Solar Distillation for Sustainable Drinking Water Production

Résumé

Solar Distillation for Sustainable Drinking Water Production is an academic and technical monograph devoted to solar distillation as a sustainable solution for drinking-water production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The book begins with the fundamentals of water resources, water salinity classifications, drinking-water standards, and the global problem of water scarcity. It then develops regional applications, with particular attention to Africa, Algeria, and the Ouargla region, where groundwater mineralization, scarcity, evaporation, and treatment needs make decentralized desalination highly relevant. A major part of the work examines desalination in Algeria, including seawater reverse osmosis, brackish-water demineralization, emergency desalination, large-scale plants, and the energy–water nexus. The text then focuses on solar distillation systems: their historical development, conventional and improved solar stills, performance indicators, experimental protocols, productivity metrics, and enhancement techniques such as reflectors, wicks, fins, condensers, thermal storage, active collectors, and multi-effect systems. The second part explains the physical basis of solar distillation through solar radiation, solar geometry, tilted surfaces, optical losses, dust effects, heat transfer, evaporation, condensation, and mass-transfer coefficients. Written in a detailed scientific style, the book is intended for students, researchers, engineers, and professionals working on renewable-energy desalination and sustainable water supply.