Mansoura Engineering Journal, (MEJ), Vol.

40, Issue 2, June 2015 M: 13

Corrugated solar still with wick and reflectors

‫المقطر الشمسي مموج القاعدة مع الفتائل والعواكس‬
A.E. Kabeela,*, A.S. Abdullaha,b, Z.M. Omarac, F.A. Essac
a
Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta
University, Tanta, Egypt.
b
Currently, Faculty of Engineering, Salman bin Abdulaziz University, KSA,
c
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kafrelsheikh
University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt.
‫الخالصة‬
.)‫في هزا انبحث حى حمذيى دساست عًهيت ألداء َظاو ححهيت يياة يكىٌ يٍ يمطش شًسي يًىج انماعذة يع انفخائم (انخيش‬
‫ األول هى يمطش شًسي حىضي بسيط وانثاَي هى يمطش شًسي يًىج‬،‫نزا حى حصًيى وحصُيع يمطشاٌ شًسياٌ نًماسَت أدائهًا‬
‫ حى دساست أداء انًمطش انشًسي يًىج انماعذة يع انفخائم وبذوَها وكزنك يع انعىاكس انذاخهيت وحى يماسَت األداء يع‬.‫انماعذة‬
‫بالضافت اني رنك حى دساست حأثيش عًك انًياة انًانحت عهي أداء انًمطش انًًىج يع‬.‫انًمطش انشًسي انبسيط عُذ َفس انظشوف‬
‫ ولذ أظهشث انُخائح أٌ إَخاخيت انًمطش انًًىج حخحسٍ يع انفخائم‬.‫سى‬3 ، 2 ، 1 ‫وبذوٌ فخائم وعىاكس عُذ أعًاق يخخهفت‬
‫ و أوضحج انُخائح أَإَخاخيت انًمطش انًًىج (يع انفخائم وانعىاكس) أعهي يٍ إَخاخيت انًمطش انبسيط بحىاني‬.‫وانعىاكس‬
‫ وفي هزة انحانت حكىٌ انكفاءة وحكهفت انهخش يٍ انًياِ انُاحدت يٍ انًمطش انًًىج وانًمطش انبسيط‬.‫ عُذ عًك ياء ا سى‬%145.5
.‫ عهي انخشحيب‬0.048$ - %33 ‫ و‬0.025$ - %59 ‫هي‬

Abstract
In this paper, an experimental attempt has been made to study the performance of the desalination
system comprising of corrugated and wick absorbers of solar stills. Therefore, two solar stills are designed,
fabricated and assembled to study and compare their performances. The first one is a conventional solar still
(CSS) and the second is a corrugated solar still (CrSS). The performance of the CrSS with and without wick
and reflectors is tested and compared with CSS at the same conditions. The influences of saline water depth
(1, 2, and 3 cm) on the performance of the CrSS and its modifications have been investigated. Results showed
that integrating wick and reflectors with corrugated still enhance the productivity. During experimentations,
the productivities of CrSS with wick and reflectors are about 145.5% higher than that of the conventional
still, at saline water depth of 1cm. In that case the daily efficiency and estimated cost of 1 l of CrSS (with wick
and reflectors) and CSS are approximately 59%–0.025 $, and 33%–0.048 $, respectively.

Keywords—Solar still desalination; Corrugated solar still; Wick solar still; Productivity enhancement;
Efficiency and cost of solar still, Solar still with reflectors.

1. Introduction So, access to drinkable freshwater is a major

Freshwater is the main and primary problem everywhere in the world. Therefore,
requirement of life in the universe and without water treatment is usually needed, and water
water, the life will be non-existent. However, distillation and purification are always
while water covers about three quarters of the necessary to provide freshwater from brackish
earth's surface, only 2.5% is gifted as or seawater.
freshwater in lakes, rivers, surface water, polar Solar desalination is one such technique which
ice and ground water etc., and not all of this contributes as a part of the solution for
limited quantity is suitable for drinking drinking water shortages. However, distillation
because of the salt concentration and is energy intensive, and because of the scarce
environmental pollution. availability of wood and oil, solar desalination
is the promise for a cost effective solution.

