Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Desalination
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/desal

Experimental and theoretical investigation on a hybrid LCPV/T solar still T

system
Guo Xinxin1, Zhang Heng
⁎,1
, Chen Haiping, Liang Kai, Huang Jiguang, Liu Haowen
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Seawater desalination has become one of the most promising means to address the growing scarcity of fresh-
LCPV/T water. In present paper, a hybrid low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (LCPV/T) solar still system was de-
Solar still signed and manufactured. It mainly consists of compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) with geometric con-
Experimental study centration ratio 4, photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) module, tracking subsystem and solar still to produce electricity
Electrical and thermal property
and freshwater simultaneously. Both mathematical model and experiments were established to reveal the effect
Exergy efficiency
of ambient factors such as solar radiation intensity and ambient temperature on the system performance. The
influence of glass condenser slope angle, saline water layer thickness and temperature difference between glass
condenser and saline water is studied. Moreover, the electrical property, thermal property, exergy efficiency and
desalination performance of the system are analyzed in the paper. The study results showed that the electrical
and thermal power, thermal efficiency, and freshwater yield increase with the increasing of solar radiation
intensity. Moreover, the saline water temperature in the solar still and the temperature difference between the
saline water and the glass condenser are major driving forces for the freshwater generation. The total freshwater
yield is increased with the increasing of the glass condenser angle. During the daytime, the hybrid system with
lower water layer thickness in the solar still can produce more freshwater. While at night, the system with higher
water layer thickness has higher freshwater production.

Nomenclature DH equivalent diameter of cooling Tref temperature corre-

pipe (m) sponding to the reference
electrical efficiency (K)
E electric energy rate generated by Tsky atmospheric temperature
Ac area of PV cells (m2) Tamb ambient temperature (K)
the PV cells (W) (K)
Apv area of photovoltaic panel (m2) Tg temperature of upper
Ee electric exergy (J) Tsol sun surface temperature
sloping glass condenser
(K)
(K)
Ein exergy of the working fluid at the Um maximum voltage of
Aw surface evaporation area (m2) Tf mean temperature of the
inlet of LCPV/T subsystem (J) LCPV/T subsystem (V)
working fluid (K)
Eth thermal exergy (J) Uoc open-circuit voltage
Ag area of condensate surface (m2) Tfi temperature of the
Eout exergy of the working fluid at the V volume flow of the
working fluid at the inlet
outlet of LCPV/T subsystem (J) working fluid (L/h)
of LCPVT subsystem (K)
Esol solar exergy (J) va ambient wind speed (m/s)
C geometric concentration ratio of Tfo temperature of the
ρw density of saline water (kg/m3) W width of cooling channel
the CPC working fluid at the outlet
(m)
of LCPVT subsystem (K)
e specific exergy (J/kg) Greek letters
cpf specific heat at constant working Tg1 temperature of the upper
ef height of the cooling pipe (m) αc absorptivity of PV cells
fluid pressure (J/(kg·K)) glass cover (K)
h specific enthalpy (J/kg) αg absorptivity of the upper
cpg specific heat at constant pressure Tg2 temperature of the lower
glass cover
of the glass cover (J/(kg·K)) glass cover (K)
hamb convection heat transfer coeffi- αw absorptivity of water in
cpw specific heat at constant pressure Ti thermal insulating layer
cient between insulation and en- the solar still
of seawater (J/(kg·K)) temperature (K)
vironment (W/(m2·K))

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhangchongheng@hotmail.com (Z. Heng).
1
These authors contributed equally to this study and shared first authorship.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.07.003
Received 17 March 2019; Received in revised form 17 June 2019; Accepted 3 July 2019
0011-9164/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

