Applied Chemical Engineering

Performance analysis of triple basin solar still with energy-exergy analysis approach

Dinesh Mevada

Dileep Kumar M

Pavithra G

Lizina Khatua

Preeti Gupta

Nageswara Rao Lakkimsetty

Feroz Shaik

Hitesh Bhargav

Choon Kit Chan

Mit Patel

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Silver Oak College of Engineering and Technology, Silver Oak University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 382481, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ace.v7i3.5518

---

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted on novel design of triple basin solar still with different modification in the climatic conditions of India. The triple basin solar still was modified with attachments of evacuated tubes (ETCs), heat pipes (HP), corrugated surfaces and energy storage materials called modified triple basin solar still (MTBSS). To get the more water in distillate output and higher water temperature solar still was designed with three basin area. From experimental results it was found that the total distillate output obtained by MTBSS during day and night was 16.46 l/m² and 7.40 l/m², respectively. The performance of MTBSS was also check by 4E (Energy, Exergy, Exergo-Economic, Exergo-Environmental) analysis for economical and environmental point of view. The generation of exergy for evaporation (Exe,bw-ig) and convection (Exc,bw-ig)  for MTBSS (Modified triple basin solar still) were 24.03 & 1.30 (joule) respectively. The values of energy efficiency (ƞ_energy) and exergy efficiency (ƞ_exergy) obtained for MTBSS were 31.89% & 3.04% respectively. An economic point of view, the CPL of water remains higher in MTBSS. The NPBT for MTBSS was 2.5 months. For environmental assessment, the CO₂ mitigation for MTBSS was 0.48 t/year, based on the exergy approach. The additions of ETCs, H.P, corrugated surface, and ESMs with MTBSS are effective from an exergo-economic and carbon credit point of view.

---

References

[1]. Tripathi, Abhishek & Aruna, Mangalpady & Pv, Elumalai & Karthik, Krishnasamy & Khan, Sher & Asif, Mohammad & Rao, Koppula. (2024). Advancing Solar PV Panel Power Prediction: A Comparative Machine Learning Approach in Fluctuating Environmental Conditions. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering. 59. 104459. 10.1016/j.csite.2024.104459.

[2]. Panchal, H. N. (2016). Life cycle cost analysis of a double-effect solar still. International Journal of Ambient Energy, 38(4), 395–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2015.1132767

[3]. D. Mevada, H. Panchal, and K. K. Sadasivuni, “Investigation on evacuated tubes coupled solar still with condenser and fins: Experimental, exergo-economic and exergo-environment analysis,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 27, no. June, p. 101217, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101217.

[4]. H. N. Panchal and P. K. Shah, “Enhancement of upper basin distillate output by attachment of vacuum tubes with double-basin solar still,” Desalin. Water Treat., vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 587–595, 2015, doi: 10.1080/19443994.2014.913997.

[5]. H. N. Panchal and S. Patel, “Effect of Various Parameters on Augmentation of Distillate Output of Solar Still: A Review,” Technol. Econ. Smart Grids Sustain. Energy, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1–8, 2016, doi: 10.1007/s40866-016-0005-2.

[6]. H. Panchal, D. Mevada, and K. K. Sadasivuni, “Recent advancements in condensers to enhance the performance of solar still: A review,” Heat Transf., vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 3758–3778, 2020, doi: 10.1002/htj.21799.

[7]. D. Mevada, H. Panchal, and K. K. Sadasivuni, “Investigation on evacuated tubes coupled solar still with condenser and fins: Experimental, exergo-economic and exergo-environment analysis,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 27, no. June, p. 101217, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101217.

[8]. H. Panchal, D. Mevada, and R. Sathyamurthy, “The requirement of various methods to improve distillate output of solar still: a review,” Int. J. Ambient Energy, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 597–603, 2021, doi: 10.1080/01430750.2018.1542630.

