Investigation on Productivity Enhancement of a Solar Still with Transparent Polythene Film Cover and Cylindrical Hollow Fins for Heat Storage

This paper discussed the experimental performance of a solar still with cylindrical hollow fins that were integrated to a black painted stainless-steel basin. The cover of the solar still was made of transparent polythene film, while the frame was made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Mild steel cylindrical hollow pipes of 0.035 m diameter were used as fins in the solar still. The performance of this solar still (PSSCHF) was compared with the performance of a conventional solar still (PSS1) which was made of similar fabrication materials, but without using fins in its basin. Each solar still basin contained water with the depth of 1 cm that was collected from a pond located at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) campus. Both PSSCHF and PSS1 solar stills were exposed to similar climatic conditions within the same locality at USM during the experiments. The purpose of using the fins in the basin of PSSCHF was to absorb more heat from solar irradiance. The PSSCHF attained a maximum productivity of 4.49 l/m2•d, whereas the PSS1 obtained a maximum water production of 3.97 l/m2•d. The quality of fresh water produced from the solar stills met the World Health Organization potable water standards.