article · Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
This experimental study evaluates the performance of four solar still configurations: conventional, double slope, pyramid, and tubular designs. To reduce internal shadow effects, the water basins in the double slope and pyramid stills were elevated. In addition, a phase change material combined with silver nanoparticles was integrated into select units to enhance heat retention. While the tubular design demonstrated high productivity on its own, it proved more complex and expensive to manufacture than the pyramid alternative. The pyramid still configured with an elevated basin and the nanoparticle-enhanced phase change material achieved the highest performance overall, increasing productivity by 116.4 per cent and reaching a thermal efficiency of 51.3 per cent. Economically, this configuration lowered the cost of distilled freshwater from 0.024 dollars per litre in the conventional still to 0.019 dollars per litre.
Access to clean drinking water remains a pressing challenge in many regions. Solar stills offer an off-grid, low-energy method for producing distilled freshwater. By comparing geometric configurations and integrating advanced thermal storage materials, this research demonstrates that solar distillation can be made substantially more productive and cost-effective without relying on complicated, expensive manufacturing techniques.
The research presents an applied and experimentally tested approach to small-scale water purification. It could enable more affordable freshwater production for decentralised or off-grid users, such as rural communities or remote facilities. With distilled water production costs reduced to 0.019 dollars per litre, the elevated basin pyramid still with thermal storage offers a simpler, cheaper alternative to complex tubular models, though further scaling and field deployment would be required to establish commercial readiness.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
In this experimental work, four different solar stills (SSs) have been tested. The SS systems are conventional SS (CSS), Double Slope SS (DSSS), Pyramid SS (PSS) and Tubular SS (TSS). Finding out which design will perform better at the testing site is the main objective. To minimize the shadow effect inside the DSSS and PSS the water basin has been elevated and the performance have been compared with the CSS. Additionally, phase change material mixed with Ag Nano particles has been employed with TSS, elevated basin DSSS and elevated basin PSS. The results indicated that, the productivity rise/thermal efficiency for DSSS, PSS and TSS are 28.5%/38.2%, 66%/43.7% and 96.5%/48.2%, respectively. But in case of DSSS and PSS with elevated basin the productivity rise/thermal efficiency showed 40.5%/40% and 84.5%/46.4%, respectively. Finally, the productivity rise/thermal efficiency for PSS with elevated basin and PCM showed the highest values of 116.4%/51.3%. The productivity for TSS is superior to those for the tested solar stills. In contrast to PSS, the TSS's manufacturing is more complicated and costly. Also, environmental and economic analyses have been considered, the achieved costs of the distilled freshwater were 0.024 and 0.019 $/L for the CSS and PSS (elevated basin and PCM), respectively. The environmental parameter of elevated basin PSS with PCM-Ag and CSS was 14.7- and 6.67-tons CO2 per year, respectively.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1016/j.csite.2023.102841
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
