Chapter 18 - Microencapsulated thermal storage materials for solar desalination process: an advanced technique for hygienic water production

Abstract

Energy and water are essential for living, creating the foundation for long-term economic development. Securing a sustainable and future energy supply will be the most difficult problem for all societies in the twenty-first century. Globally, energy and water requirement are anticipated to aggrandize double in the first half of the 21st century and amass multiple by the end of the century, owing to growing global inhabitants and increased technology. Utilizing local energy resources, solar energy is unique because it can supply electricity and clean water to those lacking infrastructures today, fostering local economic growth. Many traditional and novel methods for purifying saline or brackish water have been developed. Solar distillation is a cost-effective and eco-friendly method of water purification. Freshwater is produced by phase change materials (PCM) integrated into the solar desalination process, which also stores extra heat energy in the PCM. The main objective of this investigation is to examine recent developments in solar-driven active and passive solar still (SS) with thermal energy storage. In addition, the effect of PCM thickness and aspirations to meet a gap in current reviews on the desalination process for water production emphasizes the development approaches of several passive and active solar still without and with PCM. It also emphasizes the influence of nanoparticle doping in PCM, which incorporated SS with different absorber setups and designs.