Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

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Groundwater for Sustainable Development

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gsd

Research paper

Numerical simulation of the performance of passive and active solar still

with corrugated absorber surface as heat storage medium for sustainable
solar desalination technology
Hajar Hafs a, ∗, Mohamed Asbik a, Hassane Boushaba b, Abdelghani Koukouch c, Anass Zaaoumi a,
Abdellah Bah a, Omar Ansari a
a
Energy Research Center, Thermal and Energy Research Team (ERTE) ENSAM- Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
b
Engineering Sciences Laboratory, FP Taza, Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco
c
Green Energy Park (IRESEN, UM6P), Km 2, Route Régionale R206, Benguerir, Morocco

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Groundwater is the most important and valuable water resource in arid and semi-arid regions. Nevertheless, the
Desalination solar still high salinity of these resources remains the major constraint. To remedy this problem, the present study aims to
Sustainability investigate and develop a novel sustainable solar desalination technology. A passive and active single slope solar
Absorber shape
still, combined with phase change material (PCM) for the thermal energy storage system, have been numerically
Parabolic through collector
Daily productivity
modeled and simulated. The active system has been made by coupling passive solar still with a parabolic trough
Comsol multiphysics collector (PTC) via a heat exchanger, as an external heat source. For each desalination system, a flat absorber and
others with corrugated surfaces (rectangular, triangular, and spherical) were tested to compare their perfor­
mances and the effect of absorber shape on both passive and active systems. Conservation equations of the two
models were solved using Comsol Multiphysics software. Simulation results showed that for the passive system
the corrugated surface with rectangular ripples increases pure water productivity by 109% and 42% by com­
parison with the conventional distiller, and the distiller with an absorber of flatform with storage system,
respectively. Furthermore, it was revealed that solar still integrated with PTC and modified by different absorber
geometry has higher freshwater productivity of 15.39 and 15.01 kg/m2/day compared to 2.37 and 2.11 kg/m2/
day for the passive still by using rectangular and spherical absorbers respectively. Consequently, the percentage
improvement of the developed active system is about 549.36% and 611.37% respectively. From this investiga­
tion, it is observed that the passive solar still with rectangular absorber is the most suitable for household use;
however, by coupling PTC to the modified passive solar still with rectangular absorber configuration, we have
the appropriate design for industrial applications such as hospitals, irrigation processes for agricultural green­
houses in arid and semi arid regions.

1. Introduction for fresh, pure, and clean drinking water, much research has been con­
ducted to find suitable methods and processes to treat (or desalinate)
The water demand, in the world, is extremely increasing. Particu­ brackish groundwater. Therefore, solar desalination technology is
larly in the southern Mediterranean periphery, arid and semi-arid zones considered a strategic option and suitable solution for satisfying water
cover a large part of several countries where the use of groundwater is demand. The use of sustainable sources to produce purified water re­
recommended through which freshwater is produced (Lyazidi et al., mains an ecological and economical solution, especially for poor coun­
2020). However, in many parts of the world, groundwater is not suitable tries. Extensive researches show clearly that technological
for direct consumption. Thus, most of the water extracted from advancements afford a means of developing new and highly efficient
groundwater reserves has a salinity varying between 1 and 10 g/l (Tahiri desalination processes (Kalogirou, 2014).
et al., 2020; Mastrocicco et al., 2021). In fact, to meet the growing need

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (H. Hafs).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2021.100610
Received 20 September 2020; Received in revised form 30 April 2021; Accepted 21 May 2021
Available online 25 May 2021
2352-801X/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

