Thermal Performance of a Conventional Solar Still with a Built-in Passive Condenser: Experimental studies

Abstract

Water is a basic human necessity and is the essential source of life on earth .Fresh water demand is growing everyday all over the world. Solar desalination using a still has been regarded as the sustainable solution in particular in rural and arid areas. Investigations and research has focused on exploring methods and finding ways to enhance the efficiency of solar stills and increase the production rates. This work is an experimental investigation on the effect of incorporating a passive built-in condenser into a conventional solar still daily productivity rate. It has been found that solar still with a built-in condenser gives about 16.7% higher production rate as compared to the conventional solar still. Temperature profiles of the glass cover, the condenser galvanized cover, the saline water, and the galvanized basin have been studied and analyzed