hf convection heat transfer coeffi- τg transmissivity of upper QI solar energy rate absorbed by the ξth thermal exergy efficiency
cient of working fluid and glass sloping glass condenser LCPV/T (W)
cover (W/(m2·K)) U overall heat transfer coefficient τg transmissivity of the glass
hfg latent heat of sea water (W/ τw transmissivity of working (W/(m2·K)) cover
(m2·K)) fluid Qr radiation heat transfer loss rate of σ Stefan-Boltzmann constant
hin specific enthalpy of the working β electrical efficiency at- LCPV/T (W)
fluid at the inlet of LCPV/T sub- tenuation coefficient qc convection heat transfer rate from ψs conversion coefficient for
system (J/kg) (K−1) sea water to upper sloping glass the exergy of solar radia-
hout specific enthalpy of the working βc packing factor condenser (W/m2) tion
fluid at the outlet of LCPV/T sub- qe evaporation thermal energy n quantity of LCPV/T unit
system (J/kg) transfer rate from the sea water to
hc convection heat transfer coeffi- r reflectivity of compound upper sloping glass condenser (W/
cient between working fluid and parabolic concentrator m2)
upper sloping glass condenser (W/ q_ga convection heat transfer loss rate (ατ)eff Effective absorptivity and
(m2·K)) from the upper sloping glass con- transmittivity
I tracking solar radiation intensity δC thickness of the PV cells denser to environment (W/m2)
(W/m2) (m) qk thermal energy loss rate from sea hp1 Penalty factor from PV
Id global horizontal solar radiation δE thickness of the EVA (m) water in the solar still to ambience cell, upper glass and EVA
intensity (W/m2) (W/m2)
Pg partial pressure of water vapor at δg1 thickness of the upper qr radiation heat transfer rate from hp2 Penalty factor from lower
condensation glass cover (m) sea water to upper sloping glass glass and fluid
Pw partial pressure of water vapor at δg2 thickness of the lower condenser (W/m2)
vaporized glass cover (m) s specific entropy (J/(kg·K)) T thermal energy rate gen-
Fwg angle factor of the solar still δg3 thickness of the cooling erated by the LCPV/T (W)
pipe (m) sin inlet specific entropy of the Re Reynolds number
Im maximum current of LCPV/T sub- δi thickness of the thermal working fluid (J/(kg·K))
system (A) insulating layer (m) sout outlet specific entropy of working ηd Daily efficiency
Isc short-circuit current εg emissivity of glass fluid (J/(kg·K))
IL light current (A) Rs series resistance (Ω) Abbreviations
I0 diode reverse saturation current Rsh shunt resistance (Ω) CPC compound parabolic concentrator LCPV/ low concentration photo-
(A) T voltaic/thermal
Ie output current (A) V output voltage (V) EVA ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer PR performance ratio
FF fill factor of the solar cell εn emissivity of the conden- Subscripts
sate surface r reference sc short circuit
kcg1 conduction heat transfer coeffi- εw emissivity of seawater mp maximum power point oc open circuit
cient of PV cells and the upper t from cell to ambience T from PV cell to working
glass cover (W/(m2·K)) fluid
a ideality factor ηc theoretical electrical effi- tT from upper glass to lower glass tf from upper glass to
ciency of the PV cells through PV cell working fluid through PV
kcg2 conduction heat transfer coeffi- ηe electrical efficiency of cell
cient of PV cells and the lower LCPV/T subsystem LCPV/T- from LCPV/T module to ambience insu from insulation layer to
glass cover (W/(m2·K)) amb ambience
kfamb convection heat transfer coeffi- ηr PV cells reference elec-
cient of the working fluid and trical efficiency
environment (W/(m2·K)) 1. Introduction
kglamb convection heat transfer coeffi- ηth thermal efficiency of
cient of the upper glass cover and LCPV/T subsystem
environment (W/(m2·K))
As freshwater resources are being constantly depleted, seawater
hglsky radiation heat transfer coefficient ηo overall efficiency of the desalination has become one of the most promising means to address
of the upper glass cover and sky LCPV/T subsystem the fresh water shortage. Many water-stressed or arid regions are aug-
(W/(m2·K)) menting water supply with desalinated water to resolve the growing
L Length of cooling channel (m) λc thermal conductivity of PV
scarcity of freshwater because of increasing population in many field
cells (W/(m·K))
m0 hourly accumulated fresh water λE thermal conductivity of [1] (e.g. industrial engineering, agriculture and tourism). Even in some
yield (kg) the EVA (W/(m·K)) countries of Middle East and North Africa region (especially in Qatar
me mass rate of vapor generated in λg1 thermal conductivity of and Kuwait), where they belong to arid and semi-arid areas, the supply
the solar still (kg/s) the upper glass cover (W/
of water completely relies on desalinated water for domestic and in-
(m·K))
m mass rate of working fluid (kg/s) λg2 thermal conductivity of
dustrial consumption [2].
the lower glass cover (W/ Fossil resources are required for desalination in conventional de-
(m·K)) salination plant [3]. Escalating global demand for freshwater supply is
Mg glass cover mass (kg) λg3 thermal conductivity of doomed to accelerate the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the in-
the cooling pipe (W/
creasing of greenhouse gas emissions. To solve this dilemma, renewable
(m·K))
Mw seawater mass flow (kg/s) λi thermal conductivity of and sustainable resources such as solar energy have been gradually
the thermal insulating utilized [4]. Therefore, in recent years, many researches devote to
layer (W/(m·K)) studying the combination of seawater desalination with solar energy.
Pe electric power of LCPV/T sub- λw thermal conductivity of Velmurugan et al. [5] did comparative experiments on a single basin
system (W) the working fluid (W/
(m·K))
solar still with fin and conventional single basin solar still. The result
Pth thermal power of LCPV/T sub- μ working fluid dynamic showed that the daily freshwater yield of the conventional single basin
system (W) viscosity (Pa·s) solar still was 1.88 kg/m2. Dehghan et al. [6] carried out a single-basin
Pr Prandtl number ν working fluid kinematic solar still with a thermoelectric module. The result showed that its daily
viscosity (m2/s)
freshwater yield was 2.4 L/m2. Al-Sulttani et al. [7] designed a double-
Qa convection heat transfer loss rate ξo overall exergy efficiency
from LCPV/T to environment (W) slope solar still hybrid with rubber scrapers. The solar still had small
Qc Solar energy rate transmitted ξe electrical exergy efficiency slope of condensing covers and the use of rubber scrapers on the inner
through upper glass and absorbed side of condenser to improved freshwater yield and heat transfer
by PV cells (W) coefficient. When the inclination angle of the glass cover was about 3°,
the daily yield was 4.24 L/m2. Arunkumar et al. [8] studied the

2
G. Xinxin, et al.
performance of a single-slope solar still with and without phase change
material below which a solar concentrator was set. The freshwater
yields of the single-slope solar still with and without phase change
material were 4460 mL/m2/day and 3520 mL/m2/day, respectively.
Dehghan et al. [9] theoretically studied a thermoelectric assisted solar
still. Its daily freshwater yield was 2.4 L/m2.
Compared to photovoltaic (PV) and solar collector，the photo-
voltaic/thermal (PV/T) module has higher solar energy utilization ef-
ficiency [10,11]. Hence, hybrid PV/T solar still has been increasingly
drawn many researchers' attention. Gude et al. [12] carried out theo-
retical studies on a PV/T desalination system to produce electricity and
freshwater. The results showed that 150–200 L/day of fresh water and
21 (kW h)/day electricity can be generated with a 25 m2 area PV/T
collectors. Kumar and Tiwari [13] proposed a hybrid PV/T active solar
still, which was self-sustainable and can be used in remote areas. Ac-
cording to the results, the maximum daily yield was 7.22 kg at 0.05 m
water depth, which was about 3.2 to 5.5 times higher than the daily
water productivity of a passive solar still. Moreover, Kumar [14] de-
signed and tested a new self-sustained hybrid PV/T-integrated-active
solar still system. The pump used in the system was driven by the power
generated by the PV/T module and saline water in the still was heated
by PV/T. Saeedi et al. [15] theoretically optimized a PV/T active solar
still. When mass flow rate was 0.044 kg/s, the energy efficiency of the
solar still was 21.56%. Furthermore, the daily freshwater productivity
was increased with the increasing number of the PV/T collectors, but
was not higher than 8.37 kg. Naroei et al. [16] theoretically and ex-
perimentally analyzed the PV/T stepped solar still. They found desired
value of mass flow rate and PV/T collector area was 0.068 kg/min and
1.33 m2 to achieve optimum energy efficiency of the system. The daily
freshwater yield is approximately 5.71 kg/m2. Dev and Tiwari [17]
established the characteristic equation of a hybrid (PV/T) active solar
still using non-linear and linear equations. The instantaneous efficiency
loss was estimated and the accuracy of the non-linear equations was
better than the linear. Boubekri et al. [18] studied the freshwater
productivity of a PV/T active solar still by selecting 3 typical days to
represent respectively winter, spring and summer. The solar still cou-
pled with PV/T had 47.61%, 137.50% and 131.06% higher freshwater
yield for the winter, spring and summer than the one without PV/T.
Singh et al. [19] comparatively studied a double slope active solar still
with flat plate collector and PV module connected in series and parallel.
The result showed that the maximum water production 7.54 kg/day
was obtained for the parallel configuration. Mazraeh et al. [20] theo-
retically studied a PV-PCM solar still system. The result showed that
when 30 tubes and 3 cm PCM were used in the basin of the solar still,
the daily freshwater yield reached 4.5503 kg/m2. Mohamed et al. [21]
experimentally studied a double slope solar still connected with para-
bolic trough collector in series. It was found that its freshwater yield
was about 142.3% higher than the convention solar still without col-
lector in summer. Manokar et al. [22] investigated the insulation in-
fluence on the performance of a PV/T solar still. The daily yields of the
solar stills with sidewall and bottom insulation, with sidewall insulation
and without any insulation were 7.3 kg, 4.4 kg and 3.7 kg respectively.
Thus, with better insulation, the freshwater productivity of solar still
was higher.
The higher the saline water temperature in the solar still, the more
the freshwater yield. Though PV/T can improve water temperature, but
its temperature rise is limited due to limited solar radiation intensity on
the PV panel. To obtain higher solar radiation intensity and enhance
inlet temperature of sola still. CPC-PV/T was gradually analyzed, which
can concentrate solar ray on the PV panel so that the solar radiation
intensity received by the PV/T module is increased and the efficiency to
utilize solar energy is higher than the one without CPC [23]. And the
outlet temperature of PV/T can be improved due to using CPC [24]. Xu
et al. [25] investigated the performance of a CPC with concentration
ratio of 3.4. The results showed that its outlet temperature reached
75 °C. And its maximum instantaneous thermal efficiency was 50%. Li
3
Desalination 468 (2019) 114063
et al. [26–28] analyzed an air-gap lens-walled CPC-PV/T (ALCPC-PV/T)
and found that its outlet temperature was higher to 70 °C. The electrical
and thermal efficiencies of the ALCPC-PV/T were 6% and 35% re-
spectively. The uniformity of the sun ray's distribution on PV panel was
improved [24,29,30].
Therefore, solar still integrated with CPC-PV/T system is increas-
ingly sensible choice to improve saline water temperature in solar still
so that to gain more freshwater. Hassan et al. [31] did experimental
work on a double solar still with tracking parabolic trough collector.
The result indicated that summer and winter daily freshwater pro-
ductivity were 10.93 L/m2 and 5.1 L/m2, respectively. Singh [32] si-
mulated the performance of a PV/T-CPC active solar still. The optimum
mass flow rate and optimum number of collectors were found to
0.04 m/s and 7 respectively. Singh and Tiwari [33,34] comparatively
researched the single and double slope PV/T-CPC active solar distilla-
tion systems on exergoeconomic, enviroeconomic and productivity
analyses. At a water depth of 0.14 m, the exergoeconomic parameter,
enviroeconomic parameters, productivity and cogeneration efficiency
of double-slope solar still system were 16.2%, 21.5%, 8.6% and 5.7%
higher than the single-slope.
In the study, a hybrid LCPV/T solar still system was designed and
tested. Compared to various PV/T-CPC above [26,27,32] and conven-
tional single-basin solar still [5,6], the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system
can improve thermal efficiency and daily freshwater yield, and generate
reasonable overall exergy efficiency and thermal and electrical effi-
ciency. Meanwhile, versus flat-plate PV/T system, its electrical and
thermal power output can be enhanced due to concentrating sunlight
on PV panel. Therefore, in the paper, theoretically and experimentally
investigates on the effect of solar radiation intensity and ambient
temperature on the system performance are carried out. The influence
of glass condenser slope angle, saline water layer thickness and tem-
perature difference between glass condenser and saline water is ana-
lyzed in the study as well.
2. Experimental work
The experimental bench was established at the roof of the main
building F in North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China,
where latitude is N40°10′38.33″ and longitude is E116°23′59.14″. The
experiments were carried out during June to August 2017.
2.1. Design and principle of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system
Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still
system. Its main components are a saline water tank, a LCPV/T sub-
system, three solar stills with different slope angles.
Actually, it was designed to have one solar still operating in the
hybrid system, but for the sake of experimental investigation, three
solar stills connected in parallel are adopted in the experiments to in-
vestigate the different slope angles (25°, 35° and 45°) of the upper glass
condenser influence on the freshwater productivity and performance
ratio (PR). The inlet of each solar still is equipped with valve at inlet for
on-off application. Each solar still has a closed-box structure with an
upper sloping glass condenser. The basin is surrounded by insulating
layer and the bottom is covered with absorber plate to absorb solar
energy. Besides, the inner sides of the basin are covered by mirror to
reflect sunlight in to the absorber plate. Thermocouples are attached on
the inner side of the glass condensers and bottoms of the basins to
measure the temperatures of the inner glass condensers and saline
water in the stills. The evaporation area equals to the area of basin
bottom and the condensation area is equivalent to the glass condenser
area. Fig. 2(b) shows the photo of three solar stills with different slope
angles (25°, 35° and 45°). And the essential parameters information of
the solar stills is listed in Table 1.
The LCPV/T subsystem used in the hybrid system possesses the
same design as that in the authors prior study [35–37]. The LCPV/T
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the solar still integrated with LCPV/T hybrid system.

Table 2
Nominal parameters of the PV panel (rated at 1000 W/m2 solar irradiation
and 25 °C PV cell temperature).
Manufacturer Yingli Energy (China) Co., Ltd.

Module type Monocrystalline

Area 0.243 m2
Rated electric power 40.0 W
Rated voltage 23.7 V
Rated current 1.70 A
Open-circuit voltage 28.3 V
Short-circuit current 1.81 A
Electric efficiency 17%

Fig. 2. Experimental apparatus of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system. (a) The Table 3
LCPV/T subsystem. (b) The solar stills with different slope angles (25°, 35° and Parameters of the LCPV/T subsystem.
45°). Parameter Specifications

Size of CPC 850 * 570 mm2

Table 1 Geometric concentration ratio 4
Parameters of solar still. Reflectivity 0.93
Size of PV panel 1700 * 226 * 4 mm3
Parameter Specifications
Area of PV cells 1560 * 156 mm2
Thickness of the upper glass cover 3.2 mm
Evaporation area 1 × 1 m2
Thickness of the EVA 0.9 mm
Condensation area (25°) 1.103 m2
Thickness of the PV cells 0.2 mm
Condensation area (35°) 1.221 m2
Thickness of the lower glass cover 3.2 mm
Condensation area (45°) 1.414 m2
Thickness of the glass backplane 3.2 mm
Material of insulating layer Polyurethane
Thickness of the insulating layer 15 mm
Material of solar still walls 304 stainless steel
Length of the glass channel 1710 mm
Thickness of insulating layer 45 mm
Width of the glass channel 165 mm
Thickness of solar still walls 2 mm
Height of the glass channel 10 mm
Thickness of upper sloping glass 7 mm
Depth of basin on the lower side 0.31 m

