Using Graphene Materials to Enhance the Multi-Effects Solar Still Performance

Abstract

The exponential growth of living and the growth of the population in the world have led to a large demand for potable water. The shortage of fresh water in the desert countries, such as rivers, lakes, and drinkable water wells needs sustainable solutions. The use of solar energy which is abundant in KSA throughout the year to convert the salty water of seas and oceans to freshwater is the most promising solution to meet the increasing potable water needs. Many studies investigated the applications of the direct solar still which is a promising desalination technique since it costs very little to construct and operate, has low maintenance requirements, and can be constructed using local material, but most of the previous studies concluded that the solar still has low performance and it cannot be used to produce a huge amount of desalinated water. Therefore, in this study a mathematical model was developed to study the enhancement of the solar still using a multi-effects design with a graphene-coated material. This type of design was implemented to enhance the water evaporation and solar absorption rate of the still. Consequently, the water productivity and the temperature distribution of water were enhanced and the performance of the solar still increased by around 21%.