day

time (hours) and the ambient temperature for the two
80 Winter
experiments. The latter increases gradually until reaching
a maximum constant value between 01:00 pm and 04:00 Summar
70
pm [7]. Figure 5 also shows that the ambient temperature
is greater in summer where it has exceeded 30 °C, than 60

Temperature (°C)
that in winter which has not reached the value of 18 °C.
The ambient temperature is also a crucial factor 50
influencing the phenomenon of solar distillation. 40
30
20
10
0
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
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 5. The evolution of the ambient temperature Figure 8 shows the temporal evolution of the internal
temperature of the distiller in the two seasons. This
Figures 6 and 7 illustrate the dependence between temperature is maximal between 12:30 am and 03: 30
the day time (hours) and the interior temperature of the pm. Also, high difference between summer temperatures
glazing for water distiller in the experiments. We can see and those taken in winter is obvious.
that the temperature difference between the basin water
and the inner glazing temperature is also another
80 Winter
important factor for the distillation process. The mean
temperature difference between the inner glazing and the Summar
70
basin water in the first experiment (carried out in winter)
is of the order of 32 °C. However, it is of the order of 60
Temperature (°C)

130 °C in the second experiment (carried out in summer).

50
This large difference is favorable for the improvement of
the productivity of distilled water due to the evaporation 40
phenomenon of water.
30

Winter 20
Summar
35 10
Ambient Temperature (°C)

30 0
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
25
Time (h)
20

15 Figure 8. Temperature evolution inside the distiller during winter and

summer
10
Figure 9 illustrates the relation between the day time
5
and the outer glazing temperature, where the
0 phenomenon of natural convection between the glazing
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10 and the atmosphere takes place. The temperature
Time (h) increases until reaching a maximum value between noon
and 04:00 pm.
Figure 6. Time evolution of the inner glazing temperature

IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 44

 A. Khechekhouche et al.

Winter IV. Conclusion

60
Summar
According to the results obtained in the present
50 work, solar distillation is more productive and more
favorable in the summer period than in the winter period.
Temperature (°C)

40 This fact is due to the increase of the solar radiation. The

maximum distilled water quantity for 6 hours and 40
30
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
20
demonstrate manifestly the difference in distilled water
productivity between the two seasons. Therefore, any
10
increase in solar radiation necessarily yields an increase
in the distilled water productivity, without neglecting
0
other key parameters such as ambient temperature.
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)
References
Figure 9. Evolution of the glazing temperature on its external face [1] N. Ghaffour, J. Bundschuh, H. Mahmoudi, M.F.A.
Goosen. Renewable energy-driven desalination
Obviously, from figure 10 we can see the technologies: A comprehensive review on challenges and
dependence of the productivity of the distilled water on potential applications of integrated systems, Desalination,
daytime and season for both experiments. Note that the Vol 356, 15 January 2015, pp. 94-114.
[2] K. Choon Ng, K. Thu, S. Jin Oh, L. Ang, M. Wakil
first 4 sunshine hours in the winter did not trigger the
Shahzad, A. Bin Ismail, Recent developments in
distillation, but the first hour of sunshine in the summer thermally-driven seawater desalination: Energy efficiency
triggered the distillation. Consequently, the production of improvement by hybridization of the MED and AD cycles,
distilled water in summer is more profitable than in Desalination, Vol 356, January 2015, pp. 255-270.
winter. [3] J. Lindblom, Solar Thermal Technologies for Seawater,
The total amount of water produced by the winter Desalination: State of the Art, Renewable Energy System
experiment was 119 ml, and that in summer was 1127 ml Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, 2010.
over a period of 6 hours and 40 minutes. The distillate [4] N. Retiel, Etude expérimentale d’un distillateur solaire
yield increased by 1008 ml / day in the summer. plan amélior, Revue des Energies Renouvelables Vol. 11,
no 4, 2008, pp. 635 – 642.
[5] L. Cherrared, amélioration du rendement d’un distillateur
Winter solaire à effet de serre, Revue des Energies Renouvelables,
250
Summar
Valorisation, 1999, pp. 121-124.
[6] T. Elango, A. Kannan and K. Murugavel, Performance
200 study on single basin single slope solar still with different
water nanofluids. Desalination, volume 360, 2015, pp. 45–
51.
150 [7] M. Ghodbane et B. Boumeddane, Estimating solar
ML

radiation according to semi empirical approach of

PERRIN DE BRICHAMBAUT: application on several
100
areas with different climate in Algeria, International
Journal of Energetica, vol. 1, no 1, 2016, pp. 20-29.
50

0
09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 15:30 16:10
Time (h)

Figure.10. Productivity of distilled water through experiments

IJECA-ISSN: 2543-3717. June 2017 Page 45

View publication stats