Comparative experimental study on the performance of single-slope, hemispherical, and conical solar stills

Abstract

Although there is a great supply of groundwater, it is salty, and most places of the globe, including the Algerian desert, have a shortage of fresh water. The greatest answer to this issue is solar distillation since it uses sustainable solar energy. Solar still comes in a variety of forms, dimensions and styles, creating potable water that is fresh, clean, and safe to drink, albeit the amount of water produced differs depending on the type of solar still. Choosing the design of solar stills remains one of the preferred solutions to improve their performance. The performance of three different solar still designs is compared in this work, including single slope, hemispherical, and conical solar stills. The investigation used brackish water with a salt level of 3000 ppm and was conducted under the same operational conditions and locations. The conical solar still had the best overall performance, with a daily average production of 5.80 l/m2/day. The hemispherical solar still had the second-best performance, with a daily average production of 5.10 l/m2/day. Finally, the single slope solar still had the lowest performance (daily average production of 3.30 l/m2/day). The findings can be used to develop and improve solar stills for saltwater desalination.