Received: 5 March, 2015 – Accepted: 19 April, 2015

M: 14 A.E. Kabeel, A.S. Abdullah, Z.M. Omara & F.A. Essa

Among other types of solar distillation, solar and exposed to a larger area and ready for
stills are adequate for providing freshwater diffusion. As a result, the effects of increasing
from sea or brackish water for a single house the surface area of evaporation of water on the
or a small community. Although the performance of basin type solar stills by using
production of basin type solar stills is low, they different wick materials in the basin of a
have the advantages of simple design, double slope solar still [7] or using a vertical
construction and less technology and are hence jute cloth at the middle of the basin of a
easy to maintain. A survey of various solar still regenerative solar still [8] were investigated.
desalination systems was made by Gang Xiao The advantage of the wick is to keep the brine
et al. [1] and Sivakumar and Sundaram [2]. as shallow as possible while avoiding dry
Many attempts have been prepared and done to spots. Sakthivel et al. [8] modified the solar
increase the yield of solar stills with lower still by keeping jute cloth in vertical position in
costs. The basin area of the still, free surface the middle of the basin water and another row
area of the water, depth of the water in the still of jute cloth is attached with the wall of the
and inlet water temperature are considered as still. They found that the efficiency increases
the main factors affecting the productivity of by 8% and cumulative still yield with jute
the solar still. cloth increased by about 20%. Mahdi et al. [9]
Increase in surface areas of the solar still basin investigated experimentally a tilted wick-type
liner increases the productivity. To increase the solar still with charcoal cloth as an
basin area, fins, corrugated base and sponges absorber/evaporator material and for saline
[3,4,5] were used. Velmurugan et al. [3] water transport. It was concluded that increase
investigated the integration of fins at the basin of the input water mass flow rate leads to a
of the still and showed an increase of daily reduction in the efficiency of the still where
productivity from 1.88 to 2.8 kg/m2 a day as the representative daily efficiency of the still
compared to other types. The fin type solar still was 53% on a clear summer day. Kabeel [10]
was modified with black rubber, sand, pebble used a concave wick surface for evaporation,
and sponge for enhancing its productivity by whereas four sides of a pyramid shaped still
Velmurugan et al. [4]. They also determined were used for condensation. The concave
that the maximum increase in productivity of shaped wick surface increases the evaporation
75% occurred, when the fin type solar still was area due to the capillary effect. Results
integrated with sand and sponge. Experimental indicated that the average distillate
2
investigation to study the effect of using finned productivity in daytime was 4.1 l/m and its
and v-corrugated basin liners on the efficiency reaches about 45%. Omara et al.
performance of solar stills was conducted by [11] conducted an experiment using a new
Omara et al. [6]. Their results obtained that the hybrid system, which included the evacuated
yield of the modified finned and corrugated solar water heater, wicks still, and solar still.
solar stills was enhanced, at a constant quantity The following variables were studied: Single
of saline water of 30 l, by 40% and 21% and double layers wick; plane wick, lengthwise
respectively. In addition, the daily efficiency and crosswise linen; and feeding hot water
reached about 47.5%, 41% and 35% for during night. Water productivity was increased
finned, corrugated and conventional solar stills by about 114% over conventional still for
respectively. double layer square wick solar still.
In addition, when the surface area of basin Reflectors are used to enhance energy input to
water is high, the air mass subjected to natural the solar still. Abdallah et al [12] enhanced the
convection inside the still will take more single sloped solar still performance through
amounts of water particles. The water wets the increasing the production rate of distilled
surface of the materials available in the basin water. Design modification was introduced to
Mansoura Engineering Journal, (MEJ), Vol. 40, Issue 2, June 2015 M: 15