1.1. Passive solar still with different basin modification solar still. Also, Hassan et al. (2019) proposed an experimentally new
design of double-acting solar still combined with tracked parabolic
Particular attention has been paid to various types of solar still with trough collector (TPTC). They studied the effect of three media in the
tremendous studies incorporating several innovative technologies. basin (only pure saline water, saline water with steel wire mesh, and
Indeed, many studies were carried out on different basin solar still sand saturated with saline water) on the productivity of modified solar
configurations including single-slope, double slope, multi-effect distil­ still with TPTC. It was concluded that using mesh and send with saline
lation systems (Panchal et al., 2020a; Jobrane et al., 2020; Muthu water increase the efficiency by 3.3%and 15.3% respectively in summer
Manokar et al., 2020a; Sathyamurthy et al., 2017; Yousef and Hassan, days and by 3.9% and 13.8% in winter. Bahrami et al. (2019) developed
2019; Hamed et al., 2016; Gang et al., 2019; Singh and Tiwari, 2017). a new design of the active solar still coupled to a solar dish concentrator.
Therefore, various modified designs and parameters were suggested to A parametric study was performed in this work; structural, optical, and
augment the productivity of freshwater. El-Sebaii et al. (El-Sebaii et al., operational parameters are taken into account. From the results of the
2015; El-Sebaii and El-Naggar, 2017)investigated theoretically and current model, it was deduced that with an aperture of 2 m, when
experimentally effects of dimensions-fins (height and thickness) and also parabolic dish optical efficiency increases from 0.5 to 0.8 and the
those of fabrication material type, on single basin solar still perfor­ absorber plate reflectivity reduces from 0.7 to 0.4, the distilled water
mances. Manokar and Winston (Manokar and Winston, 2017a, 2017b) produced increases up to 120 and 80% respectively. Muraleedharan
developed experimentally single slope solar still with fins and acrylic et al. (2019) studied the thermal performance of modified active solar
sheets as a new material to reduce the loss of heat from the still to the still employing absorbing Therminol-55 as heat transfer fluid with Al2O3
bottom. Panchal et al. (2020b) check the performance of passive solar nanoparticles (nHTF) and Fresnel lens concentrator. The productivity
still with vertical and inclined fins. It has been found that the increment was increased by 250.27%than conventional still with 0.1% volumetric
yield of 26.77% and 24.19% obtained by inclined and vertical fins as concentration of Al2O3 in (nHTF).
compared with traditional solar still. Samuel Hansen and Kalidasa
Murugavel (Samuel Hansen and Kalidasa Murugavel, 2017)conducted 1.3. Solar still with heat storage medium
an experimental study of a new hybrid desalination system with three
different absorber configurations (flat, grooved, and fin shape)by inte­ Performances of all the technologies mentioned above could be
grating still with hot water thermal storage, it can be concluded that the promoted by using innovative designs or combining them with storage
highest daily distillate output of 9.72 ℓ, was registered by using the fin systems, nanofluids, fins, …Indeed, El-Sebaii et al. (2009) developed, as
shape absorber. Jani and Modi (2019) tested experimentally a double a first step, single basin solar still by integrating a thin layer of Stearic
slope single basin solar still with circular and square cross-sectional Acid (phase change storage material) to act as a heat source during the
hollow fins. It was registered that the productivity of freshwater using night. It was concluded that the daily efficiency registered is 9.005
circular fins increase by 54.22% compared to square fins solar still and kg/m2/day for the modified solar still compared to 4.998 kg/m2/day
for the basin water depth of 10 mm. In other works, Manokar et al. without PCM. For the same goals, Ansari et al. (2013) presented a nu­
(2020b) developed experimentally a novel design of inclined solar still merical study, by integrating three kinds of PCM (Paraffin C18, Paraffin
with photovoltaic (PV) panel as an absorber plate. The effect of different 52–54, Paraffin wax) as a storage medium. It has essentially been
