This study focused on experimentally increasing the productivity of freshwater from solar stills. The performance of a single solar still system could be augmented with the combination of an electric heater, vibration motion, and thermoelectric cooling. The study investigated the effects of combining two of these components and finally combining all of them on freshwater productivity. The electric heater and vibration motion are used to enrich the evaporation rate, while thermoelectric coolers are used to enhance the condensation rate, leading to high freshwater productivity. The proposal, construction, and testing of two identical solar stills were performed under the local climate conditions of the city of Alexandria in northwestern Egypt during the summer and winter times. The two solar stills had a 1-m2 base area. An electric heater of 450 W was placed inside the modified solar still. The modified solar still was fixed on four coiled springs. A 1-hp power DC motor, an inverter, a control unit, and two 330-W photovoltaic solar panels were attached to the modified solar still. Eccentric masses were mounted on the rotating disk attached to the DC motor to generate the vibration. Under the same climate conditions, the daily output of freshwater was measured experimentally for the modified case and the conventional solar. The daily rates of freshwater productivity in summer were investigated for four cases and the conventional one. Results showed that the peak daily freshwater productivity achieved with the solar heater, thermoelectric coolers, and vibration motion was 12.82 kg/day, with a maximum estimated cost of 0.01786 $/L/m2.The exergoeconomic of the modified solar still with heater, vibration, and thermoelectric cooler was greater than that of conventional ones. The highest CO2 mitigation of the case (5) and that of the conventional solar desalination were about 160 tons and 28 tons, respectively.

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The performance of a single-slope solar still system has been improved with the addition of copper oxide (CuO) nanopowder in water as nanofluid and thermoelectric glass cover cooling combination. The use of vibration further enhances the performance of distillate water as a result of the accelerated heat transfer. In this study, CuO nanofluids loaded the solar still system at volume concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%. The design, fabrication, and testing of the single still were conducted under the local weather conditions of Alexandria, which is located in the northwest of Egypt. The proposed solar still had a base area of 1 m 2 and fitted with four coiled springs, a DC motor, and a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel. The vibration generator was a three-phased, with a 1-HP power motor (220 V, 50 Hz, and 1380 rpm maximum speed) fixed to a compact disk with a small punch for adding masses to generate the un-mass balance forces. The power source for the DC motor was a 250-W PV. The daily output of fresh water during the experimental period was empirically measured under the same climate conditions, and the results were compared with those of a conventional solar still. The daily rates of freshwater productivity were investigated in two cases: (a) under vibration without cover cooling and (b) under vibration with cover cooling at the three given nanofluid volume concentrations. Based on the results, the highest daily freshwater productivity attained with the vibration and cover cooling (at the 1.5% nanofluid volume concentration) 7.

This study focused on experimentally increasing the productivity of freshwater from solar stills. The performance of a single solar still system could be augmented with the combination of an electric heater, vibration motion, and thermoelectric cooling. The study investigated the effect of combining two of these components and finally combining all of them on freshwater productivity. The electric heater and vibration motion are used to enrich the evaporation rate while thermoelectric coolers are used to enhance the condensation rate, leading to high freshwater productivity. The proposal, construction, and testing of two identical solar stills performed under the local climate conditions of the city of Alexandria in northwestern Egypt during the summer and winter times. The two solar stills had a 1 m2 base area. An electric heater of 450 W was placed inside the modified solar still. The modified solar still was fixed on four coiled springs. A 1 hp power DC motor, an inverter, a control unit, and two 330 W photovoltaic solar panels were attached to the modified solar still. Eccentric masses were mounted on the rotating disk attached to the DC motor to generate the vibration. The daily output of freshwater was measured experimentally for the modified case and the conventional solar still under the same climate condition. The daily rates of freshwater productivity in summer were investigated for four cases and the conventional one. Results showed that the peak daily freshwater productivity achieved with the solar heater, thermoelectric coolers, and vibration motion was 12.82 kg/day, with a maximum estimated cost of 0.01786 $/L/m2.

No abstract