[9]. A. Allouhi, M. Benzakour Amine, M. S. Buker, T. Kousksou, and A. Jamil, “Forced-circulation solar water heating system using heat pipe-flat plate collectors: Energy and exergy analysis,” Energy, vol. 180, pp. 429–443, 2019.

[10]. R. S. Dondapati, R. Agarwal, V. Saini, G. Vyas, and J. Thakur, “Effect of Glazing Materials on the Performance of Solar Flat Plate Collectors for Water Heating Applications,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 5, no. 14, pp. 27680–27689, 2018.

[11]. S. K. Verma, K. Sharma, N. K. Gupta, P. Soni, and N. Upadhyay, “‘Performance comparison of innovative spiral shaped solar collector design with conventional flat plate solar collector,’” Energy, vol. 194, 2020.

[12]. A. A. Ananno, M. H. Masud, P. Dabnichki, and A. Ahmed, “Design and numerical analysis of a hybrid geothermal PCM flat plate solar collector dryer for developing countries,” Sol. Energy, vol. 196, no. September 2019, pp. 270–286, 2020.

[13]. S. Mohamed Iqbal, K. Karthik & Jee Joe Michael (2020) Performance analysis on improved efficiency in a hybrid solar still and solar heater, International Journal of Ambient Energy, 41:13, 1516-1523, DOI: 10.1080/01430750.2018.1517685.

[14]. Hitesh Panchal & Ravishankar Sathyamurthy (2020) Experimental analysis of single-basin solar still with porous fins, International Journal of Ambient Energy, 41:5, 563-569, DOI: 10.1080/01430750.2017.1360206

[15]. A. S. Abdullah, M. M. Younes, Z. M. Omara, and F. A. Essa, “New design of trays solar still with enhanced evaporation methods – Comprehensive study,” Sol. Energy, vol. 203, no. April, pp. 164–174, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2020.04.039.

[16]. L. Zhang, Z. Xu, B. Bhatia, B. Li, L. Zhao, and E. N. Wang, “Modeling and performance analysis of high-efficiency thermally-localized multistage solar stills,” Appl. Energy, vol. 266, no. March, p. 114864, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114864.

[17]. J. Madiouli, A. Lashin, I. Shigidi, I. A. Badruddin, and A. Kessentini, “Experimental study and evaluation of single slope solar still combined with flat plate collector, parabolic trough and packed bed,” Sol. Energy, vol. 196, no. August 2019, pp. 358–366, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2019.12.027.

[18]. M. Abu-Arabi, M. Al-harahsheh, M. Ahmad, and H. Mousa, “Theoretical modeling of a glass-cooled solar still incorporating PCM and coupled to flat plate solar collector,” J. Energy Storage, vol. 29, no. November 2019, p. 101372, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.est.2020.101372.

[19]. P.Kumar, C.Senthil kumar, K.Muralidharan, Y.Muniratnam, K.Abraham, V.Manikandan, P.Stalin, S.Prasanth, “Augmenting the performance of conventional solar still through the nano-doped black paint (NDBP) coating on absorber,” Material Today, vol. 47, no. April 2021, pp. 4929-4933, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.03.721.

[20]. U.Alqsair, A.Abdullah, Z.Omara, “Enhancement the productivity of drum solar still utilizing parabolic solar concentrator, phase change material and nanoparticles' coating,” J. Energy Storage, vol. 55, no. August 2022, p. 105477, 2022, doi:10.1016/j.est.2022.105477.

[21]. El-Sebaey , Asko Ellman , Ahmed Hegazy , Fadl A. Essa , “Experimental study with thermal and economical analysis for some modifications on cylindrical sector and double slope, single basin solar still,” Case study in Thermal Engg., vol. 49, no. July 2023, p. 103310, 2023, doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2023.103310.

[22]. S.Gnanaraj, S. Ramachandran, D.Christopher, “Enhancing the design to optimize the performance of double basin solar still,” Desalination, vol. 411, no. Feb 2017, p. 112-123, 2017, doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2017.02.011.

