Investigation on the Impact of Different Absorber Materials in Solar Still Using CFD Simulation—Economic and Environmental Analysis

Abstract

Solar stills are one of the low water production desalination systems, but its low yield makes it necessary to investigate different design and performance parameters to improve its productivity. This paper aims to perform a parametric analysis of a solar still desalination system and study the effect of different absorber materials on the performance of a single-slope solar desalination unit employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation via COMSOL® Multiphysics software. To consider the absorptivity of water with different absorbing materials, simulation was conducted with the application of effective emissivity for the solar still walls. In addition, the economic, exergoeconomic, and CO2 mitigation of solar stills were studied. The results revealed that the hourly water output of the solar desalination unit, with different absorbing materials (black ink, black dye, and black toner), reached the maximum values at 1:00 PM. On comparing the simulation results of solar stills with and without absorbing materials, it has been observed that the solar still painted with black toner shows the highest improvement in hourly productivity, the exergy of evaporation, and evaporative heat transfer coefficient with a maximum increase in respective values by 10.52%, 13.68% and 5.37%. The CO2 mitigation and enviroeconomic parameter of the solar still using black toner were equal to 31.4 tons and 455.3 USD, respectively. Moreover, the lowest cost per liter (CPL) of the solar still was obtained using black toner, which was about 0.0066 USD/L.

A Comprehensive Review on Advancements in Solar Still Desalination

“…The absorber material in a solar still significantly influences solar absorption and, consequently, overall efficiency. Research by Chandrakant Sonawane et al [18] utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigates the influence of diverse absorber materials on the performance of a solar desalination unit. Additionally, studies on absorber coatings by A.E.…”

Solar desalination: A review of recent developments in environmental, regulatory and economic issues

“…It was recommended that pilot scale assessment, optimization as well as economic evaluation was required to further determine the commercialization potential of this new technology. In a related investigation, simulation modelling was employed by Sonawane et al, [36,37] to analyze or assess the environmental and economic issues associated with using various absorber materials (i.e., black ink, black dye, and black toner) in solar stills. Black toner was found to be the most eco-friendly in terms of reducing CO2 production.…”