Design of a Photovoltaic System for Preheating in Solar Desalination

Demand for water is substantially on the rise fueled by the unbridled population growthworldwide. Solar stills can be a proper solution to this demand in less denselypopulated areas with enough solar irradiation. The main drawback of thesedesalination systems is their low efficiency, which can be addressed by preheating.Microwave preheating was used in this study. Sunlight is a clean energy source thatcan be harnessed through solar cells. The study aimed at designing a photovoltaicsystem to supply power for an automated stepped solar desalination system withpreheating. The system included a water pump, a microwave stirrer, electric valvesand a microwave device. The photovoltaic system was designed for conditions ofTehran, Iran located at 35° latitude to store energy in a battery for three days and wasimplemented at TarbiatModares University.

Keywords:

Solar desalination , Preheating , Microwave , Photovoltaic system