Performance enhancement of a conical solar still by optimizing inclination angle

• Published in: Solar energy Vol. 264; p. 112001
• Main Authors: Elnaby Kabeel, Abd, Abdelgaied, Mohamed, Attia, Mohammed El Hadi, Arıcı, Müslüm, Abdel-Aziz, Moataz M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2023
• Subjects: Conical solar still; Energy efficiency; Inclination angles; Solar energy; Inclination angles; PSD; CoSS-45; Solar energy; CoSS-60; Conical solar still; Energy efficiency; PCM; CoSS-30
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.112001

•An experimental test is conducted on conical solar stills.•Test are performed for different inclination angles, 30° (CoSS-30), 45°(CoSS-45), and 60°(CoSS-60).•Daily production for CoSS-30 increases by around 56.58% and 17.82%, respectively, compared to CoSS-60 and CoSS-45.•Conical solar still's distillation yield is augmented when inclination angle is 30°.
Conical solar stills have the benefit over simple solar stills in that all of the top portions are exposed to the same solar radiation at all times and in all locations, eliminating the need to specify the direction of the sun's rays. Additionally, unlike the walls of the basic distillation system, the walls of the conical distiller do not induce shadowing inside the basin. The goal of the present investigation is to develop and build new distillers with a transparent conical cover inclined from the horizon at various degrees in order to attain the best cumulative yield of Conical Solar Stills (CoSS). An experimental test is conducted on three conical solar stills with varied inclination angles (30, 45, and 60° with the horizon) in order to determine the ideal angle of CoSS that provides the maximum performance. According to experimental findings, employing a conical solar still at a 30° inclination angle results in a maximum cumulative production of 5.90 L/m2, which is an improvement of 16.83 and 55.26% over CoSS at 45 and 60°, respectively. When utilising the CoSS, however, yields of 5.05 and 3.80 L/m2 are obtained at inclination angles of 45 and 60°, respectively. In order to get the maximum performance conical solar stills, CoSS with a 30° inclination angle is advised based on cumulative yield data and daily efficiency.