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A detailed review on various aspects of inverted solar still desalination systems proposed for clean water production

  • Review Article
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Abstract

Rapid degradation of quality and quantity of the available limited fresh water reserves has forced nations around the globe to search for alternate fresh water sources. This has led to the development of various desalination technologies to generate potable water from abundantly available sea and brackish water. Desalination sector has undergone various upgradations to meet the rising fresh water demand in a sustainable way. One such upgradation is the utilization of solar energy as an energy source. High cost and associated environmental impacts with large-scale desalination systems have shifted the focus of researchers towards research and development of various small-scale efficient solar stills for cheap potable water production in rural, remote, arid, and coastal locations. In this review article, various configurations of a non-conventional solar still, namely inverted solar still, have been reviewed extensively by highlighting its classifications, design aspects, working principle, features, and economics. Moreover, the role of inverted solar still’s evaporating and condensing surface characteristics and thermal properties on its distillate productivity has also been discussed. Inverted absorber multi-basin solar still and inverted multi-effect diffusion solar still configurations are highly productive. Economics of inverted solar still is better than other conventional solar still configurations and conventional reverse osmosis plant of few m3/day capacity. This review article will facilitate researchers to select appropriate inverted solar still configuration for further performance improvement and commercialization. The scope for future research works on inverted solar still has also been listed.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Surface area of condensing cover (m2)

A itss :

Aperture area of inverted trickle solar still (m2)

A sc :

Aperture area of solar collector (m2)

C p ,ha :

Specific heat capacity of humid air (J/kg/K)

C pw :

Specific heat capacity of water (J/kg/K)

d e–c :

Distance between evaporating and condensing surface (m)

g :

Acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2)

h cw :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2/K)

h fg :

Latent heat of evaporation (J/kg)

I t :

Solar radiation absorbed by the absorber plate of the still (W/m2)

K ha :

Thermal conductivity of humid air (W/m/K)

L cfss :

Length of the inverted capillary film solar still (m)

Le:

Lewis number

M a :

Molecular weight of air (28.96 kg/kmol)

m d, cfss :

Distillate yield of single-stage inverted capillary film solar still (kg/m2/s)

m d, ibs :

Distillate yield of inverted basin solar still (kg/m2/s)

m d, idss :

Distillate productivity of single-effect inverted diffusion solar still (kg/m2/s)

m d, imwss :

Distillate yield of inverted multi-wick solar still (kg/m2/s)

m d, itss :

Distillate yield of inverted trickle solar still integrated with solar collector (kg/m2/s)

m f :

Mass flow rate of feed water (kg/s)

M w :

Molecular weight of water (18.0 kg/kmol)

M Y :

Annual distillate production capacity in L/year

Nu :

Nusselt number

P a :

Partial vapor pressure at ambient temperature (Pa)

P bc :

Partial vapor pressure at inverted multi-wick still condensing cover temperature (Pa)

P c :

Partial vapor pressure at condensing cover temperature of inverted capillary film solar still or inverted basin still (Pa)

P cs :

Partial vapor pressure at diffusion still condensing cover temperature (MPa)

P e :

Partial vapor pressure at evaporating surface temperature of inverted capillary film solar still (Pa)

P es :

Partial vapor pressure at diffusion still evaporating surface temperature (MPa)

P lm :

Logarithmic mean pressure (Pa)

P mw :

Partial vapor pressure at multi-wick temperature (Pa)

P o :

Total pressure (101,325 Pa)

P T :

Total pressure in the still (MPa)

P w :

Partial vapor pressure at basin water temperature (Pa)

Q ec :

Evaporative cooling rate (W)

q ( g–a) :

Heat loss from the upper glass of the still to the ambient (W/m2)

q s( ab–a) :

Heat loss from the sides of the still to the ambient (W/m2)

\(\overline{R }\) :

Universal gas constant (8314 J/kmol/K)

Ra :

Rayleigh number

S :

Sliding angle (°)

T av :

Average temperature of evaporating and condensing surface (°C)

T bc :

Temperature of inverted multi-wick still condensing cover (°C)

T c :

Condensing cover temperature (°C)

T e :

Evaporating surface temperature (°C)

T mw :

Temperature of multi-wick (°C)

T w :

Basin water temperature (°C)

T wo ,itss :

Temperature of un-evaporated water leaving inverted trickle solar still (°C)

T wo ,sc :

Temperature of preheated water leaving solar collector or water entering inverted trickle solar still (°C)

V :

Wind speed (m/s)

V a :

Diffusional volume of the diluent gas

V w :

Diffusional volume of the water vapor

z :

Water depth (m)

AMC:

Annualized maintenance and operation cost in USD

ASV:

Annual salvage value in USD

CPT:

Distillate production cost in USD/m3

FAC:

Fixed annualized cost in USD

IR:

Interest rate in %

LT:

Life time of the still in years

OMF:

Operation and maintenance cost factor in % of the fixed annualized cost

PC:

Principal cost of the still in USD

RH:

Relative humidity (%)

SVF:

Salvage value factor in % of principal cost

TAC:

Total annualized cost in USD

α ha :

Thermal diffusivity of humid air (m2/s)

β ha :

Volumetric expansion coefficient of humid air (1/K)

δ :

Diffusion gap (m)

ξ :

Diffusivity coefficient of water vapor (m2/s)

ρ ha :

Density of humid air (kg/m3)

µ ha :

Dynamic viscosity of humid air (kg/ms)

(τα)e :

Effective transmittance absorptance

τ w :

Transmissivity of water

θ :

Tilt angle of the inverted capillary film solar still (°)

θ C :

Contact angle (°)

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the Elsevier publication for permitting to reuse Figs. 10, 15, 16, and 17 in this review article through Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink® service. The author acknowledges "Start-up Research Grant" funding from the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (Grant No: SRG/2023/000017). 

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 530 003, India

    Sharon Hilarydoss

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Hilarydoss, S. A detailed review on various aspects of inverted solar still desalination systems proposed for clean water production. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 119671–119710 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30760-w

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