masse flow rates was investigated and tested to enhance productivity. It deduced that using heat energy storage ameliorates the efficiency of the
was revealed that an increase in flow rate has a negative impact on the solar desalination system and depends closely on the maximum value of
performance of inclined PV panel solar still. the daily brackish water temperature reached. Furthermore, the results
of this last research work were undertaken by Asbik et al. (2016) for a
1.2. Different types of active solar still numerical study of exergy losses during the charging/discharging pe­
riods. Cheng et al. (2019) highlighted experimentally and numerically
To enhance the productivity of pure water, some researchers devel­ the performance of a solar still by applying a new shape-stabilized phase
oped the solar desalination systems by integrating additional thermal change material (SSPCM) with high solar absorption and high thermal
sources, particularly heat storage systems and/or concentrated solar conductivity. It was concluded that the daily productivity of solar still
power (CSP) units via a heat exchanger, PV panel (Pansal et al., 2020; with SSPCM was 43.3% higher than that of conventional solar still
Dudul et al., 2020; Hafs et al., 2018). In this context, Park et al. (2016) without SSPCM. Further, the performance of solar stills was investigated
evaluated experimentally the performance of hybrid solar still with with the use of nanofluids. So, Sahota et al. (Sahota and Tiwari, 2016)
simpler seawater feeding devices using dual heat sources of solar ther­ used the nanofluid, made by mixing aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nano­
mal energy and waste heat in optimum operating conditions. This study particles with saline water, to raise the pure water productivity in pas­
showed that productivity increases by increasing heat input to 18.02 sive double slope solar still. As a result, productivity increases by 12.2%
kg/m2 at a waste heat amount of 22.37 MJ/day. Bhargva and Yadav and 8.4% for water masses of 35 and 80 kg, respectively. In the next step,
(2019a) examined and compared experimentally the combined solar they modeled the effect of integrating three nanoparticles (Al2O3, CuO,
still with evacuated tubes and a heat exchanger at different water depths and TiO2) in saline water for the active dual-slope solar still, they
(4, 5, and 6 cm). Their results showed that the daily efficiency of 30.5% founded that the thermal and exergy efficiencies of the solar still were
achieved by using 4 cm water depth. In their other research work maximized by using Al2O3(Sahota et al., 2017). Mahian et al. (2017)
(Bhargva and Yadav, 2019b) reported that the maximum daily fresh­ investigated experimentally and theoretically, the performance of solar
water productivity is 2.114 ℓ/dayfor the case of ½ shading and cooling still using two types of nanofluids as a working fluid in the heat
of glass cover which means an increase of 16.4% for the previous system exchanger integrated into the bottom of the basin liner. The results
compared to solar still without glass cover shading and cooling. Rahbar reveal that the performance indices were raised by 10%. Kabeel et al.
and Esfahani (Rahbar and Esfahani, 2012) developed experimentally a (2017b) reported that using nanofluids in solar still coupled with an
novel portable solar still by utilizing heat pipe cooling and thermo­ external condenser and also providing low-pressure to increase the daily
electric module. It was concluded that this combination gives a efficiency. Also, Hafs et al. (2019a, b) and EL-Kaddadi et al. (2017)
maximum daily efficiency of 7%. Moreover, Kabeel and Abdelgaied studied the performance analysis of single slope solar still by imple­
(2017a) assessed experimentally modified solar still with heat menting fins on the absorber surface and using the specific nanofluid
exchanger and PCM connected with cylindrical parabolic concentrator (Brackish water/Cu2O). Their results showed that daily productivity
as the external heat source. A comparison between modified solar still increases by 20% for the modified Single Slope Solar Still (SSSS) with
and a conventional one is carried out to investigate the influences of fins and nanofluid because of the high thermal conductivity of Cu2O
high heat exchanger oil temperature on the performance of developed (76.5 W/m.K) and by 12.6% for the modifier solar still with fins

