A Comparison between Evaporation Ponds and Evaporation Surfaces as a Source of the Concentrated Salt Brine for Salt Gradient Maintenance at Tajoura’s Solar Pond

One of the main problems that negatively affect the operation of salt gradient solar ponds and influence its thermal stability is the maintenance of salt gradient profile. Evaporation pond (EP) is designed to generate the salt which is lost by upward salt diffusion from the lower convective zone (LCZ) of the solar pond. Another attractive method is the Evaporation Surface facility (ES). Regions with moderate to high precipitation favor Evaporation Surfaces over Evaporation Ponds. Dry climates will generally favor Evaporation Ponds for the brine re-concentration. This paper investigates the differences between (EP) and (ES) both as a source for salt brine generation by evaporation. The effect of (EP) depth on the area ratio and daily variations of salt concentrations for three years of operation is shown. Results show that evaporation can be a reasonable method for salt brine generation. Reducing the depth of (EP) improves the capability of (EP) for brine re-concentration. It also increases the (EP) surface area for the same quantity of saline water used. Therefore, ESs are more powerful than Eps in salt re-concentration.