Proposing novel approaches for solar still performance enhancement by basin water heating, glass cooling, and vacuum creation

Abstract

Solar stills are widely recognized for their cost-effective approach to purifying brackish water. However, their ability to produce drinkable water has been limited. As an innovative solution, this paper offers the integration of basin water heating, glass cooling, simultaneous heating and cooling, and operating under negative gauge operational pressures, aiming to create a vacuum within the range of 60–120 kPa. The performance of domestic-sized single-slope solar stills is analyzed using two-dimensional numerical simulations. The analysis encompasses the governing equations for mass, momentum, and energy conservation, as well as additional equations for species transport, radiation, and turbulent flow. Additionally, this investigation combines numerical simulations with a machine learning prediction algorithm, spanning pressures of 10–60 kPa. The results demonstrate that the simultaneous use of glass cooling and water heating mechanisms leads to the most significant improvement in performance, achieving an impressive enhancement of 152.69 %. Moreover, basin water heating, operational pressure reduction, and glass cover cooling are found to enhance performance by 112.72 %, 31.82 %, and 27.16 %, respectively. Overall, this study underscores the potential to optimize solar still efficiency through a range of operational strategies, ultimately contributing to enhanced potable water production.