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

compared to the conventional solar still. Afterward, Patel et al. (2020) the external surface of the glass cover. However, maximum intensity is
examined experimentally the performance of conventional triple basin transmitted through the transparent condensing glass cover and saline
solar still with evacuated heat pipes, corrugated sheets, and storage water, and then the basin liner, to be transferred by conduction to the
materials. Distillate yield of the lower basin of the developed system in PCM and be stored as sensible heat and/or latent heat when the melting
both storage materials (granite gravel and pebbles) was found higher as temperature is reached, absorbs it. Moreover, convection transfer of
compared with the middle and upper basin. Otherwise, most researchers thermal energy is taken place between the absorber and brackish water,
focused on the use of different storage materials such as nanoparticles and hence the temperature difference between saline water and glass
and PCM, as well as the integration of external heat sources. However, cover increases. As a result, pure water is gotten by condensation process
there is a lack of research work on absorber shape effects on a passive on the inner glass cover surface area.
and an active system. In the southeast of Morocco, the issue of saltwater As shown in Fig. 2, the above modified solar still is connected to the
is an extremely common phenomenon that influences the quality of PTC through a heat exchanger, which is placed at the bottom of the
water resources. As a result, the fertility of agricultural soils (Tahiri water and in contact with the basin liner surface (Fig. 2a). The used
et al., 2020). However, it is important to note that solar power is un­ receiver tube is composed of an absorber, transporting and realizing
deniably one of the most important sources of renewable energy in heat, surrounded by a specific glass envelope with 3.8 cm of inner
Morocco with well over 3000 h/year of sunshine, the equivalent of the diameter (Fig. 2b and c). The absorber, made of copper with a diameter
radiance of about 55 kWh/ft2/day (Halimi et al., 2018). of 1.9 cm and a length of 2 m, has an outer selective coating surface
In the present work and based on the above analysis, the main appropriate to provide the required radiative and optical properties. To
objective is to provide the necessary water supply to underserved and minimize heat losses and to protect the absorber surface against
water-stressed communities and sustainably protect the environment oxidation, a vacuum is created between the glass envelope and the
using renewable solar energy, emitting zero carbon emissions and zero absorber tube. A part of the solar energy absorbed by the received tube is
liquid discharge. In fact, a passive and active single slope solar still, transferred to the heat transfer fluid (HTF) by convection and conduc­
which were combined with a PCM storage system, have been numeri­ tion whereas the rest of the energy is transferred back to the glass en­
cally modeled and simulated, under the climatic conditions of Rabat city velope surface by radiation and natural convection. The energy
(Morocco). The active system has been made by coupling passive solar transported by the oil is released to the desalination system and yields it
still with a PTC via a heat exchanger, as an external heat source. For each to the saline water through the heat exchanger, which is fabricated from
desalination system, a flat absorber and others with corrugated surfaces a copper pipe of 9.514 m in length and 1 cm diameter. The oil flow rate
(rectangular, triangular, and spherical) were tested to compare their has the value of 6 ℓ/minat the pipe inlet, and the properties of PTC and
performances. The effect of absorber shape on each desalination system heat exchanger used in the present study are listed in Table A1 (see
has been highlighted and a comparative study was conducted between Appendix).
the passive and the active solar stills.
2.2. Formulation of the problem
2. Material and methods
The passive and the active solar systems, described above, were used
2.1. Description of the system to raise the yield and productivity of pure water. A dynamic 3D model of
heat transfer with source terms was used. For both systems, the
To embrace solar desalination technologies in water-scarce countries following assumptions have been made: each solar still component is
and factors that influence desalinate brackish groundwater, we devel­ considered as a lumped system, thermo-physical properties are taken
oped a novel design with different absorber configurations to select the constant, the system is insulated on all outer surfaces except the glass
appropriate geometry for productivity enhancement. In this goal, pas­ cover, thermal contact is supposed perfect between the storage material
sive solar still with corrugated absorber shapes (see Table 1) coupled (PCM) and the absorber, thermal convection within the PCM liquid
with PCM heat storage system is considered (Fig. 1). These shapes are phase is assumed to be negligible, and for the active system, amount heat
designed in such a way that they contain the same volume of PCM. released by the heat exchanger is entirely received by the brackish
Accordingly, the passive solar still system consists of 1 m2 of surface area water.
covered by inclined glass and insulated from all sides by 5 cm of foam to Accordingly, the heat balance equation can be written, for each
minimize heat losses. The basin of the desalination system is connected system component, as follows:
to the water tank to keep the mass of water constant (40 kg). The
∂Ti
absorber is located at the bottom of the basin liner above the storage ρi ei Cpi . = Qi (t) (1)
∂t
material. The desalination system using different absorber shapes is
oriented in the south direction to receive the maximum solar radiation. The subscript ‘i’ and Qi(t) refer respectively to each solar still
During sunshine hours, a part of solar radiation has been reflected from component and heat flux densities exchanged with its surroundings (see
Table 2).
Table 1
Size of corrugated shapes. 2.2.1. Identification of heat exchanges
Various involved heat exchanges are summarized in Table 2. They
Absorber Forms Dimensions
are essentially composed of heat flux densities exchanged between each
L = 2 cm (Breadth) component and its surroundings. Those quantities, which govern energy
H = 4 cm (Height) l = 1 m (Length)
balance equations, will be identified in the subsections above.
T = 20 cm (Spatial period)
N = 5 (Number of rectangular ripples) Were.
a = 4 cm Qg (t), Qw (t), Qb (t)andQpcm (t) are heat flux densities for glass cover,
b = 4 cm brackish water, absorber, and PCM. Qcond , Qconv and Qrad are the
l = 1 m (Length) conductive, convective, and radiative heat flux densities. Qexch/w is the
T = 20 cm (Spatial period)
N = 5 (Number of triangular ripples)
heat flux between the heat exchanger and brackish water. αg , αw andαb are
D = 4.5 cm absorptivity of the glass cover, water, and absorber. τg andτw are trans­
A = 2.25 cm (Amplitude) l = 1 m (Length) missivity of glass and brackish water.
T = 20 cm (Spatial period)
N = 5 (Number of spherical ripples)

