article · Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Water scarcity in arid regions creates an urgent demand for economical desalination, where single slope solar stills offer an accessible option despite historically modest output. An experimental study tested two solar stills using different natural and artificial porous absorbing materials, specifically luffa, black luffa, fine steel wool, and steel wool pads, evaluated under real outdoor conditions in Egypt. The evaluation monitored water yield, ambient weather conditions, thermal efficiency, and exergo-economic performance. The choice of absorbing material had a decisive effect on production rates. Steel wool pads outperformed the other materials, achieving the highest yield of 4.384 litres per square metre and a top thermal efficiency of 32.74 per cent. Economically, steel wool pads provided the lowest cost per litre at 0.0034 dollars per litre per square metre, demonstrating the shortest payback period of the tested configurations.
Clean drinking water is scarce in arid regions, where complex desalination infrastructure is often unaffordable or difficult to maintain. Identifying simple, inexpensive absorbing materials such as steel wool pads substantially increases solar still output and efficiency while lowering production costs, offering a practical way to deliver low-cost potable water using solar thermal energy.
This work is relevant to decentralised solar water purification devices for arid, off-grid communities. Having been applied and tested experimentally in field conditions, the design relies on readily available steel wool pads rather than specialised components. Manufacturers, non-governmental organisations, and local fabricators could readily adopt this material modification to produce low-capital solar stills with minimal fabrication costs and rapid payback times.
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Abstract Desalination is a critical process to address water scarcity in arid regions worldwide, and solar stills provide an economical solution despite their productivity limitations. This study aimed to enhance the performance and productivity of solar stills by constructing two stills with different natural and artificial absorbing materials such as black luffa, luffa, fine steel wool, and steel wool pads. The solar stills were tested in Egypt under comparable weather conditions, and their productivity, solar intensity, wind velocity, and temperature were measured to determine their thermal efficiency and exergo-economic analysis. Results showed that the choice of absorbing material significantly impacted solar still productivity, with steel wool pads achieving the highest yield of 4.384 l/m 2 . Moreover, steel wool pads also exhibited the highest thermal efficiency at 32.74%. The cost per liter (CPL) was the lowest with steel wool pads at 0.0034 $/l/m 2 . Finally, the payback period and exergo-economic analysis demonstrated that incorporating steel wool pads was the most promising modification for enhancing solar still performance compared to other modifications.
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DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-27465-5
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