The Effect of Condenser Plate Material on Single Slope Solar Still Productivity under Malaysian Climate

Abstract

Access to fresh water is a problem faced by both developed and under developed nations. Although seawater is plentiful, large amounts of energy is required to separate the potable water from the salts. Compared to other desalination processes utilising fossil fuels, solar distillation is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and employs clean and renewable energy. This paper seeks to explore the effect of the single slope solar still condenser plate material on the still production under Malaysian climate. 5 mm thick extra clear float glass condenser plate produced the highest amount of fresh water (63.5 ml) compared to 2 mm thick clear float glass and 5 mm thick bronze glass.