In this manuscript, the performance of a commercial thermal evaporator powered using solar energy is described. The solar collector, known as the external compound parabolic concentrator (XCPC), is an emerging technology which combines nonimaging optics and metal-glass vacuum tube technology to provide high operating temperatures from a stationary collector. Paired with a commercial thermal evaporator, it provides a renewable heat alternative to fossil fuels for wastewater volume reductions. To assess performance, the team at UC Merced installed a 10 gallon-per-hour (0.037 m³/hr) thermal evaporator and connected it to a 30 kW solar thermal collector field. The solar array operates between 130 and 150 °C, providing thermal energy to drive evaporation for 8 h each day. The single-stage thermal evaporator has a specific energy consumption of 776 kWh/m³. Performance of the array was then used to develop an annual performance model to extrapolate performance for different locations and thermal loads (e.g. other commercial and emerging water treatment and desalination technologies). Extrapolating performance yields an annual thermal generation of ~500 kWh_th useable heat delivered to the process load at 150 °C per square meter of solar field, although the team estimates a commercial installation can generate closer to 625 kWh/m²/year. Thus a commercial installation could process 2.5–3 m³ of product water per square meter each year. At these temperatures the thermal energy can also be used to decarbonize a number of other industrial processes such as evaporation, desalination, drying, and more.

在此手稿中，描述了使用太阳能驱动的商用热蒸发器的性能。太阳能集热器，称为外部复合抛物面聚光器（XCPC），是一种新兴技术，结合了非成像光学和金属玻璃真空管技术，可从固定式集热器提供较高的工作温度。与商用热蒸发器搭配使用时，它可提供替代矿物燃料的可再生热量，以减少废水量。为了评估性能，UC Merced的团队安装了每小时10加仑（0.037 m ³/ hr）热蒸发器并将其连接到30 kW太阳集热器领域。太阳能电池板的工作温度为130至150°C，每天提供热能以驱动蒸发8 h。单级热蒸发器的单位能耗为776 kWh / m ³。然后，利用阵列的性能来开发年度性能模型，以推断不同位置和热负荷下的性能（例如，其他商业和新兴的水处理和脱盐技术）。外推产生性能每年热发电〜500千瓦时的_第可用热以每太阳能场的平方米150℃输送到处理负荷，虽然小组估计商业安装可以生成更接近625千瓦时/米²/年。因此，商业设施每年可处理每平方米2.5–3 m ³的产品水。在这些温度下，热能还可用于使许多其他工业过程脱碳，例如蒸发，脱盐，干燥等。