The fossil fuels that power conventional desalination systems cause substantial environmental impact. Solar desalination can satisfy critical water needs with only a minimal contribution to global warming. The current work presents an attractive new design suitable for regions with limited water resources and high solar radiation rates. This work is an experimental study of a newly designed, solar-powered, multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination plant. The design could address the need to increase the limited water resources in solar energy-rich areas. The prototype consists of a solar collector, an MSF unit, and a novel dual thermal storage tank design. In this prototype, preheated brine is directly heated by circulation through the solar collector. Two tanks serve the MSF unit; one tank feeds the MSF unit while the other receives the preheated feed water. The two tanks alternate roles every 24 h. The study was conducted in Taif, Saudi Arabia, throughout the month of September 2020. The results of the experiment showed that 1.92 square meters of solar collector area is needed for an average daily production of 19.7 kg of fresh water, at a cost of approximately $0.015 per liter.

中文翻译：

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具有备用储罐的太阳能多级闪蒸淡化装置的实验验证

为传统海水淡化系统提供动力的化石燃料会对环境造成重大影响。太阳能海水淡化可以满足关键的用水需求，而对全球变暖的贡献很小。目前的工作提出了一种有吸引力的新设计，适用于水资源有限和太阳辐射率高的地区。这项工作是对新设计的太阳能多级闪蒸 (MSF) 海水淡化厂的实验研究。该设计可以解决增加太阳能丰富地区有限水资源的需求。该原型包括一个太阳能收集器、一个 MSF 装置和一个新颖的双蓄热罐设计。在这个原型中，预热的盐水通过太阳能集热器的循环直接加热。两辆坦克为无国界医生单位服务；一个水箱为 MSF 装置供水，而另一个水箱接收预热的给水。两个坦克每 24 小时轮换一次角色。该研究于 2020 年 9 月在沙特阿拉伯塔伊夫进行。 实验结果表明，平均每天生产 19.7 公斤淡水需要 1.92 平方米的太阳能集热器面积，成本约为每升 0.015 美元。