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 1. (a) A Schematic drawing of passive desalination system: (1) Glass cover; (2) Brackish water; (3) Basin liner (Absorber); (4) Storage material (PCM); (5)
Thermal insulation; (6) Outlet of pure water; (7) Floating water level switch; (8) Feed tank; (9) Storage brackish water tank. (b) Different absorber shapes.

2.2.2. Heat transfer in the glass cover to the brackish water are:
Thermal processes associated with the glass cover involve internal ⎧
Qconv/b− w = hconv/b− w (Tb − Tw )
and external heat transfer. It received incident solar radiations (αg G(t)), ⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ ( )
⎨
and exchanges heat with its surrounding area, especially the ambient air Qw− g = hw− g Tw − Tg
(3)
and the Sky. In fact, a part of heat (Qcond ) is transferred by conduction ⎪
⎪
⎪ q̇.Cpoil ( )
⎪
from the outer to the inner surface of the glass cover whereas other ⎩ Qexch/w =
Aw
. Ti,exch − Te,exch
amounts are respectively lost by convection (Qconv/g− a ) and radiation
(Qrad/g− s ). where:
⎧ ( ) hw− g = hrad/w− g + hconv/w− g + hevap Defines the total internal heat transfer
⎪ Tig − Teg
⎪ Q
⎪ cond = λ coefficient between fluid and glass cover.
⎪
⎨
g
eg
hconv/b− w Is the convective heat transfer coefficient from the absorber to the brackish
( ) (2)
⎪
⎪ Q conv/g− a = h conv/g− a Teg − Ta water.
⎪
⎪ ( )
⎩
Qrad/g− a = hrad/g − s Teg − Ts
2.2.4. Heat transfer in absorber
hconv/g− a and hrad/g − s are respectively the convective heat transfer co­ During sunshine hours, the absorber with various designs stores
efficient between glass/ambient, and radiative heat transfer coefficient substantial solar energy (τg τw αb G(t)) which will be transferred by con­
between glass/Sky. duction (Qcond/b− pcm ) and convection Qconv/b− w to the PCM and brackish
water respectively. The use of different absorber designs would promote
2.2.3. Heat transfer in brackish water heat transfer exchanges.
In this fundamental component area, an important fraction of solar
energy is absorbed (τg αw G(t)). Additionally, convective heat transfer 2.2.5. Heat transfer in PCM
takes place simultaneously between brackish water and its neighboring The heat balance equation that governs the thermal behavior inside
solar still components, namely absorber (Qconv/b− w ) and condensing glass the used PCM is given by (Sharifi et al., 2015):
cover surface (Qw− g ). A temperature difference between the brackish
∂Tpcm
water surface and the inner glass cover entails a water evaporation ρpcm .Cppcm . = Qpcm (t) (4)
process (Qevap ). Besides, in the case of the active system, the serpentine
∂t
heat exchanger placed at the bottom of the water is considered as an where
additional heat source of the solar still that transfers Qexch/w to the water.
Finally, heat flux densities that support heat transfer processes relative ρpcm = θ.ρs + (1 − θ)ρl (5)

