Experimentally evaluating the performance of single slope solar still with glass cover cooling and square cross-section hollow fins

Abstract

Although water is the source of life, most water resources are salty or undrinkable. Treating the salty water to produce fresh water is typically a cost-intensive process. As a more effective solution, solar energy evaporates the salty water and condensates the vapor as freshwater by solar stills. This article encompasses an experimental evaluation of the performance of single slope solar still with a square cross-section (SSSS) hollow fin attached to an absorber plate. The article also experimentally estimates the potential of cooling the glass cover. The squared hollow fins have dimensions of (25 mm in width, 25 mm in height and 2 mm in thickness). The cooling mechanisms under consideration were of two types: continuous water spray and pulsed glass cooling (30 s/30 min), (30 s/20 min), (30 s/10 min), and (30 s/5 min). According to the results, there was an enhancement in productivity of 40% as the SSSS integrated with fins, in contrast to conventional solar still. Furthermore, enhancement of 13.3%, 17.8%, 36.7%, 24.2%, and 10%, respectively were achieved by the integration of SSSS with glass cooling by spraying at different rates (30 s/30 min), (30 s/20 min), (30 s/10 min), (30 s/5 min), and continuous water spray system. This highlights that pulse water cooling yields better outcomes than continuing with the timing of (30 s/10 min). The combination of both mechanism upgrades has induced a further enhancement of 61.3% in contrast to that of a conventional single slop solar still (CSS).