Improving thermal performance of half-cylindrical solar stills with convex/corrugated absorbers, wick materials, reflector, and nano-enhanced phase change materials

This study explored the influence of various modifications on the performance of a half-cylindrical solar still (HCYSS). The effectiveness of each modification was assessed by comparing its distillate yield to a baseline configuration. The modifications included: a convex surface absorber, different wick materials (cotton and jute), a corrugated convex surface absorber, and phase changing material (PCM)‑silver (Ag) composite. The experimental outcomes established that the HCYSS itself achieved a 55 % improvement in productivity compared to a conventional solar still (CSS). Furthermore, the use of a convex absorber in the HCYSS significantly increased the yield to 6300 ml/m², representing a 94 % enhancement over the 3250 ml/m² collected by the CSS. The corrugated convex HCYSS exhibited an even greater yield increase of 123 % compared to the baseline CSS. The most significant performance improvement was achieved by incorporating both reflector and a PCM-Ag composite into the HCYSS design. This configuration resulted in 184 % increase in productivity and efficiency of 61.5 %. These findings suggest that the HCYSS with optimized design features holds promise for enhancing solar desalination efficiency.