the conventional solar still, involving the 2. Experimental setup

installation of reflecting mirrors on all interior The investigated solar desalination system
sides. The inclusion of internal mirrors contains two solar stills. A cross-sectional
improved the system thermal performance up view of solar stills is shown in Fig. 1. The first
to 30%. Tanaka [13] constructed a basin type solar still is a conventional still and the second
solar still with internal and external reflectors. is a corrugated still. The basin area of the
The daily productivity of a basin type still was conventional still is 0.5 m2. The still is made of
increased by about 70% to 100% with a very iron sheets (0.0015 m thick). The whole
simple modification using internal and external surfaces of the still are coated with black paint
reflectors. The performance of the modified to increase the absorptivity. The bottom and
stepped solar still with internal and external side walls of the basin were well insulated by
(top and bottom) reflectors investigated by fiberglass. The basin was covered by a glass
Omara et al. [14]. The results showed that, sheet of 0.003 m thick inclined at nearly 30°
during experimentation the productivity of the horizontally, which is the latitude of
modified stepped solar still with internal and Kafrelsheikh, Egypt. This tilt angle was
an external reflector is higher than that of designated to make the received insolation by
conventional still about by 125%. In this case the absorber to be maxima so as possible and
the estimated cost of 1 l of distillate for to make the reflection losses to be minima so
stepped still with reflectors and conventional as possible. In addition, this angle is sufficient
solar stills is approximately 0.031$ and 0.049$, for all the water droplets to slip down to the
respectively. collecting channel.
From the previous work, it is concluded that The corrugated still shown in Fig. 1b has the
increasing the basin surface area, using the same dimensions of the conventional one
wick material, as well as using reflectors inside except that the still base has a corrugated shape
the basin still, leads to an increase in the with a height of 50 mm with an angle of 80°
overall productivity of the solar still. between any two tops or any two bottoms. The
Therefore, the main objective of this space between any two tops is also taken as
experimental study is to enhance the yield of 0.1m, so the corrugated still base has nine tops
solar still by combining between changing the and nineteen bottoms of corrugated form. The
basin liner to be corrugated, using the double introduced modifications of the modified
layer wick material and internal reflectors. In corrugated solar still is illustrated in Fig. 2b.
addition, the performances of conventional Using the double layer wick material over the
single basin solar still and the modified solar vees of the corrugated absorber is the first
still were investigated and compared. modification, as shown in Fig. 2c. While, the
The performance of the corrugated still is second modification is involving the
experimentally investigated under three cases: installation of reflecting mirrors on the three
corrugated still only, corrugated still with shining walls inside the corrugated still, as
wick, and finally corrugated still with wick and shown in Fig. 2d. The feed and distribution of
reflectors. In addition, the corrugated still the saline water over the corrugated base form
(with and without modifications) with three inside the corrugated still was done with the
different depths of water (1, 2, and 3 cm) was help of a perforated PVC tube, as shown in
also investigated to get the best water depth for Fig. 2c.
maximum output of distilled water as
compared to the conventional still. 3. Experimental Procedures
Experiments were conducted at the Faculty of
Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt
M: 16 A.E. Kabeel, A.S. Abdullah, Z.M. Omara & F.A. Essa

