Impact of variation in input parameters on energy matrices of dual slope active solar desalting unit.

This article presents the relationship between energy matrices of a dual slope solar desalting unit integrated with a number (N) of photovoltaic thermal flat plate collectors (NPVTFPC‐DSU) and the effect of variation in mass flow rate m˙fr and N for a sustainable solar distillation. Although extensive research has been done on dual slope active solar desalting unit, however, the area of the impact of variation in m˙fr and N on energy matrices of NPVTFPC‐DSU remains still untouched. This study is an attempt to bridge the gap that has been highlighted. An exhaustive analysis is performed considering all types of climatic situations of New Delhi, India. MATLAB is used to calculate the overall energy, exergy, and energy matrices for NPVTFPC‐DSU based on fundamental equations and relevant data as inputs. Concludingly, it is evident that there is a decrease in the value of energy payback period and life cycle conversion efficiency as the value of m˙fr increases at a given value of N for m˙fr ≤ 0.10 kg s−1. For m˙fr>0.10 kg s−1, the values remain constant. For NPVTFPC‐DSU, 6 and 10 are the best and most favorable values of N as far as energy‐based energy matrices and exergy‐based energy matrices are concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]