Design of a Solar Powered Desalination Plant

Owing to the lack of perennial streams in the semi-desert to desert parts, two-thirds of South Africa's surface area is largely dependent on groundwater. This ground water may at times be found to be brackish. Thus, hampering the development economy. A reliable water purification process would be an invaluable tool to those who do not have access to clean drinking water. This paper sets out to trade off this requirement of fresh water with the practical considerations of water quality, quantity, and the energy requirement of affected communities. The goal is to present a meaningful design of a water desalination unit for use in remote and water scarce parts of RSA. The desalination plant will be designed using an outcomes focused methodology and an estimated MATLAB model will be formulated.