(Latitude 31.07°N and longitude 30.57°E) for flask of 2 l capacity with an accuracy of 5 ml
twenty seven days from sunrise to sunset, was used to measure the hourly productivity.
during the period from May to July 2014. The According to the accuracy of each measuring
performance of the different solar sills is instrument, the estimation of the uncertainty in
experimentally investigated under three cases: measurements has been calculated using the
corrugated still only, corrugated still with procedures explained by Kline & McClintock
wick, and corrugated still with wick and [15]. It has been carried out that the maximum
reflectors. The performance of the corrugated uncertainty in the measurements is about 2.2 %.
still (with and without modifications) with
three different depths of water (0.01, 0.02, and 5. Results and Discussion
0.03 m) was studied and compared with a 5.1 Effect of solar radiation on the
conventional still, which has a constant water
performance of the solar stills
depth of 0.01 m. Each depth investigation was
Experimental investigations were implemented
measured for three different days for each case,
covering many operating conditions. For
and then the average value was taken.
example, Fig. 3 shows the change in glass,
Atmospheric, basin and glass temperatures, basin water, and ambient temperatures and
distilled water productivity and the solar solar radiation for CrSS and CSS as affected
radiation were measured every one hour. In by ambient and surrounding operating
addition, the accumulated freshwater conditions during the time of the day.
productivity during the twenty-four hours is
measured in each experiment. During As expected, it is observed that the brine and
experimentations, the depth of water of glass temperatures go up as the time growths
conventional still is about 0.01 m (the quantity to get a maxima value in afternoon and begin
of saline water is about 5 l) and maintained to decline after that. This is due to the increase
approximately constant manually using the of solar radiation intensity in the morning and
feed water tank and control valves. The its decrease in the afternoon.
experiments were conducted with saline water Fig. 3 shows that the glass and basin water
depths of 1, 2 and 3 cm for corrugated still; the temperatures of CrSS with wick are higher
quantity of saline water is about 2.40 l, 4.75 l than that of conventional still by about 0–1.5
and 7.10 l, respectively. °C and 0–2.5 °C, respectively. This may be
due to the following: (1) the vees basin
4. Error Analysis absorber has higher surface area (1.34 m2) than
Evaluation of the system performance needs the flat basin (1 m2), thus consequently leads to
several parameters to be measured during the raise the water temperature of the modified
experiments. These parameters are the inside corrugated still more than that of the
brine temperature, the outer glass cover conventional type (2) The wick material has
temperature, the surrounding temperature, the higher storage material properties than that of
total solar radiation and the amount of output water only. For these reasons, the freshwater
distilled water. The calibrated copper production rate from the modified still is more
constantan type (K-type)thermocouples (± 0.5 than that of the conventional type as the ability
K) were used to measure all temperatures. A of evaporation and condensation rates are also
data logging solar power meter with a range of higher in the modified still.
0-5000 W/m2 and an accuracy of ±1 W/m2 was
used to measure the total insolation on the While results indicated that the glass and basin
same level of stills glass covers. A regulated water temperatures of CrSS with wick and
mirrors are higher than that of conventional
still by about 0–3.5 °C and 0–4.5 °C. This is
Mansoura Engineering Journal, (MEJ), Vol. 40, Issue 2, June 2015 M: 17

