The paucity of drinking water is an alarming glitch across the globe. The conversion of available seawater into drinking water by utilizing renewable energy is the best way to surmount this challenge. Desalination through solar still is one of the notable, monetary, and viable processes among various desalination approaches. The current research aims to augment the potable water yield of single‐slope solar still by using a hollow‐finned absorber basin inserted into paraffin wax—phase change material (PCM). The effect of hollow‐finned absorber basin on the yield of solar still is investigated separately, with and without PCM, and compared with the results of conventional solar still (CSS). In the first set of experiments, the CSS and solar still with a hollow‐finned absorber basin without PCM (SSHF) are investigated. In the second set of experiments, the CSS and solar still with a hollow‐finned absorber basin inserted into PCM (SSHFP) are investigated. The experimental results reported that the CSS is having almost the same yield on the 2 days of testing. The yield of SSHF and SSHFP is increased by 15.7% and 52.4%, respectively, when compared with CSS. The results of the economic analysis proved that the payback period and cost per liter of freshwater produced from SSHFP are comparatively better than SSHF and CSS.

The accessibility of pure drinking water is one of the most complex challenges that humankind experiencing around the world. In this study, the experimental investigation has been carried out in the single slope solar still by the incorporation of naturally available Eucheuma fiber in the absorber basin. The Eucheuma fiber has high water absorbing capacity and acts like a wick material. The experimental results on two consecutive days in the month of February 2021 shows that the solar still with agar-agar fiber (SSAAF) has an increase in productivity of 22.06% on Day 1 and 21.05% on Day 2 in comparison with conventional solar still (CSS). The freshwater productivity of SSAAF was 3150 ml/ m 2 /day on Day 1 and 3800 ml/m 2 /day on Day 2, whereas for CSS it was 2600 and 3100 ml/m 2 /day on Day 1 and Day 2, respectively. The thermal efficiency was increased by 10% and 13% on Day 1 and 2 for SSAAF. The economic analysis indicates that SSAAF has a payback period of 4.3 months whereas CSS has 5.

The main objective of this study is to enhance the yield of single slope solar still by extending the operating time of solar still by utilizing composite heat storage materials in the solar still. In this regard, the effect of the composite heat energy storage material developed by the mixture of beach sand with paraffin wax is investigated. The experiments are carried out in Solar Still with Composite Heat Storage Material (SSCHSM), and results are compared with Solar Still with Sensible Heat Storage Material (SSSHSM), Solar Still with Latent Heat Storage Material (SSLHSM), and Conventional Solar Still (CSS). The outcome of the two days' results showed that the total yield of SSCHSM, SSLHSM, SSSHSM, and CSS are 2050, 1880, 1420, and 1250 mL/m2 respectively on day 1 whereas on day 2 it is 2950, 2680, 2000, and 1820 mL/m2. The thermal analysis results indicated that the average thermal efficacy of SSCHSM, SSLHSM, SSSHSM, and CSS is 21.59,19.83,14.92, and 13.16 %, respectively, on day one and day two it is 27.42,24.94, 18.59, and 16.89 %. The economic analysis revealed that the cost per liter and payback month of SSCHSM is 0.031 and 6.2 months, whereas the cost per liter for SSLHSM, SSSHSM, and CSS was 0.034, 0.044, and 0.048, respectively. Moreover, the payback period for SSLHSM, SSSHSM, and CSS was 6.8 months, 8.8 months, and 9.7 months, respectively.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract