An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Phase Change Material and External Reflectors on the Performance of a Single Slope Still

Abstract

Solar stills are widely recognized as a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for transforming brackish water into potable water. Although solar energy shows promise, it has yet to be widely adopted due to its lower productivity. This paper presents an experimental investigation to enhance the performance of a single slope solar still using phase change material (PCM) and external reflectors. Many outdoor experiments have been conducted for three cases including: solar still without PCM, Solar still with PCM, and solar still with PCM with external reflectors. Also, the effect of water depth inside the still is examined. The performance of the four cases is evaluated and compared under the meteorological conditions of Baghdad City, Iraq. The results showed that using the PCM improved the Accumulated yield of the conventional solar still by 23% and 14 % for water depths of 2 cm and 3 cm, respectively. Also, the results revealed that using the external reflectors improves the Accumulated yield by 15% for the still with PCM, respectively.