because using mirrors on the inside walls of temperature of the still and higher incident
the corrugated wick still (the three vertical solar radiation.
shining sides of the basin still) makes the In addition, the modified corrugated still has
energy lost is minimal. In addition, the smaller quantity of saline water (4.75 l/m2)
reflectors help in reflecting some of the than that of conventional type. So, the
incident solar radiation onto the basin water productivity the modified still is higher than
surface, thus consequently help to raise the that of conventional still since it needs a short
water and glass temperatures of the modified time for warming up, heating, evaporation and
solar still. So, the evaporation and condensation. The corrugated surface based
condensation rates in modified solar still were solar still shows a higher operating
greater than that of conventional still. temperature for longer time than the plane
surface (conventional still). While, the
5.2 Water productivity conventional still has higher quantity of water
The hourly change in distillate yield for CrSS (10 l/m2), therefore, it needs larger amount of
with wick and CSS at constant depths of saline energy to raise the water temperature and
water inside the basin still is revealed in Fig. 4. consequently takes longer time.
It can be concluded that many different The average accumulated productivity and the
measured parameters affect significantly the percentage of increase in productivity of CrSS
distilled water productivity (Fig. 3). In respect to CSS for the three tested modes at
addition, observations show that the distilled different water depths is showed in Table 1.
water was minima during the morning period. Each depth at each case was repeated for three
This is because the water was not yet heated different days, and then the average value was
up. While the maxima productivity of distilled taken.
water was given around the afternoon, As shown in Fig. 4 and Table 1, the
approximately at 1 p.m., and begins to decline productivity of the CrSS with wick is always
after that. This is because the high incident higher than that of CSS either with or without
solar radiation and the high ambient and the reflecting mirrors, all the time. This may be
surrounding temperature during this period of due to the negligible heat capacity of water
the day (Fig. 3). In addition, the feed water to mass in the CrSS (thin film of brine water).
the desalination system in the morning has low Using wick increases the heat transfer and
temperature and thus needs time to warm up. evaporating surface area of the brine through
Also, it can be observed from Fig. 4 that the base and vertical walls of solar still. In
hourly distillate yield from modified still is addition, it provides the still with a low
greater than that of conventional type at all thermal capacity and consequently faster
times. response to incident solar radiation (compared
Also, the figure shows that a wide productivity with conventional basin type stills) which
change was recorded. Fig. 4 shows that the increase the absorber temperature (brine water)
output distilled water had a minima value in and yields higher evaporation rates [16].
the early mornings at the startup of the
desalination system, reaching up to 0.67 and The CrSS with wick has higher heat transfer
0.39 l/m2h as a maximum productivity at 1 area and bigger water surface exposed to
p.m. for corrugated still with wick and incident solar radiation as compared to the
conventional still, respectively. Hence, at the CSS, 1.34 m2 and 1 m2 respectively. So, the
mid-noon period, the thermal losses of the heat transfer rate between the absorber surface
solar still were minimal, and the thermal and the water is got better in the modified still.
performance is increased proportionally. This The experimental measured data indicate that,
is attributed to the increase of the surrounding as a result of area increase, the absorber plate
M: 18 A.E. Kabeel, A.S. Abdullah, Z.M. Omara & F.A. Essa

temperature and saline water temperature were

 m ew  h fg
increased, and as the temperature difference d 
between water and glass goes up, the distilled  A  I (t )
yield was augmented.
In addition, the CrSS with wick and reflecting In the current modes of operations, the daily
mirrors has higher productivity than that of average efficiency for the CrSSis
CSS. This is because the mirrors utilizes from approximately 40%. In addition, the daily
the incident solar radiation as much as possible average efficiency for the CrSS with wick is
by redirecting some of the radiation onto the approximately 49.3% and equal 59% for the
water surface, thus consequently the water and CrSS with wick and mirrors. While the daily
glass temperatures of the modified solar still efficiency for conventional solar still is
are increased. So, the evaporation and approximately 33%. For conventional solar
condensation rates in modified solar still were still, the same result was obtained by Omara et
greater than that of conventional still. al. [11].
As the experimental data confirmed, using
5.3 Daily productivity internal mirrors improved the performance of
Fig. 5 shows the hourly accumulative modified solar still. Al-Hayek and Badran [17]
variations of freshwater productivity from 9 indicated that adoption of mirrors on the inside
a.m. to sunset for the two tested stills. It is walls of the solar stills will enhance the
found that the amount of accumulated distillate production of distilled water and improve the
for CrSS with wick is higher than that CSS at efficiency through controlling the radiation
all times of experiments, where the hourly losses from the still basin.
freshwater productivity is higher for modified
solar still. But the accumulated distillate for 5.4 Effect of water depth on modified
the CrSS with wick and mirrors is greater than corrugated solar still
that of the CrSS with wick only and is higher It can be indicated from Fig. 6 that the
than that of the CrSS only. productivity decreases with increasing water
The average experimental data of daily depth for all tested modes. Also, Fig. 6 shows
accumulated water productivity for different a comparison between using corrugated
days of testing for both conventional and absorber only and supplying wick material at
modified corrugated stills are given in Table 1. different depths of basin water with and
Results demonstrated that the distillate without reflecting mirrors. It is seen from the
production of CrSS only reached about 55.36% figure that the more decrease in basin water
higher than that of CSS. In addition, the depth, the more increase in productivity for all
productivity of CrSS with wick was about 90% the three tested cases. In addition, it can be
over the conventional still. And also, the observed that the increase in productivity as a
productivity of CrSS with wick and mirrors percentage for the corrugated wick still with
reached approximately 145.5% higher than mirrors is greater than that of the corrugated
that of conventional still as shown in Table 1. wick still without at the same water depth.
Efficiency, ηd, is obtained by the summation of
the hourly condensate production m·ew, 6. Cost Evaluation
multiplied by the latent heat hfg, hence the The fixed cost of the CSS (1 m2) is about F =
result is divided by the daily average solar 103 $. Assume variable costs V equal 0.3 F per
radiation I(t) over the whole area A of the year [6, 10], and C is the total costs, where, C
device: = F + V and for the expected still life 10 years,
then C = 103 + 0.3 × 103 × 10 = 412 $ where
the minimum average daily productivity can be
Mansoura Engineering Journal, (MEJ), Vol. 40, Issue 2, June 2015 M: 19

estimated from the analyses of different mirrors. And the daily efficiency for
experimental data, and it is assumed that 2.5 conventional solar still is approximately 33%.
l/day, Assume still operates 340 days in the
year, where the sun rise along the year in References
Egypt. The total productivity during the still [1] Gang Xiao, Xihui Wang, Mingjiang Ni,
life =2.5x10x340=8500 l. Cost of distilled Fei Wang, Weijun Zhu, ZhongyangLuo,
litter from the conventional still = 412/8500 = Kefa Cen. A review on solar stills for
0.048 $. brine desalination. Applied Energy, 103
In addition, the fixed cost of a CrSS with wick (2013) 642–652.
(1 m2) is about 122 $. Then, C = 122 + 0.3 × [2] V. Sivakumar, E.GanapathySundaram.
122 × 10 = 488 $ where the minimum average Improvement techniques of solar still
daily productivity can be estimated at 5 l/day. efficiency: A review. Renewable and
The total productivity during the still life Sustainable Energy Reviews, 28 (2013)
=4x10x340=13600 l. Cost of distilled litter 246–264.
from the conventional still = 488/13600 = [3] V. Velmurugan, M. Gopalakrishnan, R.
0.036 $. Raghu, K. Srithar. Single basin solar still
Also, the fixed cost of a CrSS with wick and with fin for enhancing productivity,
reflecting mirrors (1 m2) is about 130 $. Then, Energy Conversion and Management 49
C = 130 + 0.3 × 130 × 10 = 520 $ where the (2008) 2602–2608.
minimum average daily productivity can be [4] V. Velmurugan, C.K. Deenadayalan, H.
estimated at 6 l/day. The total productivity Vinod, K. Srithar. Desalination of
during the still life =6x10x340=20400 l. Cost effluent using fin type solar still. Energy
of distilled litter from the conventional still = 33 (2008) 1719–1727.
520/20400 = 0.025 $. [5] V. Velmurugan, J. Mandlin, B. Stalin, K.
Srithar. Augmentation of saline streams
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addition to a conventional still is investigated. 143–152.
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modifications. The corrugated plate as a base Egyptian conditions. Desalination 277
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produced by about 55.36% compared with the [7] MK Kalidasa, K Srithar. Performance
conventional still, at a saline water depth of 1 study on basin type double slope solar
cm. While, adding wick to the corrugated plate still with different wick materials and
as a base increases the amount of distilled mass of water. Renewable Energy 36
water productivity by about 90% compared (2011) 612-620.
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productivity of corrugated solar still with wick Alwarsamy. An experimental study on a
and internal reflecting mirrors is increased by regenerative solar still with energy
about 145.5% over conventional still. In storage medium-Jute cloth. Desalination
addition, the average daily efficiency for the 264 (2010) 24-31.
corrugated solar still with wick is [9] JT Mahdi, BE Smith, AO Sharif. An
approximately 49.3%. While, the average daily experimental wick-type solar still
efficiency is approximately 59% with wick and system: design and construction.
Desalination 267 (2011) 233-238.
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[10] A.E. Kabeel. Performance of solar stills [14] Z.M. Omara, A.E. Kabeel, M.M. Younes.
with a concave wick evaporation surface. Enhancing the stepped solar still
Energy 34 (2009) 1504–1509. performance using internal and external
reflectors. International Journal of Energy
[11] ZM Omara, AEltawil Mohamed, A Conversion & Management 78 (2014) 876–
ElNasharElSayed. A new hybrid 881.
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Desalination 325 (2013) 56–64. Mechanical Engineering 75 (1953) 3–8.
[12] S. Abdallah, O. Badran, M. Mazen, A. [16] J.T. Mahdi, B.E. Smith, A.O. Sharif. An
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[13] H. Tanaka. Experimental study of a basin [17] I. Al-Hayek, O.O. Badran. The effect of
type solar still with internal and external using different designs of solar stills on
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(2009) 130–134. 121–127.

