Applied Chemical Engineering

Enhancement of productivity of solar still with use of energy storage materials: A short review

Choon kit chan

Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying, INTI International University, Nilai, 71800, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Vijay Chaudhari

Gokul Global University, Near Sujanpur Patia, Opposite I.O.C. Depot, State Highway 41, Bilia, Siddhpur, Gujarat – 384151, India

Atulkumar G. Sanadi

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Annasaheb Dange College of Engineering and Technology, Ashta, Sangli, Maharashtra 416301, India

Bharti Sahu

Department of Computer Engineering, Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Technology, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra 411018, India; Dnyan Prasad Global University (DPGU), School of Technology and Research, Dr. D. Y. Patil Unitech Society, Sant Tukaram Nagar, Pimpri, Pune 411018, Maharashtra, India

Pravin G. Kulkarni

Department of Mechanical Engineering, PVG's College of Engineering, Technology and Management, Pune 411009, Maharashtra, India

Roshan Singh

Centre for Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura- 140417, Punjab, India; Centre for Promotion of Research, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Sujeet Kumar

Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, 19, Knowledge Park-II, Institutional Area, Greater Noida (UP) -201324, India; Division of Research and Development, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ace.v9i3.6057

Keywords: solar still; productivity; litre; process innovation

---

Abstract

Solar still technology is a sustainable, low cost option for freshwater production in water scarce areas, but with limited productivity. The present short communication discusses some recent developments in improvement of the efficiency of solar stills by incorporating different thermal energy storage materials. Use of natural materials, agricultural wastes, and phase change materials (PCM) effectively store surplus thermal energy during the day to continue the distillation process at night. The technology that yielded the most fresh water (8.69 L/m²/day) and reduced potable water costs by 50.52% was eggshell powder, and wick-covered cement conical fins yielded 7.90 L/m2/day. Moreover, the use of agricultural wastes such as carbonized custard apple seeds increased productivity by 115.5%. The results show that the hybrid designs and low-cost natural storage media configurations are consistently superior to the traditional designs. The optimization using AI, long-term durability tests under field conditions, and scaling of hybrid thermal storage systems to further enhance the commercial viability are highlighted as future research priorities.

---

References

[1]. Attia, M. E. H., Atta, R. M., Harby, K., Benghanem, M., & Abdelgaied, M. (2026). Performance enhancement of conical solar stills using locally available sand roses with different diameters as natural storage materials: Energy, exergy, economic, enviro-economic analysis. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 164, 111151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2026.111151

[2]. Noman, S., Manokar, A. M., Mahapatra, S., Purushothaman, R., El-Sebaey, M. S., & Alrashidi, A. (2026). Sustainable augmentation of tubular solar still performance using carbonised custard apple seeds as energy storage material: A waste-to-exergy approach with multi-domain assessment. Journal of Energy Storage, 154(Part B), 121319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2026.121319

[3]. Handawy, M. K. M., Abdelmotalib, H. M., Harby, K., Alahmadi, Y. H., & Ghazy, M. (2025). Recent developments in natural energy storage, porous, and wick materials used with solar stills for enhanced production, economic performance, and sustainability: A comprehensive review. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 206, 107687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2025.107687

[4]. Illyas, S. M., MuthuManokar, A., Kabeel, A. E., & Selvakumar, V. (2025). Experimental study of hemispherical solar still using sodium sulfate decahydrate and sodium carbonate decahydrate as energy storage materials: An enviro and economic analysis. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 63, 104139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2025.104139

[5]. Benghanem, M., Attia, M. E. H., Abdelgaied, M., Harby, K., & Bedairi, B. H. (2025). Enhancing conical solar still performance using black dyed/beige eggshell powder as natural energy storage materials (bio-energy source): Experimental approach and 4E evaluation. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 293, 113869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113869

[6]. Yuvaperiyasamy, M., Kumaravel, S., Sabari, K., & Kalaimani, M. (2025). Optimization of single-slope solar still with different energy storage materials using the Taguchi and machine learning methods. Results in Engineering, 27, 106809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.106809

[7]. Kumar, V., Das, B., Gupta, R., & Newar, P. P. (2025). Experimental evaluation of single-slope solar stills for municipal wastewater treatment using cement balls and iron chips as thermal energy storage materials. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 77, 108369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108369

[8]. Nema, A., Thakur, V. K., Singh, P., Gaur, M. K., Shrivastava, V., & Ray, R. (2025). Performance assessment of passive solar still with different thermal energy storage materials. Desalination and Water Treatment, 323, 101288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dwt.2025.101288

[9]. Bady, M., Attia, M. E. H., & Kabeel, A. E. (2025). Energy, exergy, economic, and environmental analyses of a conical solar still employing conical cement fins and wick material for thermal energy storage. Separation and Purification Technology, 373, 133655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.133655

[10]. Anburaj, P., Vijayakumar, R., Vignesh Kumar, R., Chanda, J., & Parvez, Y. A. (2025). Enhancing inclined solar still performance for effective desalination: A comparative study on combination of bamboo wick and metal energy storage materials. Solar Energy, 289, 113218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2024.113218

[11]. Panchal, H. N., & Shah, P. K. (2016). Investigation on performance analysis of a novel design of the vacuum tube-assisted double basin solar still: An experimental approach. International Journal of Ambient Energy, 37(5), 512–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2014.924435

[12]. Ganesh, A., Selvakumar, P., Alruabie, A. J., Suresh, M., Said, Z., et al. (2023). Investigation on solar still with integration of solar cooker to enhance productivity: Experimental, exergy, and economic analysis. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 51, 103470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.103470

[13]. Panchal, H., & Awasthi, A. (2017). Theoretical modeling and experimental analysis of solar still integrated with evacuated tubes. Heat and Mass Transfer, 53(6), 2015–2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1953-8

[14]. Chemkhi, S., Ouled Saad, F., Madiouli, J., Mankai, S., Shigidi, I., & Sghaier, J. (2025). Comparison between sustainable solar stills designs: Water desalination using sensible heat storage materials and double absorber effects. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 28, 101343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2025.101343

[15]. Handawy, M. K., & Abdelmotalib, H. M. (2024). Studying performance, energy, exergy, economic, environmental, and sustainability analyses of solar still using different storage materials. Journal of Energy Storage, 104(Part A), 114410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2024.114410

[16]. Anburaj, P., Kathiresan, M., Vijayakumar, R., & Vignesh Kumar, R. (2024). Comparative study on productivity of double slope solar still using different wick and energy storage materials. Solar Energy, 281, 112959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2024.112959

[17]. Kriaa, K., Gatta, I., Mostafa, L., Shaban, M., Hussein, Z. A., Singh, N. S. S., Sadeq, A. M., & Hajlaoui, K. (2025). Computational artificial intelligence application in UF membrane operational behavior assessment for wastewater treatment. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 66, 108290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108290