subsystem has four LCPV/T units connected in series and each LCPV/T
unit consists of a flat-plate PV/T panel and two CPCs that concentrate
solar rays on PV panel. The CPC is self-designed [36] and mainly made
of curved mirror. The PV panel consists of upper and lower glass covers
and monocrystalline PV cell between the two covers. The panel was
manufactured by Yingli Energy (China) CO., LTD. Nominal parameters
of the PV panel provided by the manufacturer are listed in Table 2. EVA
is used to attach the PV cell between the upper and lower glass covers.
Since with sun rays concentrated on the PV panel, high temperature
exists in the PV cell leading to the electrical efficiency decreased.
Therefore, glass cooling channel is attached to the backplane of the PV
panel to take the heat away and reduce the temperature. Meanwhile,
the cold saline water flowing through cooling channel can possess high-
grade heat due to convection heat transfer from the PV panel to the
water, and the heated saline water then enters the solar still for desa-
lination. Since the saline water in the solar still is preheated by the
LCPV/T subsystem, higher freshwater productivity can be obtained
than the conventional solar still [5,6]. Insulating layer surrounds the
glass channel to diminish heat loss. Moreover, considering meteor-
ological conditions characterizing the implementation location, LCPV/
T subsystem is equipped with tracking subsystem where a photo-
sensitive probe is set to detect sun rays so that its aperture can be
normal to the sun rays to receive maximum solar energy. Fig. 2(a)

4
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

shows the photo of LCPV/T subsystem. And the essential parameters 2.3. Characteristics of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system
information of the LCPV/T subsystem is tabulated in Table 3.
In the whole system, the cold saline water stored in the saline water The present hybrid LCPV/T solar still system has the following ad-
tank initially flows through the glass cooling channels of the LCPV/T vantages.
unit in sequence to be preheated, taking the heat produced by PV panel
away, increasing saline water temperature, and reducing the PV panel 1) Save fossil energy. Instead of fossil energy, inexhaustible and green
temperature. After that, the preheated water enters into the solar still to solar energy is the heat source of the entire system. With it, the
be further heated and to undergo phase change because of evaporation hybrid system realizes the electricity and freshwater generation si-
in the basin of the solar still. Subsequently, the generated vapor is multaneously, consuming less fossil energy.
condensed to freshwater on the inner surface of the upper sloping glass 2) Higher freshwater yield. The maximum daily freshwater yield of the
condenser. The distilled water on the inner surface flows down the current system was higher than a conventional solar still system
sloping condenser due to the gravity, entering a gutter. The produced without LCPV/T subsystem.
freshwater is eventually collected and measured by calibrated flask. 3) Higher electricity generation. Since the LCPV/T subsystem has the
Since the PV panel with CPC receives greater solar radiation intensity CPC with geometric concentration ratio 4. Thus, the PV/T panel can
due to sunlight concentrated on the panel, the temperature of the PV receive greater solar radiation intensity than the conventional flat-
panel significantly rises leading the electrical efficiency goes down. plate PV/T panel without CPC [47]. Besides, a tracking system is
Therefore, to guarantee the electrical efficiency and electrical power, equipped with the LCPV/T subsystem and its apertures can be ver-
the saline water flows through the glass cooling channels attached on tical to the sun rays. Hence, the LCPV/T subsystem can obtain
the backplate of PV panel can effectively remove heat. stronger solar radiation intensity. The greater the solar radiation
The hybrid system realizes comprehensive utilization of solar en- intensity received, the higher the electrical power obtained. There-
ergy. That is, solar energy is conversed to electrical energy and waste fore, the electric power generated by the hybrid system per square
heat in the LCPV/T subsystem is reutilized by the solar still to enhance meter of the PV panel is higher.
freshwater yield. 4) Fit for distributed application. The hybrid system can be applied in
the freshwater-shortage area where sunlight is usually plentiful,
2.2. Instrumentation such as island. It can provide electricity and freshwater for domestic
utilization.
The instruments bellow were used to control and measure the var-
ious parameters of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system in the experi-
ments. Their functions are introduced as follows. The specifications of 2.4. Uncertainty analysis
the instruments are presented in Table 4.
To preserve the accuracy of experimental results, uncertainty ana-
1. Solar radiation sensor: CMP6 type total radiometer was used to lysis was conducted in the study. The directly tested parameters include
measure local solar radiation intensity. m, I, Tfi, Tfo, Um, Im.
2. Anemometer: HL-FS2 type anemometer was used to measure am- The uncertainty of thermal efficiency ηth can be determined by:
bient wind speed.
3. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT): Tracer 4215BN type MPPT 2 2 2 2
th th th th
was used. It can detect the maximum voltage and current generated th = · m + · I + · Tfo + · Tfi
m I Tfo fi
by the hybrid system and charge storage battery with maximum
power. (1)
4. IV Curve tester: IVT-30-1000 type was used to measure the voltage,
where Δηth, ΔI, ΔTfo, ΔTfi are the uncertainties of ηth, I, Tfo, Tfi, re-
current and power generated by the hybrid system.
spectively.
5. Calibrated flask: Three calibrated flasks were adopted to collect and
The uncertainty of solar electrical efficiency ηe can be determined
measure the freshwater yield.
by:
6. Solenoid valve: SKD62U type was used to control the flow water
rater in the LCPV/T subsystem. 2 2 2
7. Thermocouple: The inlet and outlet temperatures of the LCPV/T = e
· I + e
· Um + e
· Im
e
subsystem, saline water temperatures in the solar stills and inner I Um Im (2)
surfaces temperatures of the glass condensers and ambient tem-
perature were measured by the TT-T-30-sle type thermocouples. where Δηe, Δηth, ΔI, ΔUm and ΔIm are the uncertainties of ηe, ηth, I, Um
8. Flowmeter: The flow rate in the LCPV/T subsystem was measured by and Im, respectively. The uncertainty value of the thermal efficiency
LZDC-15/J1/F/R1/M5 type flowmeter. and electrical efficiency are shown in Fig. 7 by error bar, and the
9. Data acquisition module: ADAM5000TCP/5017P/5018P type was maximum uncertainties of the thermal efficiency and electrical effi-
adopted to collect and record all the data measured by the above ciency are ± 10.01% and ± 1.70%, respectively.
instruments. It transfers the experiment data to computer.

