Performance evaluation of square pyramid solar still with various vertical wick materials – An experimental approach

Abstract

The demand for fresh water is increasing rapidly, but its supply has been typically decreasing over the past decades. The scarcity of drinking water can be resolved through the desalination of seawater. The present study deals with analysing the performance of a square pyramid solar still (SPSS) in the presence of various vertical wick materials by experimentally. To increase the distillate productivity of the conventional SPSS, various types of wick materials were placed vertically in the water basin. Initially, the experiments were conducted for different basin water depths (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 cm) to calculate the effective basin water depth. The results indicated that the water depth was 2 cm, which provided 14.4%, 23.1%, 31.3%, and 39.6% higher productivity than 3, 4, 5, and 6 cm basin water depths, respectively. In addition, experiments were conducted for various wick materials, like polyester, terry cotton, jute cloth, and woollen fabric, to enhance SPSS productivity at 2 cm basin water depth. The evaporation rate increased due to the capillary action of the wick material. The experimental results proved that the SPSS productivity was 9.4%, 20.9%, and 33.1% higher by using woollen fabrics than of jute, terry cotton and polyester, respectively.