Essay On Solar Ponds

Based on the convection behavior of the saline solution in solar ponds, they may be classified into two main categories: Convecting and Non-Convecting solar ponds. 2.1 Convecting Solar Ponds

A convecting solar pond is usually a horizontal solar collector that normally consists of one homogenous liquid layer with a transparent cover on the pond’s surface. This transparent cover reduces heat loss by impeding evaporation and convection/conduction. The cover can also prevent external effects such as wind shear, dust, falling impurities, etc. Convecting solar ponds is sub-divided as Shallow solar pond

2.2 Shallow Solar Pond (SSP)

The shallow solar pond is a large solar energy collector that consists of a plastic envelope containing water. As the name of convective shallow pond suggests, the depth of water is relatively small, usually between 4 and 15cm, and the layer is homogeneous. It uses fresh water and do not require any addition of salt. They consist of a back insulation and usually a concrete-made frame in which a plastic tube is

They usually consist of three saline water layers, where the salt concentration is highest in the bottom layer and lowest in the shallow surface layer. However, the solar pond technology inhibits this phenomenon by dissolving salt into the bottom layer of the pond, making the molecules too heavy to rise to the surface, even when hot. Thus the temperature gain in the bottom layer is cumulative, and this can increase the temperature there to more than 100°C. Once a high temperature is obtained, the bottom layer can be used as a heat source to provide continuous heat through an internal or external heat exchanger at any time of the year, regardless of season. Non-convective solar ponds can be sub-divided into two main types: salinity gradient and Viscosity