Design of a parabolic solar collector system for seawater desalination in Gaza

This paper presents the design of a parabolic-trough solar collector system for seawater desalination in Gaza, collector-aperture and rim-angle optimization together with the receiver-diameter selection are presented. A comparison of concentrating collectors against conventional flat-plate collectors is presented. It is shown that for large-scale water production the parabolic-trough collectors are more efficient than the flat plate ones. The analysis considers visible radiation transfer, IR radiation exchange, conductive and convective losses, and energy transfer to a fluid flowing through the collector tube. The collector may have a tilted north-south axis, an east-west axis or it may fully track the sun and geometric parameters associated with tracking the sun are considered.