Performance Assessment of a Pyramid Shaped Double Slope Solar Still for Enhanced Distillate Output

Abstract

Water scarcity is among the major problems faced by many countries across the world. With increase in population and industrialization, the degradation of common water resources is increasing. Water is one of the essential components for bolster human life. Many parts of the world have low access to potable water. Consumption of untreated impure water leads to many fatal diseases. Solar still is a clean and economical device for converting brackish and impure water to potable form. It utilizes the inexhaustible solar energy as the primary energy source. It consists of a basin which holds the impure water and a glass cover at the top through which solar radiation is incurred. In a solar still, heat relocation takes place both internally and externally through conduction, convection and radiation. The heat loss from the side walls of the solar still plays a significant role in the productivity of the solar still. A double cover pyramid solar still is fabricated and tested. It is generally detected that the yield of the solar still increases by 77% with the proposed model.