Investigation on evacuated tubes coupled solar still with condenser and fins: Experimental, exergo-economic and exergo-environment analysis

The present experimental work was done to check the performance enhancement in distillate productivity between CSS and MSS in climatic conditions of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India (23.21° N, 72.63° E). In modified solar still (MSS) fins, evacuated tubes and newly designed zig-zag shape air-cooled condenser were attached. An MSS was prepared to achieve the higher temperature in water inside the basin and maintain a lower temperature of glass cover than CSS. The highest obtained water temperature and temperature of inner glass cover for CSS and MSS were 63.75 °C & 69.21 °C and 54.37 °C & 54.93 °C separately. Modified solar still gives around 6 °C higher water temperature by maintaining the same inner glass cover temperature as CSS. The maximum distillate output for CSS and MSS was 2.26 kg/m2 and 3.92 kg/m2, respectively. It gives 73.45% of higher productivity than CSS. In a thermal analysis of a system, higher fractional exergy evaporation could be achieved for MSS. Also, in the still with different modifications, higher thermal efficiency was obtained. In cost analysis, the water achieved for CSS and MSS were 0.013 and 0.015 USD/L, respectively. Exergo-economic and exergo-environmental analysis for MSS shows that the modified system was highly beneficial from economic point of view and generation of less carbon value by CO2 mitigation.Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni: Supervision, Project administration, Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication.Scopu

Investigation and performance analysis of solar still with energy storage materials: An energy- exergy efficiency analysis

Researchers have attempted different Energy storage materials (ESM) in solar stills (SS) to improve distillate yield. In this experimental work, an attempt was made to increase the distillate yield & efficiency of SS, using good absorbing and heat transfer capacity of ESM. A comparison was made between a conventional solar still (CSS) and a solar still with energy storage materials (SSWESM) in this experiment. Different energy storage materials like black color glass ball (BCGB), black granite (BG) and white marble stone (WMS) were used in equal quantity during experimental work. CSS and SSWESM had daily distillate yield of 1.4 kg/m2 and 2.5 kg/m2, respectively. The ESM boosts water evaporation during the day and releases heat at night, resulting in a higher distillate yield than CSS. Meanwhile, the exergy efficiency (?exe) of CSS and SSWESM were 4.99% and 12.55% respectively. Also the SSWESM gives 72.6% more daily efficiency (?) than CSS.The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University for funding this work through Research Group no. RG-21-12-03.Scopu

Experimental performance evaluation of solar still with zig-zag shape air cooled condenser: An energy–exergy analysis approach

In the present experimental effort is made to increase the performance of a solar still (SS) by including a novel design of a zig-zag-shaped air-cooled condenser (ZZACC) and cuprous oxide (CuO) as a nanomaterial. Research work is conducted in the climatic conditions of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, from September to November 2020. A comparison was made to assess the performance of a conventional solar still (CSS) and a solar still equipped with a zig-zag shape air-cooled condenser (SSWZZACC) with CuO. The experiments’ findings showed that adding CuO to SSWZZACC increases the distillate production by 46.83% and the daily energy efficiency by 45.98%, respectively, compared to CSS. Also, SSWZZACC demonstrates a better efficiency of exergy and latent heat of vaporization than CSS because CuO causes an increase in the evaporative heat transfer coefficient of water. In life cycle cost analysis study discovered that SSWZZACC has a 27.77% lower cost per litre of water (CPL) than CSS. The obtained maximum energy and exergy efficiency values for CSS and SSWZZACC were 2.36% & 25.75% and 3.9% & 37.59%, respectively. In economic and environmental aspects, it was found that SSWZZACC with CuO showed a cost-effective desalination unit and was highly effective from a carbon credit point of view (CCP) by CO2 mitigation