Simulation and economic evaluation of a solar evaporation system for concentrating sodium chloride brines

An hourly simulation program has been developed for detailed modeling of an evaporation surface (ES) and an evaporation pond (EP) for reconcentration of a solar pond's (SP's) surface brine. The results are relevant to other systems in which it is desirable to concentrate a brine. The simulation results are used in three ways: first, for a general comparison of brine reconcentration performance for a variety of locations; second, development of an ES design method based on long term monthly averaged weather data; and third, an economic comparison between ESs and EPs. The results show that regions with moderate to high precipitation favor ESs over EPs. Dry climates will generally favor EPs for brine reconcentration.