Experimental investigation of a low cost inclined wick solar still with forced continuous flow

Water scarcity is a big challenge in many countries including Saudi Arabia, for which solar water desalination is a strategic goal due to the high solar intensities and the long sunshine duration. The main objective of this study is to develop a low cost and high efficiency solar water desalination device for small communities and remote areas in Saudi Arabia. The study is conducted in December 7th, 2020 (winter season) under the climatic conditions of Ha'il city (27.66 ^oN, 41.72 ^oE), Saudi Arabia. An inclined solar still was designed with a black cotton wick and a continuous saline water circulation flow via a small pump. Results showed high device performance with low freshwater production cost. The device is able to produce 3.21 L/m²day with 50.55% thermal efficiency and $0.0118/L cost of freshwater yield. Also, the device productivity is expected to be higher in the summer season. The proposed device has a significant low cost of $76.5/m² which can be very attractive in the solar desalination market. The developed device increases the efficiency and productivity by 139.12% and 21.13%, respectively, and lowered the freshwater production cost by 57.86% compared with the device without the wick.