Sustainability assessment of single slope solar still with glass cover cooling using naturally available fibers

Abstract

AbstractThe objective of the present study is to evaluate the sustainability of solar still by enhancing the condensation rate using natural fibers on the glass cover. It is accomplished by employing naturally available Banana Fibers (BF) and Jute Fibers (JF) over the glass of the solar still (SS). The experimental investigation on Conventional Solar Still (CSS), Solar Still with Banana Fibers (SSBF) and Solar Still with Jute Fibers (SSJF) is conducted under similar meteorological conditions. The results reported that the glass cover temperatures of SSBF and SSJF are significantly reduced by 23% and 28% respectively relative to CSS. Also, the condensation rate in SSJF is comparatively better than SSBF and CSS. The significant factor for improving the condensation rate is the absorption, retention, and porosity of natural fibers. Nevertheless, the potable water yield of CSS, SSBF, and SSJF is noticed as 2.23, 2.87, and 3.18 L/m2, respectively. Besides, the viability of solar stills is assessed by economic analysis and the cost per liter (CPL) of water obtained from SSJF is about $ 0.029 with a payback period (PBP) of 4.7 months whereas SSBF and CSS are having a CPL of $ 0.034 and $ 0.041 with a PBP of 5.6 months and 6.8 months respectively.