Performance study of an innovative heating technique for a modified solar still

Abstract

An experimental comparison of water productivity between a conventional single slope, solar still, and a modified one is introduced in this work. The modified solar still is incorporated with a new heating technique on the saline water surface using finned cover with holes. These fins are used to increase the heat transfer area between the cover and saline water; meanwhile, holes are used to allow evaporated water to go through. These experiments are held under the outdoor conditions of Tanta, Egypt. The performance of the two solar stills has been tested at a water depth of 0.05 m and a quantity of saline water of 50 L. The results indicated that the productivity of water per square meter per day for the modified design still is higher than the conventional still by about 30.6%.