Four sets of experiments were conducted to investigate the viability of running a domestic reverse osmosis (RO) unit with solar cell energy. The panel utilised for this purpose consisted of 280 cells, each of approximately 0.008 m2in area. Each panel produced 77 to 131 W/m2over the year, and therefore, the energy output per square metre of solar cells ranged from 35 to 60W/m2over the year in the State of Bahrain. It is found that the reverse osmosis power requirement for a limited water quantity (domestic need) can be supplied with the given solar system for different feed concentrations, where the purified water capacities can be enlarged by adding more membranes in parallel. When four membranes were applied in parallel, about 300 litres of purified water at 75ppm salinity is achieved per day (9.18 hours) by using a single DC pump. Due to limitation in the pumping discharge pressure, more pumps were installed in series. The maximum discharge pressure obtained is about 19 atmospheres. From the pumping power requirement analysis which is conducted in this study, it is found that the solar cell energy is sufficient to desalinate any given feed concentration.
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