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 2. (a) 3 d view of solar distillation active system: (1) Parabolic trough; (2) Oil pipeline; (3) Solar still; (4) Heat exchanger (Oil serpentine); (5) Pump. (b) Cross-
section of PTC. (c) Axial section of PTC.

oil flow through a HTF pipe is laminar, the contact between absorber
Table 2
tube and HTF is assumed perfect, and the optical losses due to imper­
Heat flux densities are involved in heat transfer exchanges.
fections in the collector mirrors, tracking errors, shading, and mirrors
Solar still component Heat flux densities Qi(t) cleanliness are neglected.
Glass Cover Qg (t) = αg .G(t) + Qcond − Qconv − Qrad
/g − a /g − s
Brackish Water Qw (t) = τg .αw .G(t) + Qconv − Qw− g + Qexch/w 2.2.6. Glass envelope
/b − w
Absorber Qb (t) = τg .τw .αb .G(t) − Qconv − Qcond In this important component, the heat conduction equation is given
/b − w /b − pcm
by:
PCM Qpcm (t) = Qcond
/b − pcm
∂Tge ( )
ρge .Cpge . + ∇ − kge ∇Tge = Qge (t) (8)
∂t
1 ∂αm
Cppcm = (θ ρs Cps + (1 − θ) ρl Cpl ) + Lpcm (6) Qge (t) = αge .ηg .Ap .DNI(t) (9)
ρ ∂T
Thermo-physical properties of PCM are modeled to consider both ηg = esh .etr .eda .ege .edm .eun .ρcl .Kθ (10)
storage material states (solid/liquid). So, the material phase is modeled
by the solid fraction (θ), which is equal to 1 in the solid phase and 0 in Kθ = cos θ + 0.000884θ − 0.0000537θ2 (11)
the liquid phase whereas 0<θ < 1 during phase change. Furthermore,
Qge (t), αge , ηg , Ap and Kθ , are the energy absorbed by the glass enve­
the mass fraction of solid PCM can be expressed as:
lope, absorptance factor of glass envelope, effective optical efficiency,
1 (1 − θ)ρl − θ.ρs aperture area of the collector, and the solar incident angle, respectively
αm = (7)
2 θ.ρs + (1 − θ).ρl (Quaschning, 2014; Duffie and Beckman, 2013).
The thermal CSP model concerns the energy balance of each
2.2.7. Solar receiver tube and HTF
component of CSP system namely HTF, glass envelope, and absorber
Similarly, to the glass envelope, heat transfers in the absorber tube
tube. The direct normal irradiance (DNI) is included in energy balance
and HTF are governed by the following energy balance equations,
equations when it is needed. In this section, the model is investigated
respectively:
and developed under the following assumptions related to the active
system: the oil (HTF) flow rate is constant at the inlet of absorber pipe, ∂Tat
ρat .Cpat . + ∇( − kat ∇Tat ) = Qat (t) (12)
thermophysical properties are constant and the HTF is non-isothermal, ∂t

