As per the estimates of the world health organization (WHO) by 2025, about half of the world's population shall inhabit water-stressed areas. Water purification through usage of solar energy is a clean and lucrative option to ensure access to clean and safe drinking water. In most of the solar energy-driven desalination systems, evaporation of water is one of the key processes. In this direction, we propose that addition of nanoparticles into the water (owing to their enhanced thermo-physical properties and optical tunability) could significantly enhance the evaporation rate and thus the pure water yield. In the present work, we have developed a detailed theoretically model to predict (and quantify) the evaporation rates when water/nanoparticles dispersion directly interact with solar irradiance. In order to clearly gauge the effects of adding nanoparticles, two systems have been studied (i.e., the one with and the other without nanoparticles dispersed in water) under similar operating conditions. Theoretical calculations show that addition of even trace amounts of nanoparticles (volume fraction = 0.0001) into water can significantly enhance (57–58% higher than the pure water case) the evaporation rates and the pure water yield. Furthermore, a detailed parametric study involving host of parameters influencing the evaporation rate reveals that nanoparticle volume fraction, ambient temperature, and solar irradiance are the most impacting parameters. Finally, the results of the developed theoretical model have been compared with the experimental results in the literature, the two have been found to be in good agreement except at some nanoparticle volume fractions.
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February 2019
Research-Article
Using Solar Energy for Water Purification Through Nanoparticles Assisted Evaporation
Virender Ohri,
Virender Ohri
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
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Vikrant Khullar
Vikrant Khullar
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
e-mail: vikrant.khullar@thapar.edu
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
e-mail: vikrant.khullar@thapar.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Virender Ohri
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
Vikrant Khullar
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
e-mail: vikrant.khullar@thapar.edu
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Patiala 147004, Punjab, India
e-mail: vikrant.khullar@thapar.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING ENERGY CONSERVATION. Manuscript received January 6, 2018; final manuscript received July 24, 2018; published online September 14, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Gerardo Diaz.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2019, 141(1): 011008 (10 pages)
Published Online: September 14, 2018
Article history
Received:
January 6, 2018
Revised:
July 24, 2018
Citation
Ohri, V., and Khullar, V. (September 14, 2018). "Using Solar Energy for Water Purification Through Nanoparticles Assisted Evaporation." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2019; 141(1): 011008. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041099
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