article · Desalination and Water Treatment
This research investigates the use of eco-friendly composite thermal insulation to enhance the water yield of solar stills. Two green composites were developed using date palm fibres combined with either mortar or gypsum. These materials were evaluated across three identical solar distillers tested under the same meteorological conditions in El Oued, Algeria. A baseline distiller insulated with wood was compared against units insulated with date palm fibre and mortar, and date palm fibre and gypsum. The distiller incorporating the gypsum composite achieved the highest daily water output of 4100 millilitres per square metre, outperforming the mortar composite by 21.5 percent and the wooden baseline by 46.43 percent. Furthermore, the gypsum composite system improved thermal efficiency by 45.77 percent and lowered the cost of water production to 0.011 dollars per litre, demonstrating the viability of agricultural waste composites in solar distillation.
Access to clean drinking water remains a critical challenge in arid regions. By utilising widely available agricultural waste such as date palm fibres to insulate solar water distillers, this approach increases freshwater output while reducing manufacturing costs. It demonstrates a practical, eco-friendly method to purify water using renewable solar energy and locally sourced, low-cost materials.
This technology targets decentralised water purification equipment manufacturers and communities requiring low-cost desalination in arid, sunny regions. By replacing standard insulation with cheap, bio-based date palm composites, producers can significantly lower unit production costs to 0.011 dollars per litre. Having been experimentally constructed, tested outdoors, and economically assessed, the system appears to be at an applied and tested stage, ready for further field trials and local manufacturing scale-up.
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This work aims to improve water productivity in solar stills by reducing heat loss through green composite insulators to ensure storage of the absorbed thermal energy. Two green composite materials were proposed and presented. The first is made of date palm fiber and mortar (PFM), and the second is made of date palm fiber and gypsum (PFG). Three identical solar distillers were designed and tested under the same meteorological conditions of El Oued, Algeria. The first is the reference case (RSW distiller) where a 5 cm thick wooden box is used as insulation. The second (MSD-PFM distiller) is insulated with a 2.5 cm thick PFM composite material and then installed inside a 2.5 cm thick wooden box. The third (MSD-PFG distiller) is insulated with a 2.5 cm thick PFG composite material and then installed inside a 2.5 cm thick wooden box. The thermal conductivity of the proposed composite insulators was first determined experimentally and then used as insulators. Results showed that the accumulated water production from the MSD-PFG (4100 mlm-2day-1) is higher than that of the MSD-PFM (3400 mlm-2day-1) and RSW solar distillers (2800 mlm-2day-1) by 21.5 % and 46.43 %, respectively. The improvement in thermal efficiency of the proposed MSD-PFG and MSD-PFM were 45.77 % and 21.14 %, respectively. The economic analysis showed that the improvement in the production cost by MSD-PFG (0.011 $/liter) and MSD-PFM (0.0153 $/liter) were 31.68 % and 4.97 %, respectively. The sustainability, eco-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness of composite date palm make it an attractive option for insulation applications in solar distillers.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.dwt.2024.100644
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