Table 4
Specifications of the used instruments.
Test equipment/Type Measuring range Accuracy Manufacturer

2
Total radiometer/CMP6 0–2000 W/m ± 1% Netherlands, Kipp&zonen Co.
Flowmeter/LZDC-15/J1/F/R1/M5 30–300 L/h ± 2.5% Ningbo, China, Dongchi measurement and control technology Co. Ltd.
Solenoid valve/SKD62U 0.04–0.6 m3/h ± 1% SIEMENS Co.
Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)/Tracer4215BN ± 1% Beijing Epsolar Technology Ltd.
IV Curve tester/IVT-30-1000 10–1000 V 0.1–30 A ± 1% Kewell Power Ltd.
Data acquisition module/ADAM5000TCP/5017P/5018P ± 0.1% Advantech (China) Technology Co. Ltd.
Thermocouple (TT-T-30-sle) −100–400 °C ± 0.4%

5
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Fig. 3. Photograph of a LCPV/T unit (left) and cross-section view of a PV/T unit

Q r + Qc + E + T = Q I (3)

3. Mathematical model The expression for hamb is [40]:

hamb = 3va + 2.8 (7)
3.1. Model for LCPV/T subsystem
The expression for hf is:
Fig. 3 presents the photo of a LCPV/T unit and cross-section view of Nuw w
a PV/T unit marked in red box. According to the energy conservation hf =
DH (8)
equations for various components of LCPV/T unit, relevant thermal
parameter formulas ((3)–(6)) can be obtained [39] as follows.where When Re < 2300,
1 Nuw = 7.54 (9)
( )eff = g[ c c + g (1 c) c c ], UT = and Ut
g2 E C
+ + 2 C When Re > 2300, using by the Dittus-Boelter formula [41]:
g2 E

1 Nuw = 0.023Re0.8Pr 0.4 (10)

= . Tcell
g1 E C 1 1
+ + + +
g1 E 2 C hamb h g1sky The relationship between Tsky and the environment temperature is
hp1 ( )eff I + UtT Tamb + hf Tf as follows:
=
UtT + hf (4) Tsky = 0.0552T1.5
amb (11)
where hp1 = and UtT =
1
.
UT
UT + Ut 1
+
1 The glass covers and glass channel have the same thermal con-
Ut UT
Tfo ductivity:

hp1 hp2 ( )eff I WTULCPVT amb

g1 = g2 = g3 (12)
= Tamb + 1 exp + Tfi
UL mCPf VL
Re =
WTULCPVT amb
3.6*106e f lf (13)
exp
mCPf (5) µC pf
Pr = =
where a w (14)

hf 1 4
T g1 4
T sky
hp 2 = , ULCPVT amb = Uinsu + Utf , Uinsu = 1
and Utf k g1sky =
hf + UtT i
+ g
i hamb Tg1 Tsky (15)
1 1 L
= 1 1
. Tf = Tf (x ) dx Pth = mcpf (Tfo Tfi) (16)
+ L X =0
UtT hf
Pth
hp1 hp2 ( )eff I WTULCPVT th _ LCPV / T =
= Tamb + 1 1 exp amb CIrAc (17)
UL mCPf
Fig. 4 depicts the equivalent electrical circuit of the LCPV/T sub-

/
WTULCPVT amb
+
Tfi 1 exp ( WTULCPVT amb
mCPf ) system [39,42]. Its corresponding PV model equation is defined below
[39,42].
mCPf . Based on I-V characteristic of PV panel, the value of ar, IL, r, I0, r, Rs, r
WTULCPVT and Rsh, r can be obtained by solving Eq. (18) at the following reference
amb
mCPf conditions where [d(IeV)/dV]mp = 0; [dIe/dV]SC = − 1/Rsh, r; when
Ie = Isc, r, V = 0; when Ie = 0, V = Voc, r; when Ie = Imp, r, V = Vmp, r.
(6)
Under reference conditions, Tcell,r = 298.15 K and Ir = 1000 W/m2
where dx is an element length of the glass cooling channel. [39,42].

6
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Fig. 4. Equivalent electrical circuit of the LCPV/T subsystem [39,42]

V + Ie Rs (V + Ie Rs )
Ie = IL I0 exp 1
a Rsh (18)

Imp, new = Imp, r + I (19) Fig. 5. Energy transfer process in the solar still.
Vmp, new = Vmp, r + V (20)
(Solar energy rate transmitted through upper sloping glass con-
ICr ICr
I= T+ Isc, r denser and absorbed by the saline water) = (Evaporation thermal en-
Ir Ir 1 (21) ergy transfer rate from the saline water to upper sloping glass
V= T Rs I (22) condenser) + (Radiation heat transfer rate from saline water to upper
sloping glass condenser) + (Convection heat transfer rate from saline
T = Tcell Tcell, r (23) water to upper sloping glass condenser) + (Thermal energy loss rate
Electrical power of the LCPV/T subsystem can be obtained by the from saline water in the solar still to ambience) + (Stored energy rate
following equation. of the saline water in the solar still)
Pe = Imp, new Vmp, new (24)
3.2.2. Energy conservation equation for the upper sloping glass condenser
Electrical efficiency of the LCPV/T subsystem can be calculated as
dTg
follows. q e + qr + q c + gI = q ga + Cp,g Mg
dt (33)
Pe
= (Evaporation thermal energy transfer rate from the saline water to
(25)
e
CIrA c
upper sloping glass condenser) + (Radiation heat transfer rate from
o = e + th _LCPV / T (26) saline water to upper sloping glass condenser) + (Convection heat
transfer rate from saline water to upper sloping glass
Since the quality of electrical energy is higher than that of thermal
condenser) + (Solar energy rate absorbed by the upper sloping glass
energy, the Eq. (26) cannot reflect the overall efficiency of the LCPV/T
condenser) = (Convection and radiation heat transfer loss rate from the
subsystem from the second law of thermodynamics. Therefore, overall
upper sloping glass condenser to environment) + (Stored energy rate in
exergy efficiency is adopted as follows [21].
the upper sloping glass condenser)
Ee + Eth The expression for qr [39] is:
= + =
o e th
Esol (27)
(T 4w T 4g )
Ee = Pe (28) qr =
1 w 1 (1 g)
Aw + +
Aw w Aw Fwg Awg g (34)
Tout
Eth = mCpf (Tout Tin) Tamb ln
Tin (29) The expression for Fwg is:

Esol = (30) (bc + ad ) (ac + bd )

s CIAPV Fwg =
2ab (35)
4
4Tamb 1 Tamb
s =1 + where a, b, c and d are four vertexes of the solar still shown in Fig. 5.
3Tsol 3 Tsol (31) Since tilt angles of the upper sloping glass condenser are adopted as 25°,
where Tsol = 5760 K. 35° and 45°, with different tilt angles, the Fwg is varied.
The expression for qc is:
3.2. Model for solar still q c = h c (Tw Tg) (36)

Fig. 5 indicates energy transfer process in the solar still. To obtain The expression for hc is [48]:
mathematical model of the solar still, the energy conservation equa- 1
tions for its component are as follows, where both secondary reflection (Pw Pg )*(TW + 273) 3
hc = 0.884 × (TW Tg ) +
and secondary absorption in the solar still are not taken into account for 268.9 × 103 Pw (37)
simplified analysis.
Dunkle [40] calculated the relationship between qe and qc as follow:
3.2.1. Energy conservation equation for the sea water in the solar still (Pw Pg )
q e = 16.273*10 3q c
dTw (Tw Tg ) (38)
I = q e + qr + q c + qk + Cp,w Mw
w
dt (32)
With eq. (36), the expression (38) can be simplified as follows:

7
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

q e = 16.273*10 3h c (Pw Pg) (39) Fig. 7 shows variations of the experimental and theoretical electrical
and thermal power of the hybrid system with time. All the experimental
The mass rate of vapor generated in the solar still me is expressed as:
and theoretical electrical and thermal power have the similar variation
qe trend as the tracking solar radiation intensity, initially increasing and
me =
hfg (40) then decreasing. The experimental electrical power is in agreement
with the theoretical, with RMSE 17.07%. The experimental electrical
The expression for qk is:
power is less than the theoretical value. In the experiment, the max-
qk = hamb (Tw Tamb) (41) imum electrical power is 369.49 W at 12:00 h, and the average is
332.05 W. The experimental thermal power is in accordance with the
The expression for q_ga is: theoretical, with RMSE 15.25%. The maximum experimental thermal
q ga = 4
g [T 4g (Ta 12) 4 ] + hamb (Tg Ta) (42) power is 2553.09 W at 14:00 h when the tracking solar radiation is
strongest, and the average is 2097.15 W. It is noted that when the
tracking solar radiation intensity is strongest, the peak value of thermal
3.2.3. Performance evaluation index for desalination part power occurs while the electrical power does not reach the maximum.
The performance ratio (PR) is a crucial parameter for the perfor- It is probably that with the tracking solar radiation intensity stronger,
mance of the desalination system evaluation [38,41]. Higher value of the temperature of the PV cell increases leading the electrical efficiency
PR means better system performance. The thermal energy for desali- and electrical power of the PV cell decreased.
nation is offered by two parts: heat supplied by the LCPV/T subsystem Fig. 8 depicts the variations of theoretical and experimental elec-
and solar energy directly absorbed by the solar still. Based on the fresh trical and thermal efficiencies with time. The RMSE between the ex-
water productivity and the solar radiation intensity with time, PR can perimental and theoretical electrical efficiencies is 17.07%, and the
be calculated as follows: experimental values are lower than the theoretical throughout the day.
The theoretical electrical efficiency slightly declines from 13.12% at
me *hfg *Aw
PR = 10:00 h to the minimum 12.91% at 14:00 h and then moderately rises to
rCIA c + Id Aw g (43) 14.01% at 17:00 h. The minimum experimental electrical efficiency is
10.42% at 14:00 h and the average is 10.98%. From 10:00 to 12:00, the
3.2.4. Daily efficiency of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system experimental electrical efficiency is moderately increased. The reason is
Daily efficiency is used to evaluate the entire system performance. probably due to uncertainty. As can be seen, the variation of the elec-
Its definition is the ratio of the daily energy output of the entire system trical efficiency is against that of the tracking solar radiation intensity.
to the solar energy absorbed by the entire system. Since 1 J thermal To be specific, when the tracking solar radiation intensity reaches the
energy cannot directly equal to 1 J electrical energy due to their dif- peak, the electrical efficiency is minimum. The cause is that the higher
ferent qualities based on the second law of thermodynamics, it is more the tracking solar radiation intensity, the higher the temperature of the
appropriate to convert the electrical energy output to equivalent PV cells, and that thus the electrical efficiency goes down. Moreover,
thermal energy output. Therefore, an energy conversion coefficient the experimental thermal efficiency is in accordance with the theore-
0.38 is used to convert electrical energy to the equivalent thermal en- tical and it shows similar variation trend as the tracking solar radiation
ergy [46]. intensity. The average experimental thermal efficiency can reach
The equation of the daily efficiency is as follows: 61.93%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the tracking solar radiation
intensity has positive effect on the thermal efficiency while plays a
me *hfg +Qe / f negative role on the electrical efficiency.
=
d
rC IAc + g Id Aw (44) Fig. 9 depicts the variations of theoretical and experimental overall
efficiency and overall exergy efficiency with time. The RMSE for the
where ∑me is accumulated freshwater yield, Qe is the produced elec- overall efficiency and overall exergy efficiency are 11.55% and 13.82%
trical energy, ηf is energy conversion coefficient, ∑I is total solar energy respectively. Since the grade of electrical energy is higher than that of
entering the aperture of the LCPV/T subsystem per square meter and the thermal energy, overall efficiency based on the first law of ther-
τg ∑ Id is total solar energy into the solar still per square meter. modynamics cannot reflect the system performance properly. Thus,
overall exergy efficiency based on the second law of thermodynamics is
4. Results and discussion adopted to evaluate the system performance. The experimental overall
exergy efficiency keeps generally stable and is slightly less than the
Fig. 6 below illustrates hourly variations of ambient parameters theoretical value. In the experiment, the maximum overall exergy ef-
(solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature and wind velocity) with ficiency reaches 15.50% and the average is 14.02%.
time. Both solar radiation intensity and ambient temperature were in- Fig. 10 shows variations of experimental inlet and outlet tempera-
itially increasing and then decreasing. Tracking solar radiation intensity tures of LCPV/T subsystem with time. The variation of the inlet tem-
was measured by a solar radiometer tracking the sun rays. Global perature is more stable than the outlet, ranging from 27.71 °C to
horizontal solar radiation intensity was measured by a solar radiometer 32.52 °C. The outlet temperature increases from 46.18 °C at 10:00 h to
fixed on the horizontal. The maximum tracking solar radiation intensity the maximum 59.61 °C at 14:00 h and then decreases to 44.30 °C at
1020.83 W/m2 occurred at 14:00 h. The maximum global horizontal 17:00 h. And it has similar variation trend as the thermal power in
solar radiation intensity was 953.23 W/m2 at 13:00 h, corresponding to Fig. 7.
a tracking solar radiation intensity 1018.12 W/m2. The maximum am- Fig. 11 demonstrates the variations of hourly freshwater yield as-
bient temperature 34.69 °C was obtained at 15:00 h. The maximum sociated with three different slopes (25°, 35° and 45°) of the glass
wind velocity was 1.92 m/s lower than 2 m/s, thus is breeze and its condensers. The three different angles (25°, 35° and 45°) are set up to
effect on the experiment results can be ignored. investigated the angle influence on the freshwater yield. Fig. 11 implies
For the sake of comparing the theoretical value with the experi- that the total freshwater yield is increased with the increasing of the
mental results, root mean square error (RMSE) is used by the following glass condenser angle due to condensation area increased. The overall
equation [39,42,43]. freshwater productivity per square meter solar still area from 9:00 to
[(Xtheo, i Xexp, i )/Xtheo, i ]2 17:00 is found to rise from 1664 mL/m2 to 2653 mL/m2 by increasing
RMSE = *100% the glass condenser slope from 25° to 45°. Therefore, the solar still with
n (45)
45° condenser slope performances best. One probable reason is that it

8
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Fig. 6. Variations of environmental parameters.

