Modified evacuated tube collector basin solar still for optimal desalination of reverse osmosis concentrate

This study focused on the optimal production feasibility of distilled water from the concentrate of a reverse osmosis device using an evacuated tube collector basin solar still. The characteristic effect of the device's condenser on the produced freshwater volume was evaluated to improve the performance of the solar still, resulting in productivity enhancement. The direct contact of two faces of the cubic condenser with water vapor results in the doubling of the effective surface area. However, freshwater production was decreased by eight times compared to the case where only one face of the condenser is in contact with water vapor. This reduction was attributed to the shorter path taken by the condensed droplets. At the bottom of the evacuated tube collector, some building mineral pumice was used to prevent the formation of large water vapor bubbles. According to this methodology, the average daily production of distilled water from the concentrate of the reverse osmosis unit with a total dissolved solids of 15200 ppm was achieved at 4.58±0.12L.m−2. The quality of produced distilled water revealed that solar desalination using an evacuated tube collector basin solar still can be a notable and economical solution for the concentrate treatment of reverse osmosis.