article · Energies
Tubular solar stills provide a method for purifying water using solar energy. An experimental evaluation examined three configurations operating at a water depth of one centimetre: a conventional tubular solar still, a model enhanced with paraffin wax as a phase change material, and a model incorporating nano-enhanced phase change material made of graphene and paraffin wax. The setup using nano-enhanced phase change material produced the highest output, yielding 7.9 kilograms of distillate compared to 6.0 kilograms from the standard phase change material design and 4.3 kilograms from the conventional system. This nano-enhanced system also achieved the highest daily energy efficiency at 59 percent and daily exergy efficiency at 3.75 percent, while lowering the cost of the freshwater produced relative to the alternative designs.
Solar stills offer simple, renewable options for generating clean drinking water, but low productivity often limits their practicality. Demonstrating that adding graphene and paraffin wax significantly boosts freshwater output while improving energy efficiency and lowering unit costs provides a clear physical pathway for increasing the viability and efficiency of decentralised solar water purification systems.
The research demonstrates an applied, experimentally tested modification for solar water distillation systems. It could enable water purification equipment manufacturers to deliver more cost-effective solar desalination units for off-grid or water-stressed communities. Operating at an applied testing stage, the design requires further real-world operational assessments and manufacturing cost analyses before direct deployment in commercial water treatment products.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
This study is intended to investigate and analyze the operational performances of the Conventional Tubular Solar Still (CTSS), Tubular Solar Still with Phase Change Material (TSS-PCM) and Tubular Solar Still with Nano Phase Change Material (TSS-NPCM). Paraffin wax and graphene plusparaffin wax were used in the CTSS to obtain the modified solar still models. The experimental study was carried out in the three stills to observe the operational parameters at a water depth of 1 cm. The experiment revealed that TSS-NPCM showed the best performance and the highest yield in comparison to other stills. The distillate yield from the CTSS, TSS-PCM and TSS-NPCM was noted to be 4.3, 6.0 and 7.9 kg, respectively, the daily energy efficiency of the stills was observed to be 31%, 46% and 59%, respectively, and the daily exergy efficiency of the stills was recorded to be 1.67%, 2.20% and 3.75%, respectively. As the performance of the TSS-NPCM was enhanced, the cost of freshwater yield obtained was also low in contrast to the other two types of stills.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3390/en13153989
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
