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Performance amelioration of single basin solar still integrated with V- type concentrator: Energy, exergy, and economic analysis

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Abstract

Solar desalination is one of the most sustainable solutions to produce freshwater from brackish water. The present research work aims to experimentally investigate the effect of a V-shape concentrator integrated with solar still (SS). The V-shape concentrator integrated with the conventional solar still (CSS) is used to supply the saline water at elevated temperature to the basin of SS, which augments the freshwater yield compared to CSS. The experimental investigation was performed at different brackish water depths of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 m, respectively. The SS system was evaluated based on water yield, energy, exergy, concentrator efficiency, and economic analysis. The freshwater yield of the solar still integrated with V-shape concentrator (SSVC) was found to be 5.47, 5.10, and 4.89 L/m2.day, whereas the yield of the CSS was 3.73, 3.27, and 2.91 L/m2 .day at the water depths of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 m, respectively. The daily energy and exergy efficiency of CSS were 38.5, 33.5, and 29.4% and 1.9, 1.5, and 0.97 % in the case of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03m water depth , respectively. However, the integration of concentrator significantly augmented the energy efficiency to 57.4, 51.7, and 44.9% and exergy efficiency to 3.8, 3.3, and 2.8% for the respective water depths . Life cycle studies demonstrated that the freshwater cost per liter for CSS and SSVC were 0.0102 $ and 0.0117 $ respectively, at a water depth of 0.01 m. It was concluded that the addition of V-shape concentrator and minimum water depth is useful to augment the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and yield of the SS in the very economical way.

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Abbreviations

T1 :

upper glass cover temperature (°C)

T2 :

lower glass cover temperature (°C)

T3 :

ambiant air température (°C)

T4 :

absorber plate température (°C)

T5 :

V-shape concentrator outlet température (°C)

T6 :

V-shape concentrator inlet température (°C)

TS :

sun température (°C)

ϵin :

input exergy

ϵx, evap :

output exergy

ϵx, work :

work rate exergy

ηd :

daily energy efficiency

CSP:

concentrated solar power

CSS:

conventional solar still

FPC:

flat plate collectors

FPR:

flat plate reflector

PCM:

phase change materials

PTC:

parabolic trough collectors

SS:

solar still

TSS:

tubular solar still

SSVC:

solar still attached with V-shape concentrator

VMEDS:

vertical multiple-effect diffusion solar still

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, CEG Campus, Anna University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, 600025, India

    Amrit Kumar Thakur, Sathiya Satchi Christopher & Muthuraman Ponrajan Vikram

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt

    Swellam Wafa Sharshir

  3. Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Zhenjun Ma

  4. School of Chemical Sciences and Technology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China

    Arunkumar Thirugnanasambantham

  5. Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Machinery Transients (Wuhan University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Shunyang Li, Pengfei Wang & Wensheng Zhao

  6. Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

    Abd Elnaby Kabeel

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  1. Amrit Kumar Thakur
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  2. Swellam Wafa Sharshir
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Thakur, A.K., Sharshir, S.W., Ma, Z. et al. Performance amelioration of single basin solar still integrated with V- type concentrator: Energy, exergy, and economic analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 3406–3420 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10625-2

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