Experimental investigation of a developed tubular solar still with longitudinal wicked fins

Abstract

Water scarcity and desertification is the real threat for many countries which is rapidly increasing. With the rapid development and increase of world population, solar water desalination is a suitable solution for future technologies. However, solar water desalination still needs a lot of research effort to reach an acceptable competing level with the conventional techniques. The present study investigated the effect of the vertical fins with wicks on the performance of the tubular solar still integrated with a parabolic concentrator solar tracking system. Real field experiments were conducted under the climatic conditions of Ha'il city, Saudi Arabia. Results showed relatively high freshwater yield and efficiency of 5.72 L/m2day and 45%, respectively, with a production cost of $0.0071/L. Adding fins to the device enhanced the heat transfer conditions by increasing the contact area between the solar collector and wick material which is wet by saline water. This strategy increased the device yield and efficiency by 44.8% and 41.1%, respectively, and reduced the production cost per liter by 40.7%. The developed device can be considered as a very competitive device with a relatively high yield and considerably low cost per liter of freshwater.