[23]. El-Sebaey, A Hegazy, F.Essa, “Performance enhancement of a tubular solar still by using stepped basins: An experimental approach,” J.Clear production, vol. 437, no. Jan 2024, p. 140746, 2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140746.

[24]. M.Raj Kamal,B. Parandhaman, B. Madhu, D.Babu, R.Sathyamurthy “Experimental analysis on single and double basin single slope solar still with energy storage material and external heater,” M.Today Proceed., vol. 46, no. Feb 2021, p. 10288-10292, 2021, doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.444.

[25]. E. Davani, K. Jafarpur, M.Estahbanati “A novel analytical performance investigation of varying water depth in an active multi-stage basin solar still in addition to optimization of water depth in a single stage basin still,” E. Reports , vol. 10, no. July 2023, p. 581-590, 2023, doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2023.07.013.

[26]. A. K. Thakur et al., “Performance analysis of a modified solar still using reduced graphene oxide coated absorber plate with activated carbon pellet,” Sustain. Energy Technol. Assessments, vol. 45, no. January, p. 101046, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.seta.2021.101046.

[27]. D. Mevada et al., “Investigation and performance analysis of solar still with energy storage materials: An energy- exergy efficiency analysis,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 29, no. July 2021, p. 101687, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101687.

[28]. D. Mevada, H. Panchal, and K. K. Sadasivuni, “Investigation on evacuated tubes coupled solar still with condenser and fins: Experimental, exergo-economic and exergo-environment analysis,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 27, no. June, p. 101217, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101217.

[29]. Sharma, N., Noushad, S., Siva Ram Kumar Reddy, G. (2022). Effect of Copper Fins on Fresh Water Productivity of Pyramid Solar Still. In: Kumar, R., Pandey, A.K., Sharma, R.K., Norkey, G. (eds) Recent Trends in Thermal Engineering. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3132-0_9.

[30]. N. Sharma, Varun, and Siddhartha, “Stochastic techniques used for optimization in solar systems: A review,” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 1399–1411, 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.11.019.

[31]. P. Dumka et al., “A case study on single basin solar still augmented with wax filled metallic cylinders,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 61, no. July, p. 104847, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2024.104847.

[32]. A. F. Abed, M. J. Alshukri, and D. M. Hachim, “Improving solar still performance via the integration of nanoparticle-enhanced phase change materials: A novel pyramid-shaped design with a numerical simulation approach,” J. Energy Storage, vol. 97, no. PB, p. 112980, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.est.2024.112980.

[33]. T. Mahala and N. Sharma, “Experimental investigations of a novel solar still with heat storage materials - energy, exergy, economic and environmental analyses,” Desalination, vol. 578, no. November 2023, p. 117467, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2024.117467.

[34]. M. Bady, M. El Hadi Attia, and A. Elnaby Kabeel, “Performance improvement of the conical solar still using hollow copper tubes in the basin with CO2 mitigation and economic analysis,” Sol. Energy, vol. 278, no. July, p. 112797, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2024.112797.

[35]. T. Jeyaraj, P. Kumar, and S. Pathak, “Experimental and computational modeling analysis of double slope solar still with a trapezoidal channel for preheating,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 253, p. 123757, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123757.

[36]. H. Aghakhani, S. M. Ayatollahi, and M. R. Hajmohammadi, “A novel numerical model for solar still combined with collector and reflector,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 248, no. PA, p. 123123, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123123.

[37]. H. Aghakhani, S. M. Ayatollahi, and M. R. Hajmohammadi, “Proposing novel approaches for solar still performance enhancement by basin water heating, glass cooling, and vacuum creation,” Desalination, vol. 567, no. September, p. 117011, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2023.117011.

[38]. Min, Ho. (2022). A Review of Metal Oxide Thin Films in Solar Cell Applications. International Journal of Thin Films Science and Technology. 11. 37-45. 10.18576/ijtfst/110105.