Performance enhancement of the solar still using textiles and polyurethane rollers

Area of Science:

• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Water Treatment Technologies

Background:

• Access to clean drinking water is a critical global challenge, especially in regions with limited power infrastructure.
• Solar stills offer a sustainable solution for water purification by utilizing solar energy.
• Existing solar still designs often face limitations in efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel, cost-effective, and energy-efficient solar still system.
• To enhance the performance and productivity of solar stills for sustainable water acquisition.
• To assess the thermal, energetic, and economic viability of the proposed solar still design.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a solar still incorporating fabric-coated polyurethane rollers to increase the evaporation surface area via capillary action.
• Utilizing solar radiation to heat water, followed by condensation on an inclined aluminum plate within a cooling chamber.
• Systematic evaluation of the thermal, energetic, and economic performance, including daily and annual distillate productivity.

Main Results:

• The fabricated solar still demonstrated a maximum instantaneous system efficiency of approximately 62.16% and exergy efficiency of 7.67%.
• The system achieved a daily average distillate productivity of 1.14 L/m², translating to an annual production of 416.54 L/year.
• The estimated cost for producing 1 liter of purified water was remarkably low at $0.023.

Conclusions:

• The proposed solar still design offers significant improvements in performance and cost-effectiveness compared to conventional methods.
• The integration of fabric-coated rollers effectively enhances evaporation, leading to increased water production.
• This sustainable solar still technology presents a viable solution for providing clean drinking water in power-limited regions.