Solar Compass 7 (2023) 100055 Available online 15 August 2023 2772-9400/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Solar Alliance. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Experimental of membrane distillation unit coupled with a DCMD using solar energy Mokhless Boukhriss a, b, * , Mehdi Timoumi b , Habib Ben Bacha a, c a Laboratory of Electromechanical Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax, Soukra road Km 3,5 B.P, Sfax 1173- 3038, Tunisia b Higher institutes of technological studies of kairouan quotes campus, Kairouan, Tunisia c Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Experimental validation Simulation Direct contact membrane distillation Solar radiation Solar water collector Condensation Evaporation ABSTRACT The results of an innovative membrane distillation system paired with an effcient and robust solar water col- lector that provides drinking water with high quality and a low rejection rate, independent of the salinity of the water source, are presented in this study. We then optimized and characterized the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) experiment in a pilot plant. For the experimental tests, brackish water was used for the experimental tests, which had a salinity varying from 1 g to 20 g/l of salt. The results showed that the permeate fux increased as the temperature and feed rate increased. To evaluate the experimental and numerical records of the mathematical model of the membrane distillation unit an instance of the validation system that has been provided to evaluate the credibility of the received numerical version of the membrane distillation unit, a PC simulation software primarily based totally on the worldwide version of the unit is simulated via C++ software program to clear up the version of sun irradiation and all temperatures at the magazine productiveness of the membrane distillation unit. It was proven by means of this study that the worldwide mathematical model of the unit is capable of predicting, as it should, the tendencies of the thermal function of the membrane distillation unit. Introduction A new technique for desalinating saltwater is membrane distillation (MD). A hybrid process called membrane distillation (MD) combines thermal and membrane separation methods. In a direct contact mem- brane distillation (DCMD) setup, a hot, salty stream travels down one side of a microporous hydrophobic membrane (the feed side), while freshwater travels along the other side at a cooler temperature (the permeate/coolant side). This is a membrane-based thermal separation method that moves water vapor across a microporous hydrophobic membrane. The driving force behind the MD process is the partial vapor pressure differential caused by the temperature gradient across the membrane. The membrane distillation (MD) process is an emerging technology for seawater desalination. The driving force behind the MD process is the partial vapor pressure differential caused by the temper- ature gradient across the membrane. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), sweeping gas mem- brane distillation (SGMD), air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) are the four common types of MD procedures. Due to its straightforward design, which causes water vapor condensation on the permeate side, and its potential for high permeate fux, the DCMD process has been the subject of the majority of in- vestigations [1–4]. To further explore the temporal and spatial fuctuations in feed and permeate temperatures as well as permeate fux, a theoretical analysis has been conducted. We also looked at the collection area’s average monthly daily water output [5,6]. The monthly average daily seawater temperature is used as the supply temperature for the seawater and bulk permeate. The monthly average hourly diffuse, beam radiations, and ambient temperature data are computed using the monthly average meteorological data, and the monthly average daily seawater temperature is used as the supply temperature for the seawater and bulk permeate. The simulation and experimental fndings of a parametric analysis of a pilot-scale (500 l) PTFE plant are presented in Fig. 1(a and b). Here, we provide the modeling of the processes (mass and heat transfer) in this work. * Corresponding author at: Laboratory of Electromechanical Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax, Soukra road Km 3,5 B.P, Sfax 1173- 3038, Tunisia. E-mail address: mokhlessiset@yahoo.fr (M. Boukhriss). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Solar Compass journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solcom https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solcom.2023.100055 Received 31 May 2023; Received in revised form 3 August 2023; Accepted 10 August 2023