Abstract

Solar energy as a sustainable and accessible energy source can be harnessed and converted to electrical energy using photovoltaic modules. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems show tremendous promise as sustainable, environmentally friendly and low-cost electricity sources. Solar energy can also be applied to produce potable water using solar distillation still. In this study, water production performance of four low-cost solar stills with different arrangements of PV module-DC heater and sea sand layer in the solar still basin was evaluated. Four types of double slope single basin solar distillation stills with similar shapes were fabricated. A stainless steel basin with length 50 cm, width 30 cm and depth 8 cm was used in each solar still. The still configurations differed based on inclusion of 2 cm depth of sea sand layer in the basin and use of a 50 Watts PV-DC heater. A comparison of the cumulative water production among these solar stills showed that the integrated system that included sea sand in the solar still basin and also used PV-DC heater was the most effective; producing two times the water produced by a conventional solar still. The integrated solar still can be employed in coastal and rural areas with lack of clean water and electricity supply.

Keywords:

Direct Current (DC) power, energy conversion , photovoltaic module, solar energy , solar still, water distillation,

References

1. Ahsan, A., M. Imteaz, A. Rahman, B. Yusuf and T. Fukuhara, 2012. Design, fabrication and performance analysis of an improved solar still. Desalination, 292: 105-112.
   CrossRef    
2. Ahsan, A., A. Rahman, A. Shanableh, N.N. Nik Daud, T.A. Mohammed and A.N.A. Mabrouk, 2013. Life cycle cost analysis of a sustainable solar water distillation technique. Desalination Water Treatment, 51(40-42): 7412-7419.
   CrossRef    
3. Ahsan, A., M. Imteaz, U.A. Thomas, M. Azmi, A. Rahman and N.N. Nik Daud, 2014. Parameters affecting the performance of a low cost solar still. Appl. Energ., 114: 924-930.
   CrossRef    
4. Akash, B.A., M.S. Mohsen and W. Nayfeh, 2000. Experimental study of the basin type solar still under local climate conditions. Energ. Convers. Manage., 41: 883-890.
   CrossRef    
5. Al-Garni, A.Z., 2012. Productivity enhancement of solar still using water heater and cooling fan. J. Sol. Energ-T. ASME, 134: 031006.
   
6. Al-Karaghouli, A.A. and W.E. Alnaser, 2004. Experimental comparative study of the performances of single and double basin solar-stills. Appl. Energ., 78: 347-354.
   CrossRef    
7. Aybar, H.S. and H. Asse?, 2009. Simulation of a solar still to investigate water depth and glass angle. Desalination Water Treatment, 7: 35-40.
   CrossRef    
8. Dev, R., S.A. Abdul-Wahab and G.N. Tiwari, 2011. Performance study of the inverted absorber solar still with water depth and total dissolved solid. Appl. Energ., 88: 252-264.
   CrossRef    
9. Ismail, B.I., 2009. Design and performance of a transportable hemispherical solar still. Renew. Energ., 34: 145-150.
   CrossRef    
10. Jasrotia, S., A. Kansal and V.V.N. Kishore, 2012. Application of solar energy for water supply and sanitation in Arsenic affected rural areas: A study for Kaudikasa village, India. J. Clean. Prod., 37: 389-393.
    CrossRef    
11. María, H., N.M. Christos and H. Klaus, 2014. A UK-based assessment of hybrid PV and solar-thermal systems for domestic heating and power: System performance. Appl. Energ., 122: 288-309.
    CrossRef    
12. Mohamad, M.A., S.H. Soliman, M.S. Abdel-Salam and H.M.S. Hussien, 1995. Experimental and financial investigation of asymmetrical solar stills with different insulations. Appl. Energ., 52: 265-327.
    CrossRef    
13. Murugavel, K.K., S. Sivakumar, J.R. Ahamed, K.K.S.K. Chockalingam and K. Srithar, 2010. Single basin double slope solar still with minimum basin depth and energy storing materials. Appl. Energ., 87: 514-523.
    CrossRef    
14. Panchal, H. and P.K. Shah, 2012. Investigation on solar stills having floating plates. Int. J. Energ. Environ. Eng., 3: 1-5.
    CrossRef    
15. Riahi, A., K.W. Yusof, N.B. Sapari, A. Malakahmad, A.M. Hashim and B.S. Mahinder Singh, 2013. Potable water production by using triangular solar distillation systems in Malaysia. Proceeding of IEEE Conference on Clean Energy and Technology (CEAT, 2013), pp: 473-477.
    CrossRef    
16. Riahi, A., K.W. Yusof, M. Hasnain Isa, B.S. Mahinder Singh, A. Malakahmad and N.B. Sapari, 2014. Experimental investigation on the performance of four types of solar stills in Malaysia. Appl. Mech. Mater., 567: 56-61.
    CrossRef    
17. Saettone, E., 2012. Desalination using a parabolic-trough concentrator. Appl. Sol. Energ., 48: 254-259.
    CrossRef    
18. Syuhada, N., A. Ahsan, U.A. Thomas, M. Imteaz and A.H. Ghazali, 2013. A low cost solar still for pure water production. J. Food Agric. Environ., 11: 990-994.
    
19. Taamneh, Y. and M.M. Taamneh, 2012. Performance of pyramid-shaped solar still: Experimental study. Desalination, 291: 65-68.
    CrossRef    
20. Tabrizi, F.F. and Z.A. Sharak, 2010. Experimental study of an integrated basin solar still with a sandy heat reservoir. Desalination, 253: 195-199.
    CrossRef    
21. Tarawneh, M.S.K., 2007. Effect of water depth on the performance evaluation of solar still. Jordan J. Mech. Ind. Eng., 1: 23-29.
    
22. Velmurugan, V., C.K. Deenadayalan, H. Vinod and K. Srithar, 2008. Desalination of ef?uent using ?n type solar still. Energy, 33: 1719-1727.
    CrossRef    
23. Vinoth, K.K. and R. Kasturi Bai, 2008. Performance study on solar still with enhanced condensation. Desalination, 230: 51-61.
    CrossRef    
24. Zeroual, M., H. Bouguettaia, D. Bechki, S. Boughali, B. Bouchekima and H. Mahcene, 2011. Experimental investigation on a double slope solar still with partially cooled condenser in the region of Ouargla (Algeria). Energ. Proc., 6: 736-742.
    CrossRef    

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.