Experimental investigation of modified solar still productivity under variable climatic conditions

Abstract

Conversion of untreated water into drinking water using solar distillation technology can be considered as the most viable methods in the dry climate regions and remote areas. The productivity of solar stills influences by various conditions such as design, operational and environmental conditions. The current paper includes a practical investigation of the effects the climatic conditions on the fresh water production from modified single-slope solar still in Russia. Results analysis showed that the mechanism of heat transfer and mass transfer within the solar still depend on environmental parameters. The heat transfer coefficients have been gradually increased from the early morning after 08:00 am and reached the highest value at the noon then decrease gradually afternoon to reach the lowest value at 20:00 pm. The maximum value of coefficient of heat transfer by evaporation found to be 12.1 W/m2. K at 17:00 pm on 19.06.2019, then 9.9 W/m2. K at 17:00 pm on 18.06.2019, and 2 W/m2. K at 18:00 pm on 17.06.2019. Therefore, a noticeable improvement in the fresh water productivity from solar still has been observed with increasing solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature and decreasing relative humidity. The amount of production during a cloudy day was 287 ml/m2, 620 ml/m2 for a partial cloudy day and 950 ml/m2 during a sunny day. © 2020 WITPress. All rights reserved.