Performance evaluation of a modified pyramid solar still employing wick, reflectors, glass cooling and TiO2 nanomaterial

In this work pyramid-shaped two solar still units were tested experimentally, one of them is a traditional unit and the other is a modified pyramid solar still unit with wick material, reflectors, glass cover cooling, and adding nano-TiO2 particles. Five cases for modified pyramid solar still were considered, MPSS-Case 1 (modified pyramid solar still with hanging wick), MPSS-Case 2 (modified pyramid solar still with hanging wick and glass cooling), MPSS-Case 3 (modified pyramid solar still with hanging wick and reflectors), MPSS-Case 4 (modified pyramid solar still with hanging wick, glass cooling, and reflectors), and Case 5 (modified pyramid solar still with hanging wick, glass cooling, reflectors, and nano-Tio(2) particles). The performance of MPSS-Case 5 was the best when compared with the other cases. The total productivity during the day for the Traditional Solar Still (TSS) was 3080 ml/m(2)/day and for the Modified Pyramid Solar Still Case 5 (MPSS-Case 5) was 7000 ml/m(2)/day, which means that the yield of the modified unit enhanced by 127.27 % over TSS. Additionally, the daily thermal efficiency was 83.8 %, 37.87 % for MPSS-Case 5 and TSS, respectively. The cost per liter for MPSS-Case 5 was 0.021$ which is lower than that for TSS by about 52.38 %.

Automated summary

In this study, two pyramid-shaped solar still units were experimentally tested, with one being a traditional unit and the other a modified unit. The modified unit showed better performance compared to the traditional unit, with significantly higher total productivity and thermal efficiency during the day. Additionally, the cost per liter was lower for the modified unit compared to the traditional unit.