Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Yuvaperiyasamy M; Senthilkumar N; Deepanraj B
Abstract
This experimental study investigates the performance of single-slope solar desalination with finned pond with varying glass cover angle, water depth, usage of sensible and latent heat materials for four different saline water types. Conventional solar stills (CSS) produces less distillate and hence some ...
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This experimental study investigates the performance of single-slope solar desalination with finned pond with varying glass cover angle, water depth, usage of sensible and latent heat materials for four different saline water types. Conventional solar stills (CSS) produces less distillate and hence some design changes are made by integrating finned pond in conventional solar still (CSS-FP) apart from filling paraffin wax and bricks inside the solar still that enhances the thermal storage capacity. The solar still is constructed with galvanized steel for the base and side walls, while the basin is covered with tempered glass whereas the thermal conductivity is improved by applying a black paint on the sides. The finned pond enhances the heat absorption and distribution process, consequently increasing the evaporation rate within the still. The experiment was done in Pongalur, Tamil Nadu, India (10.9729° N, 77.3698° E), the maximum distillate production is achieved at a 35° glass cover angle and a 7 cm water depth. Desalination is done for four saline liquids: bore water (BW), seawater (SW), leather industry wastewater (LW), and plastic industry wastewater (PW). BW exhibits the highest yield due to its lower density and salinity. The chemical analysis of desalinated water suggests its suitability for home use; the economic research reveals a payback period of 230 days, confirming the solar still's financial feasibility. Hence, it is concluded that the proposed CSS-FP can increase productivity compared to the CSS under different conditions.
Advanced Energy Technologies
Subramanian Kumaravel; Nagaraj MeenakshiSunadaram; Govindarajan Bharathiraja
Abstract
In this research, a piece of copper scrap was placed in the 1m × 1m base of a single-slope solar still. An automated system steadily dripped salt water into the basin of the solar still. The experiment utilized dripping salt water and energy storage materials such as copper and brass scrap. Research ...
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In this research, a piece of copper scrap was placed in the 1m × 1m base of a single-slope solar still. An automated system steadily dripped salt water into the basin of the solar still. The experiment utilized dripping salt water and energy storage materials such as copper and brass scrap. Research has shown that the presence of copper scrap in the basin, combined with a shallow layer of salt water, has a significant impact on the distillate output. However, the high thermal capacity of the salt water in the basin can lead to reduced production. As more salt water is added to the basin, the temperature difference between the water inside and the glass cover increases. Based on the experimental results, the calculated yield is satisfactory, and the overall thermal efficiency remains at 71.3%. The production rate is also influenced by the diffusion process on the south-facing condensing cover. The temperatures of water, glass, and air, as well as their combined effects, are measured and analyzed.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Ramasamy Dhivagar; Murugesan Mohanraj
Abstract
In this experimental work, the energy efficiency and performance parameters of a coarse aggregate-assisted single-slope solar still were analyzed using Taguchi analysis. The preheated inlet saline water was sent to the solar still using thermal energy accumulated in coarse aggregate to enhance its productivity ...
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In this experimental work, the energy efficiency and performance parameters of a coarse aggregate-assisted single-slope solar still were analyzed using Taguchi analysis. The preheated inlet saline water was sent to the solar still using thermal energy accumulated in coarse aggregate to enhance its productivity and energy efficiency. The daily distillate of the proposed model was observed to be about 4.21 kg/m2 with the improved efficiency of around 32 %. Furthermore, the parameters that influenced the performance of the solar stills and their levels were identified using Taguchi analysis. The Signal to Noise (S/N) ratios of the coarse aggregate temperature, saline water temperature, glass temperature and energy efficiency were observed to be about 45.4 °C, 41.4 °C, 36.7 °C and 20.07 %, respectively. The results revealed that, the percentage difference between predicted and experimental values was observed to be about 1.6 %, 0.6 %, 1.5 % and 3.3 %, respectively. The optimization method confirmed that there was good agreement between the predicted and experimental values.
Hitesh N. Panchal; P. K. Shah
Abstract
A solar still is a viable option when the demand of potable water does not exceed more than 3 litres. Enhancement in distillate output from the solar still is a main goal of many researchers all over the world. In this research, the effect of copper and aluminium plates on distillate output is investigated ...
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A solar still is a viable option when the demand of potable water does not exceed more than 3 litres. Enhancement in distillate output from the solar still is a main goal of many researchers all over the world. In this research, the effect of copper and aluminium plates on distillate output is investigated experimentally as well as theoretically at different water depths under the same climate conditions. In solar stills, first we used solar still augmented with copper plates, second with aluminium and third without any plate called passive solar still. An energy balance equation was applied to solar still for calculation of theoretical distillate output of a solar still with different plates. Three experiments still of 1 m2 in area were constructed from locally available materials. In this work, it was found that the experimental and theoretical results are in good agreement. It was also found that using copper plate in a solar still increases distillate output by 20% (at water depth of 3 cm) and 32% (at water depth of 6 cm) compared with passive solar still, and using an aluminium plate increases distillate output by 10% (at water depth of 3 cm) and 20% (at water depth of 6 cm).
