A thorough investigation of the effects of water depth on the performance of active solar stills

Abstract One of the most important operating parameters which affects the performance and efficiency of active solar stills is brine depth. In all of the previous experimental or theoretical studies, effects of water depth were investigated during only the first 24-hour period (or even shorter periods) of the operation of active solar stills. In other words, only the first day was taken into account. However, the production of an active solar still depends on several parameters such as brine temperature at sunrise (initial temperature), which are all affected by the depth variation after the first day of operation. However, the present research experimentally investigates the long-term effects of water depth on the performance of active solar stills for the first time. For this purpose, two parallel active solar stills coupled with solar collectors with different surface areas were fabricated and an experiment was conducted for 10 continuous days. Unlike previous studies, results indicated that the overall trend of distilled water production and efficiency increased with increased water depth. Hence, higher water depth is recommended for practical uses of solar stills (more than two days).

[1]  K. Kalidasa Murugavel,et al.  Single basin double slope solar still with minimum basin depth and energy storing materials , 2010 .

[2]  A. S. Nafey,et al.  Parameters affecting solar still productivity , 2000 .

[3]  T. V. Arjunan,et al.  Active solar distillation--A detailed review , 2010 .

[4]  Z. M. Omara,et al.  A new hybrid desalination system using wicks/solar still and evacuated solar water heater , 2013 .

[5]  Hongfei Zheng,et al.  Experimental investigation and performance analysis on a group of multi-effect tubular solar desalination devices , 2013 .

[6]  A. S. Abdullah.  Improving the performance of stepped solar still , 2013 .

[7]  Amimul Ahsan,et al.  Parameters affecting the performance of a low cost solar still , 2014 .

[8]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Parametric study of an active and passive solar distillation system: Energy and exergy analysis , 2009 .

[9]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Computer modeling of passive/active solar stills by using inner glass temperature , 2003 .

[10]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Thermal modeling based on solar fraction and experimental study of the annual and seasonal performance of a single slope passive solar still: The effect of water depths , 2007 .

[11]  K. Sampathkumar,et al.  Utilization of solar water heater in a single basin solar still—An experimental study , 2012 .

[12]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Parametric studies of active regenerative solar still , 1993 .

[13]  K. Kalidasa Murugavel,et al.  Theoretical and experimental investigation on double basin double slope solar still , 2013 .

[14]  A. E. Kabeel,et al.  Enhancing the stepped solar still performance using internal reflectors , 2013 .

[15]  M. Arslan,et al.  Experimental investigation of still performance for different active solar still designs under closed cycle mode , 2012 .

[16]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Annual performance of an active solar distillation system , 2000 .

[17]  Elias K. Stefanakos,et al.  Solar assisted sea water desalination: A review , 2013 .

[18]  A. A. El-Sebaii,et al.  Effect of wind speed on active and passive solar stills , 2004 .

[19]  Khosrow Jafarpur,et al.  A new radiation model for a single-slope solar still , 2010 .

[20]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Optimization of number of collectors for integrated PV/T hybrid active solar still , 2010 .

[21]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Monthly performance of passive and active solar stills for different Indian climatic conditions , 2004 .

[22]  S. Aboul-Enein,et al.  Thermal performance of an active single basin solar still (ASBS) coupled to shallow solar pond (SSP) , 2011 .

[23]  Abdul Jabbar N. Khalifa.  On the effect of cover tilt angle of the simple solar still on its productivity in different seasons and latitudes , 2011 .

[24]  Soteris A. Kalogirou,et al.  Seawater desalination using renewable energy sources , 2005 .

[25]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Effect of condensing cover material on yield of an active solar still: an experimental validation , 2008 .

[26]  Omar Badran,et al.  The effect of coupling a flat-plate collector on the solar still productivity , 2005 .

[27]  G. N. Tiwari,et al.  Optimization of collector and basin areas for a higher yield for active solar stills , 1998 .