Fig. 7. Variations of experimental and theoretical electric power and thermal power with time.

Fig. 8. Variations of theoretical and experimental electrical efficiency and thermal efficiency with time.

9
G. Xinxin, et al.
Fig. 9. Variations of theoretical and experimental overall efficiency and overall exergy efficiency with time.
has largest condenser area among the three solar stills and thus can
distillate freshwater faster. And another is that 45° condenser slope is
good for the freshwater flowing down due to its larger slope angle.
Comparative experiment on a conventional solar still with glass
condenser slope 45° was carried out in the study. Compared with the
conventional design, the overall freshwater yield 2653 mL/m2 of the
hybrid system with glass condenser slope 45° from 9:00 to 17:00 is
higher than the conventional solar still whose overall freshwater yield
from 9:00 to 17:00 was 726.3 mL/m2. The reason is that LCPV/T system
enhances the saline water temperature in the solar still, benefiting the
freshwater yield. The floor area covered by the LCPV/T module and one
solar still is 5 m2. Considering this area, the freshwater yield of the
hybrid system with 45° condenser slope per square meter floor area is
530.6 mL/m2 from 9:00 to 17:00, lower than the conventional design
726.3 mL/m2 whose floor area is 1 m2. The reason is that the hybrid
system realizes water-electricity cogeneration and part of solar energy
is absorbed by PV panels of the LCPV/T module for electricity gen-
eration not for desalination. And the waste heat produced by the PV
panels is reutilized by saline water to improve its temperature and
enhance freshwater yield in the solar still.
All the hourly freshwater yield peaks of the three solar stills occur
during 13:00 to 14:00 when the tracking solar radiation intensity is
strongest. The maximum hourly freshwater yield is 501 mL/m2 corre-
sponding to the solar still with condenser slope 45°. In addition, the
hourly freshwater productivity has the same variation trend as the
tracking solar radiation intensity, but its peak is 1 h later than the peak
Fig. 10. Variations of experimental inlet and outlet temperatures of LCPV/T subsystem.
10
Desalination 468 (2019) 114063
of the global horizontal solar radiation intensity. One reason is that the
saline water temperature is mainly decided by the LCPV/T subsystem
and had maximum saline water temperature during 13:00 to 14:00,
leading the freshwater yield maximum. And another is that there is a
time lag between the freshwater yield and global horizontal solar ra-
diation intensity. During the time after 15:00, since the solar radiation
intensity declines, the heat loss of the solar stills increases resulting in a
reduction in the freshwater yield. After 15:00, the heat loss of the solar
still with glass condenser slope 45° is higher than that of the one with
35° due to its larger heat dissipation area (glass cover area) leading to
its hourly freshwater yield less than the one with condenser slope 35°.
Before desalination, the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the saline
water used in the experiments was 23,700 mg/L. And the TDS of the
freshwater produced by the system was 7.27 mg/L, meeting the re-
quirement of water salinity for human consumption [45]. Therefore,
the system can effectively realize desalination of saline water.
PR is a crucial index to evaluate the performance of a desalination
system. Here, the PR is calculated based on Eq. (43). According to
Fig. 12, the daily average PR is increased with the increasing of the
slope angle, and the maximum hourly PR is 6.97% obtaining from the
45° glass slope at 14:00 h when the tracking solar radiation intensity is
strongest. After 15:00, diminished solar radiation intensity and more
heat loss due to larger heat dissipation area of the solar still with glass
condenser angle 45° account for its PR lower than the one with con-
denser slope 35°.
It can be concluded from Figs. 11 and 12 that when the tracking
G. Xinxin, et al.
Fig. 11. Hourly variations of fresh water yield with three different slopes of glass condenser.
solar radiation intensity is diminished, it is more suitable to adopt a
solar still with a relatively small condenser angle to reduce the heat loss
and enhance the freshwater productivity.
(Right) Variation trends of PR versus tracking solar radiation in-
tensity
(Right) Variation trends of PR versus ambient temperature
As can be seen from Fig. 13 (left), variation trends of freshwater
yield are positive to the tracking solar radiation intensity. Fig. 13 fur-
ther supports the point that as the tracking solar radiation intensity is
diminished (lower than 950 W/m2 in the experiment), the heat loss of
the solar stills increases due to larger heat dissipation area of the solar
still with 45° glass condenser, inducing its freshwater productivity and
PR less than the solar still with 35° glass condenser. Meanwhile, Fig. 13
(right) indicates that the solar still with lower glass condenser angle has
less superiority on the desalination performance as the tracking solar
radiation intensity is not strong enough (less than 950 W/m2 in the
experiment).
Fig. 14 illustrates that both variation trends of the hourly freshwater
yield and PR increase, then slightly decrease and subsequently increase
with the ambient temperature increasing. At around 33 °C, the variation
shows downward trend, while after 33 °C, it shows upward trend. The
reason is probably that the tracking solar radiation intensity is weak
when the ambient temperature is 33 °C at 17:00 leading the freshwater
yield and PR declined. Meanwhile, after 33 °C, the tracking solar
Fig. 12. Variations of performance ratio associated with three different slopes of glass condenser.
11
Desalination 468 (2019) 114063
radiation intensity is strong thus the freshwater yield and PR go up.
Therefore, it can be concluded that though ambient temperature has
less effect on the freshwater yield and PR, but the tracking solar ra-
diation intensity plays a primary role on the freshwater yield and PR.
For the sake of the entire system performance evaluation, the daily
efficiency is considered. The daily efficiencies for the system with three
different condenser slopes are shown in Table 5. According to Table 5,
the system with 45° condenser slope performances best due to its
highest freshwater yield.
To analyze the effect of the temperature difference between the
saline water in the still and the glass condenser on freshwater yield, the
variations of the hourly freshwater yield and temperature difference
under constant slope angle were experimental studied the other day
(August 25th, 2017) and are depicted in Fig. 15. In Fig. 15, the hourly
freshwater yield shows similar variation tendency as that of the tem-
perature difference. The hourly freshwater yield rises as the tempera-
ture difference goes up. Both reach the peaks at 14:00. After 14:00, the
hourly freshwater yield goes down with the temperature difference
declined. Therefore, the temperature difference plays a stimulative role
on the freshwater productivity and is a major driving force for the
freshwater generation.
To further verify this conclusion, the data of the measured saline
water temperature and glass condenser temperature were used in the
solar still mathematical model to calculate theoretical freshwater yield.
G. Xinxin, et al.
Fig. 13. (Left) Variation trends of freshwater yield versus tracking solar radiation intensity.
The theoretical results are tabulated in Table 6, verifying the tem-
perature difference is a major driving force for the freshwater genera-
tion. The freshwater yield at 10:00 is significantly lower than the
others. It is probably that the both solar radiation intensity and ambient
temperature were relatively low from 9:00 to 10:00, leading the tem-
perature difference of the saline water and condenser glass is small.
In order to study the influence of different water layer thickness in
solar still on freshwater yield, experiments on the hybrid system with
different thickness of water layer (6 cm, 8 cm and 10 cm) in the 45°
slope solar still were carried out. The results were depicted in Fig. 16.
From 10:00 to 12:00, the freshwater yield under three different water
layer thickness is close due to relatively low solar radiation intensity in
the morning. Since the global horizontal solar radiation intensity is
relatively low, the saline water temperature in the solar still is mainly
decided by the LCPV/T subsystem outlet temperature. Thus, the saline
water temperatures in the solar still and the glass condenser tempera-
tures are similar. As a result, the freshwater yield under three different
water layer thickness are close from 10:00 to 12:00. From 12:00 to
14:00, the freshwater yield of solar still with 6 cm water layer is
highest, and the lowest is the one with 10 cm water layer. The cause is
that when solar radiation intensity is stronger, the solar still has in-
creasingly promotional influence on the saline water temperature. So,
during daytime, the solar still with lower water layer thickness can
produce more freshwater. After 15:00, all the freshwater yield goes
down due to declining solar radiation intensity.
Table 7 shows overall freshwater yield all night under different
water layer thickness in the solar still. With the thickness of the saline
water in the solar still increasing, the thermal capacity of the water is
augmented. Therefore, the saline water temperature in solar still is less
influenced and less decreased. As a result, the all-night freshwater yield
under 10 cm water layer is maximum. The all-night freshwater yield
under 6 cm water layer is minimum. So, at night the solar still with
higher water layer thickness can produce more freshwater.
5. Economic analysis
In the paper, the economy of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system
was estimated. The LCPV/T subsystem costs 10 ¥/W. The equivalent
Fig. 14. (Left) Variation trends of freshwater yield versus ambient temperature.
12
Desalination 468 (2019) 114063
Table 5
Daily efficiency of the entire system.
Condenser slope 25° 35° 45°
Daily efficiency 23.27% 24.57% 25.13%
LCPV/T subsystem investment is ¥ 3320 (if the average electrical power
output is 332 W). And the initial investment of the hybrid LCPV/T solar
still system is ¥ 3820. The maintenance and operating cost referred the
data of a PV/T solar still system is 10% of net present value (NPV) [44].
The benefit was calculated based on operation for 280 d a year. Table 8
lists the required economy parameters and assumptions for the eco-
nomic analysis. The economic analysis and benefit results are tabulated
in Table 9.
According to Table 9, the distilled water cost is 0.0095 ¥/L. The
NPV is greater than zero and the IRR is higher than the benchmark
yield, signifying the hybrid system is financially feasible.
6. Conclusion
In this study, a hybrid LCPV/T solar still system was designed and
manufactured to improve the solar still yield. The performance of the
system including electrical property, thermal property, exergy effi-
ciency and freshwater yield is theoretically and experimentally in-
vestigated. Besides, the economy of the hybrid LCPV/T solar still system
is estimated as well. The important conclusions can be drawn as fol-
lows:
(1) The theoretical and experimental results on thermal power and
electrical power are in good agreements. The thermal power is posi-
tively affected by the tracking solar radiation intensity, while the
electrical power is negatively affected by the tracking solar radiation
intensity.
(2) The tracking solar radiation intensity has stimulative effect on
the thermal efficiency while plays a negative role on the electrical ef-
ficiency. The experimental thermal and electrical efficiencies are in
accordance with the theoretical.
(3) The overall exergy efficiency based on the second law of
G. Xinxin, et al. Desalination 468 (2019) 114063

Fig. 15. Variation of hourly freshwater yield and temperature difference between saline water in the still with 45°slope and its glass condenser.

Table 6 Table 7
Theoretical hourly freshwater yield under constant condenser slope angle 45°. Overall freshwater yield all night under different water layer thickness in the
solar still.
Time Tw-Tg (°C) TW (°C) Tg (°C) Theoretical freshwater yield (g)
Water layer thickness 6 cm 8 cm 10 cm
10:00 0.5 36.7 36.2 3.2
11:00 7.1 46.1 38.9 153.1 Overall freshwater yield all night (mL) 1020.0 1385.4 2701.8
12:00 12.3 53.7 41.4 412.6
13:00 15.6 57.8 42.2 646.1
14:00 19.2 60.9 41.8 917.3
thickness in the solar still can produce more freshwater. While at night,
15:00 14.5 54.3 39.7 504.2
16:00 14.7 51.0 36.2 432.4 the system with higher water layer thickness has higher freshwater
17:00 13.0 47.0 34.0 309.0 production.
(6) The TDS of the produced freshwater in the hybrid system meets
the requirement of water salinity for human consumption
thermodynamics can better evaluate the system performance, com- (7) The economic analysis shows that the distilled water cost is
pared with the overall efficiency based on the first law of thermo- 0.0095 ¥/L and IRR value is 14.59%, corresponding to a recovery
dynamics. The maximum experimental overall exergy efficiency period of 6.64 years, signifying the hybrid system is financially feasible.
reaches 15.50% and the average is 14.02%.
(4) The overall freshwater yield of the system from 9:00 to 17:00 is
higher than the solar still without LCPV/T system. The fresh water yield Acknowledgments
increases with the increasing of solar still glass cover slope and has
positive relationship with tracking solar radiation intensity and tem- This work is financially supported by Beijing Municipal Science and
perature difference between glass condenser and saline water in solar Technology Commission(Z151100003515002), National Key Research
still. The ambient temperature and wind velocity have less effect on the and Development Program of China (2018YFB0604302), and Key
freshwater yield. Research and Development Program of Hebei Province (18214318D).
(5) During the daytime, the hybrid system with lower water layer

Fig. 16. Variation of hourly freshwater yield under different water layer thickness in the still with 45° slope.

13
G. Xinxin, et al.
Table 8
Required economy parameters and assumptions.
Equipment investment (¥) Maintenance and operating costs (¥/year) Design life (year)
3820 142.25 25
The exchange rate was 6.7858 RMB to 1 USD.
Table 9
Economic analysis and benefit results.
Water price NPV Internal Rate of Recovery period of static
(¥/L) Return (IRR) (%) investment (year)
0.0095 1422.49 14.59 6.64
The exchange rate was 6.7858 RMB to 1 USD.
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