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Energy, exergy, economic and enviro-economic (4E) analysis of gravel coarse aggregate sensible heat storage-assisted single-slope solar still

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Abstract

In this work, the energy, exergy, economic and enviro-economic assessments of gravel coarse aggregate sensible heat storage-assisted single-slope solar still are performed. The gravel coarse aggregate sensible heat storage bed preheats the saline water before entering the basin of the solar still and also stores the excess sensible heat. The experimental observations have been made under the climatic conditions of Coimbatore city in India during the year 2018. The experimental results showed that the maximum energy and exergy efficiency of about 32% and 4.7% were observed for 1 cm water depth. The maximum productivity of about 4.21 kg m−2 per day was observed for 1 cm water depth during the period of 12 h of observation. The economic analysis revealed that the cost of distillate per litre was estimated as 0.0618$ with a payback period of 4.3 months. Moreover, it is observed that the proposed solar still configuration has reduced 8.27 tons of CO2 emissions for 1 cm water depth during its life cycle. The parametric analysis results confirmed that the solar irradiation and water depths are the two major parameters influencing the performance of a solar still. Furthermore, the water quality assessment revealed that all the water samples collected from the solar stills are suitable for drinking and also meet the requirements of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

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Abbreviations

A :

Surface area (m2)

C p :

Specific heat (kJ kg−1 K−1)

E :

Energy (W)

\({\text{Ex}}\) :

Exergy (W)

\(I(t)\) :

Incident solar energy (W m−2)

\(h\) :

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

L :

Latent heat of evaporation (kJ kg−1)

m :

Hourly distillate (kg)

P :

Pressure (N m−2)

T :

Temperature (K)

\(U\) :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

V :

Wind velocity (m s−1)

w r :

Total uncertainty (%)

S :

Salvage value

\(N_{{{\text{CO}}_{2} }}\) :

Net CO2 mitigation

\(R_{{{\text{CO}}_{2} }}\) :

Market price of CO2 mitigation

AC:

Annual cost

AMC:

Annual maintenance cost

ASV:

Annual salvage value

BIS:

Bureau of Indian Standards

CC:

Capital cost

CCE:

Carbon credit earned

CPL:

Cost per litre

CRF:

Capital recovery factor

FAC:

Fixed annual cost

SSF:

Sinking fund factor

LT:

Life time of the solar still

ɛ eff :

Effective emissivity

σ :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant, 5.67 × 10−8 W m−2 K−4

\(\alpha\) :

Absorptivity

\(\tau\) :

Transmissivity

\(\eta\) :

Efficiency

µ :

Water conductivity

A:

Ambient air

b:

Basin

C:

Convection

Ca:

Coarse aggregate

Ch:

Charge

D:

Destruction

Eva:

Evaporation

g:

Glass

Ge:

Gained energy

In:

Input (embodiment) energy

Ins:

Insulation

O:

Overall

Out:

Output energy

R:

Radiation

s:

Sun

Ss:

Solar still

St:

Stored energy

Sky:

Sky

T:

Total

w:

Water

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641042, India

    R. Dhivagar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, 641032, India

    M. Mohanraj

  3. Analysis Process Unit, Engineers National School of Gabes, Gabes University, Omar Ibn El Khattab Street, 6029, Gabès, Tunisia

    K. Hidouri

  4. Department of Mechanics, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Ye. Belyayev

  5. Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Graphics, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Ye. Belyayev

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  1. R. Dhivagar
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  2. M. Mohanraj
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  3. K. Hidouri
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  4. Ye. Belyayev
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Correspondence to R. Dhivagar.

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Dhivagar, R., Mohanraj, M., Hidouri, K. et al. Energy, exergy, economic and enviro-economic (4E) analysis of gravel coarse aggregate sensible heat storage-assisted single-slope solar still. J Therm Anal Calorim 145, 475–494 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09766-w

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