Table 1
Average accumulated productivity and the percentage of increase in productivity of CrSS
respect to CSS for the three tested modes.
Mode 1
Water depth (m) H = 0.01
Conventional still (l/m2) 2.240 2.000 2.690
Water depth (m) H= H= H = 0.03
0.01 0.02
Corrugated solar still only (l/m2) 3.480 2.800 3.500
Increase in productivity (%) 55.36 % 40 % 30.11 %
Mode 2
Water depth (m) H = 0.01
Conventional still (l/m2) 2.000 2.360 2.640
Water depth (m) H= H= H = 0.03
0.01 0.02
Corrugated still with wick (l/m2) 3.800 4.320 4.600
Increase in productivity (%) 90 % 83.05 % 74.24 %
Mode 3
Water depth (m) H = 0.01
Conventional still (l/m2) 1.670 2.000 2.050
Water depth (m) H= H= H = 0.03
0.01 0.02
Corrugated still with wick and reflectors 4.100 4.400 4.000
(l/m2)
Increase in productivity (%) 145.5 % 120 % 95.12%
Mansoura Engineering Journal, (MEJ), Vol. 40, Issue 2, June 2015 M: 21

Fig. 1 Cross-sectional view of solar stills

a. Corrugated base b. Corrugated solar still

c. Corrugated solar still with wick d. Corrugated still with wick and reflectors
Fig. 2 Corrugated solar still
 M: 22 A.E. Kabeel, A.S. Abdullah, Z.M. Omara & F.A. Essa

80 1200 4000

75 Solar Radiation 1100

3500
70 CSS

Distillate, ml
1000
30/6/2014
65 Water Temp. 3000 CrSS with Wick
900
Temperature, °c

60 CSS

Solar Radiation
CrSS with Wick 800 2500
55
700 30/6/2014

Accumulative
50 2000
600
45 GlassTemp.
CSS 500 1500
40 CrSS with Wick
400
35 1000
30 300
Ambient Temperature
500
25 200

20 100 0
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Time, h Time, h

Fig. 3 Hourly temperature variation and solar Fig. 5 Variation of accumulative water productivity
radiation for CrSS with wick and CSS at saline water for CrSS with wick and CSS at saline water depth
depth 0.01 m 0.01 m

900
160 CSS
CSS CrSS with Wick
800
CrSS with Wick CrSS with Wick and Reflectors
Increase in productivity, %

140
700
Hourly Distillate, ml

600 30/6/2014 120

500 100

400
80
300
60
200
40
100

0 20
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Time, h Water depth, cm

Fig. 4 Variation of Freshwater productivity for CrSS Fig. 6 Variations of increase in productivity for the
with wick and CSS at saline water depth 0.01 m CrSS and CSS for the three modes of testing at
deferent saline water depths