Indoor experiments of a horizontal multiple effects diffusion solar still: Influence of heat input and the number of stages

Abstract

Clean water is important for human life, and obtaining it with the least amount of energy is significant. This research aims to desalinate water using a horizontal multiple effects diffusion solar still (DSS). A small distillation device with an area of 10 × 10 cm2 was designed and 3D printed. An electric heater was used to simulate solar radiation at 400, 700, and 1000 W/m2. The amount of water produced when using 1, 3, and 5 effects was recorded. The most notable results were: maximum water yield reached 1.93 kg/m2 h at 1000 W/m2, at which the solar to vapor conversion efficiency was 107%. The daily water yields throughout the year were estimated, and the maximum production was 10.16 kg/m2 during a day in June, when the global horizontal irradiance was 7.01 kWh/m2. The results were also compared with other distillation systems.

Keywords

• solar energy
• seawater
• desalination
• sustainability
• solar still
• wick