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Experimental investigation of an active inclined solar panel absorber solar still—energy and exergy analysis

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Abstract

The objective of the current study is to investigate the performance of the inclined solar panel basin still (ISPBS) incorporated with a spiral tube collector (STC) for various mass flow rates of water (mf). The maximum potable water yield of 8.1, 6.9, and 6.1 kg is obtained for different mass flow rates of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg/h in each instance. Also, for mf of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg per hour, the daily average energy and exergy efficiency of the ISPBS is recorded to be 47.9, 39.3, and 31.02 % and 9.8, 7.9, and 5.6 %, in each instance. The average electrical, thermal, and exergy efficiency of the PV panel is noted to be 6.5, 7.1, and 7.5 %; 15.67, 17.1, and 18.04 %; and 20.03, 22.21, and 23.36 % for mf of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg/h in each instance. The rise in mf causes a drop in the fresh water production yield; thermal, exergy, and overall thermal effectiveness; and an enhancement in the power production of the panel, electrical, thermal, exergy, and overall exergy efficiency of the system. Also, the cost of yield production is noted to be low-cost in AISS at minimum mf of 1.8 kg per hour (0.019 $/l) when compared to the other two mf of 3.2 and 4.7 kg per hour (0.022 and 0.025 $/l).

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Data availability

All data are given in the manuscript.

Abbreviations

CSS:

conventional solar still

PV/T:

photovoltaic/thermal

TEC:

thermoelectric cooler

ISPBS:

inclined solar panel basin still

STC:

spiral tube collector

AISS:

ISPB still combined with STC

mf :

mass flow rate of water

PSS:

pyramid solar still

ISS:

inclined solar still

FPC:

flat plate collector

CPC:

compound parabolic concentrator

A:

area (m2)

h:

heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

I:

current (A)

I(t):

solar intensity (W/m2)

L:

latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg K)

M:

hourly productivity from solar still (kg/m2 h)

P:

partial vapor pressure (N/m2)

T:

temperature (o C)

V:

voltage (V)

η:

efficiency (%)

a:

ambient

c:

convective

d:

daily

e:

evaporative

g:

glass

gi:

inner glass

pv:

photovoltaic

s:

surface area of condensing cover

w:

water

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 048, India

    Mohamed Thalib Mohamed Rafeek & Muthu Manokar Athikesavan

  2. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, R.M.K Engineering College, Chennai, 601 206, India

    Vimala Muthu

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Arasur, Coimbatore , Tamil Nadu, 641407, India

    Ravishankar Sathyamurthy

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

    Abd Elnaby Kabeel

  5. Faculty of Engineering, Delta University for Science and Technology, Gamasa, Egypt

    Abd Elnaby Kabeel

Authors
  1. Mohamed Thalib Mohamed Rafeek
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  2. Vimala Muthu
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  3. Muthu Manokar Athikesavan
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  4. Ravishankar Sathyamurthy
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  5. Abd Elnaby Kabeel
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Contributions

Mohamed Thalib Mohamed Rafeek—Writing—review and editing

Vimala Muthu—Writing—review and editing

Muthu Manokar Athikesavan—Writing, formal analysis, review and editing

Ravishankar Sathyamurthy—Project administration, software, review and editing

Abd Elnaby Kabeel—Data curation, review and editing

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Correspondence to Muthu Manokar Athikesavan.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 Readings on 1.8.2017 (1.8 kg/h)
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Table 5 Readings on 4.8.2017 (3.2 kg/h)
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Table 6 Readings on 6.8.2017 (4.7 kg/h)
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Rafeek, M.T.M., Muthu, V., Athikesavan, M.M. et al. Experimental investigation of an active inclined solar panel absorber solar still—energy and exergy analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 14005–14018 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16444-3

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