Solar Distillation Practice for Water Desalination Systems

Book excerpt: This book essentially summarises the water shortage crisis in the world and its possible solution by using solar energy through solar stills. The world is facing an urgent problem. By 2015, 40 per cent of the world's population will be living in regions without adequate fresh water supply. Presently, almost all sea water desalination plans are electricity based and highly power intensive. With more than half the world likely to become dependent on sea water desalination such an energy-expensive scenario is clearly not sustainable.The aim of the book is to provide the most recent information on various practices, developments and improvements in water distillation, heat and mass transfer in solar distillation, thermal modelling and embedded energy of solar stills, and the applications of solar distillation in today's world. The concluding chapter also deals with economic analysis of solar distillation. To simplify the subject, figures, tables, solved examples and problems with hints are given at the end of each chapter, and there are appendices and a glossary of meaningful terms to assist the reader. The authors have written an outstanding academic work which carries weight and resonance beyond university courses and libraries, and which impacts on the global population.