Navid Zehtabiyan-Rezaie - Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) ۳۵۰, Hafez Ave., Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran
Negar Alvandifar - Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) ۳۵۰, Hafez Ave., Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran
Majid Saffar-Avval - Mechanical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) ۳۵۰, Hafez Ave., Valiasr Square, Tehran, Iran

This paper is a thermo-economics and ecological study for solving the water shortage problem in the central and southern regions of Iran using solar energy. Bandar-e Jask in the south and Sirjan in the central region of Iran have been selected for the study. Water desalination units can be single solar still or solar still combined with solar pond. The economic study shows that the use of solar stills assigned to each household is an economically favorable scenario in Bandar-e Jask, but the use of solar ponds can be a better method from an ecological point of view and in accordance with sustainable development standards. In Sirjan, results show that the transportation of saline water is not an economically favorable method, but if this is done, the use of solar stills combined with solar ponds could be considered for the brine management purpose.

Desalination; Solar energy; Economic analysis; Solar still; Solar pond; Sustainability