Solar thermal heat engines for water pumping: An update

Solar thermal-driven heat engines for water pumping have been previously reviewed for some authors in the past century. However, some devices have not been treated as metal hydride-based systems or the pumping subsystems of solar thermal-driven reverse osmosis desalination systems. Following the typical classification given in the previous literature, in this work an update of the solar heat engines for water pumping based in thermodynamic methods (conventional and unconventional) is presented. Besides small remarks about systems previously quoted by other authors, new designs found in the literature are described. In general, the main characteristics of these systems is their low efficiency, low power output and, in the case of unconventional designs, its simplicity. This work in conjunction with previous review papers make up reference point for the knowledge of the use of solar thermal energy for liquid pumping purpose. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.