A Comprehensive Review of Waste‐Derived Materials for Solar Still Performance Enhancement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Solar desalination reduces energy use and produces freshwater sustainably, but its productivity is limited and cannot meet rising demand. Thus, solar desalination system improvements are sought to boost water productivity. Waste materials are abundantly available and burden the environment, making them low‐cost enhancers for solar desalination systems. Using them can be a safe and sustainable way to mitigate waste. This paper discusses biowaste, agricultural waste, industrial and metallic waste, textile and composite waste, and waste heat recovery designs for solar desalination systems. Studies from 2010 to 2025 show that interest in using waste materials has grown gradually, with several studies appearing recently. The literature shows that waste‐based enhancements can increase freshwater productivity by 20%–60%, with some configurations improving more than 100% and up to 170% over conventional stills, and thermal and exergy efficiencies by 30%–70%. Many systems show cost per liter reductions of 30%–70% and payback periods of less than one year in the most effective designs. The integration of waste materials and heat into solar desalination machines is a technically feasible, economically viable, and environmentally friendly technique for freshwater production.