IS IT POSSIBLE TO RUN A DESALINATION PLANT ON SOLAR ENERGY?
It is possible to run a desalination plant on solar energy alone, but at a much smaller scale. Solar energy is in the form of heat. Photovoltaic cells transfer this heat energy into electrical energy, and this is then transferred into mechanical and heat energy again. So it is not a terribly efficient solar energy source to use. There are other types of solar energy, for example solar ponds, that dont use photovoltaic cells and can be incorporated into desalination plants. Photovoltaic cells are very expensive as well. Other sources of energy can be used, for example wind energy, or waste heat produced in various industries such as the mineral processing industry or especially in power generation industry where only 60 to 70% of the heat energy is used. There is also the possibility of coupling solar energy with other energy sources or using it as a supplementary source of energy, and this is being looked at around the world. BACK Do you think South Africa should be looking at new tech
