Thermal and productivity enhancement of a double-slope solar still using beeswax phase change material and pelletized sphagnum moss wick

Résumé fourni par la source

Solar stills (SS) are an eco-friendly option for producing drinking water in remote and water-deficient areas. Nevertheless, the use of SS on a large scale is hindered by low productivity. In this study, a Double Slope Solar Still (DSS) was improved by incorporating beeswax as PCM and Sphagnum Moss pellets as a new wick bed to increase the efficiency of SS. Sphagnum moss pellets provide an even distribution of water, which ensures a constant rate of evaporation. The outcomes revealed that the combined effect of the use of PCM and Wick material augments the performance of the SS considerably. The best configuration with 20 pellets recorded a maximum productivity of 4196 mL/m²/day, indicating that there is an increase in the productivity by 105.8% compared to the conventional DSS system. The average energy efficiency increased from 24.78% to 47.91%, and exergy efficiency increased from 1.74% to 3.44%. The water cost also decreased from 0.021 $/L to 0.012 $/L, and the payback period decreased from 6.6 months to 3.8 months. The outcomes demonstrate that the combined use of beeswax PCM and sphagnum moss wick material significantly improves freshwater productivity, thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and economic performance of the DSS.

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