The Impact of Wind Speed on the Rate of Water Evaporation in a Desalination Chamber

Abstract

Water is very important to human life, and its use is increasing as the population grows. However, sources of fresh water on the earth's surface are limited, as seawater covers most of the earth. Therefore, seawater desalination is a potential solution to water shortages. Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater to produce fresh water. Desalination is particularly useful approach in Indonesia because two-thirds of this nation’s territory is ocean. Desalination involves two stages: evaporation and condensation. Wind speed affects the rate of evaporation. Thus, this study explores the effect of wind speed on the rate of evaporation. Wind speed was regulated using a fan, and wind speeds of 0 m/s, 0.6 m/s, 2.6 m/s, and 5 m/s were tested; the water temperature was kept constant at 60 ℃. The data were analyzed statistically to determine the effect of wind speed on the evaporation of seawater. The highest rate of evaporation occurred at a wind speed of 5 m/s and the lowest at a wind speed of 0 m/s. The highest amount of condensation occurred at a wind speed of 0.6 m/s and the lowest at a wind speed of 5 m/s.

Experimental Analysis of Various Implementations Quantity of Hollow Circular Fins on Solar Still Seawater Desalination

“…This is in line with the literature that solar intensity was a significant factor affecting the productivity and temperature efficiency of solar still performance [29]. Additionally, other literature suggests that wind speed and glass transmissivity were experimental productivity factors that might be disregarded [34,35]. Moreover, another piece of literature discussed the wind speed effect [36].…”

“…The amount of solar energy that is transferred into the internal chamber is greatly influenced by the transmissivity of the partition glass. This phenomenon is attributed to droplet film condensation, the thickness of the glass, and the type of material used [35,39]. Moreover, radiation is theoretically reflected in three distinct sections, including the partition glass, the seawater in the chamber, and the absorber plate [40].…”