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

DThtf experimentally by the SMA Sunny Web Box measuring instrument

ρhtf .Cphtf . = khtf .∇2 Thtf (13) installed on the roof of ERTE laboratory at the ENSAM (Mohammed V
Dt
University in Rabat). As for the DNI(t) used for the simulation of PTC, it
Qat (t) = ηat αat Ap DNI(t), ηat = ηge αge (14) was calculated from empirical correlations found in the literature (see
the Appendix). On a typical day (June 15th, 2017), the aforementioned
2.3. Initial and boundary conditions meteorological data are shown in Fig. 4 whereas thermophysical prop­
erties of used materials, solar still component thicknesses, and its di­
Initially (t = 0), both systems (passive and active) are assumed to mensions are given in Tables A2 and A3 (see the Appendix).
have a uniform initial temperature value.
T0 . Regarding the passive solar still, it is not concerned by boundary 3.2. Validation of the current model
conditions because it is considered as a lumped system (the Biot number
Bi < 0.1). To validate the mathematical model associated with each solar
At any time (t > 0), for the solar receiver tube of parabolic trough distillation system, it is necessary to compare its results to those avail­
collector, the HTF inlet flow rate is a constant value of6 ℓ/ min, and a able in the literature (El-Sebaii et al., 2009, 2015; Kabeel and Abdel­
specific pressure was given at the outlet (Pgage = 0). At the tube wall, the gaied, 2017 and Abdel-Rehim and Lasheen, 2007). Firstly, results
no-slip condition is imposed and boundary conditions relative to perfect corresponding to the passive system were compared to experimental
contact between two media are also required. As illustrated in Fig. 3, all measurements of El-Sebaii et al. (El-Sebaii et al., 2009, 2015). Obvi­
the outside boundaries of the active system are exposed to ambient ously, this comparison confirmed the accuracy of the proposed model
environmental conditions. since the relative error does not exceed 7% (Fig. 5a and c). Regarding the
validation of the desalination active system model, Fig. 5b and d corre­
lates simulation results of HTF (synthetic oil) obtained with Comsol
2.4. Mesh generation
Multiphysics software and those of Kabeel and Abdelgaied, Abdel-Rehim
and Lasheen (Kabeel and Abdelgaied, 2017; Abdel-Rehim and Lasheen,
Comsol Multiphysics is a commercial solver and simulation software,
2007) carried out experimentally. The discrepancy between these results
based on the finite element method, which has appropriate criteria to
is around 15.28% in the worst case but it remains acceptable for the
generate the best-suited mesh. The most adequate mesh, ensuring the
validation of the active system model.
convergence of numerical solutions, was adopted for this simulation
study, which consisted of 48.260 free tetrahedral elements in the case of
the passive solar still and 233.784 elements for the PTC.

3. Results and discussion

Our aim within this framework outline is to study the effect of the
developed passive and active solar still designs on productivity
enhancement. Besides, desalination of brackish groundwater (mw = 40
kg) was conducted with two desalination systems (passive and active)
with the integration of different absorber surfaces, namely flat plate and
other wavy shapes (rectangular, triangular, and spherical). They could
enhance heat transfer between the absorber and brackish water since the
heat exchange surface has been increased. Also, these physical models
(Figs. 1 and 2) contain 11.34 kg of paraffin C18 (PCM) used as a storage
material. First and foremost, climatic operating and simulation condi­
tions should be specified and mathematical models must be validated.

3.1. Climatic operating and simulation conditions

To perform this study, it is fundamental to have meteorological data,

at any given time, for the considered site which is Rabat city (Lat:
Fig. 4. Hourly variation of Global Irradiation G (t), DNI (t), and the ambient
34◦ 00′ 47′′ N, Long: 6◦ 49′ 57′′ W). These data, namely global solar irra­
temperature Ta(t) for the typical day of June 15th, 2017.
diation, G(t), and ambient temperature Ta(t), were measured

Fig. 3. Free tetrahedral mesh generation: desalination system (a), and tube receiver of PTC (b).

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 5. Validation model with different literature data: (a) Temperature variation of brackish water. (b) Outlet temperature variation of HTF of the solar receiver. (c)
Hourly variations of freshwater productivity. (d) Variations of brackish water temperature Tw for passive solar still coupled with parabolic trough collector.

3.3. Passive solar still without storage (conventional system: a passive system without PCM).
They illustrate that temperatures follow solar irradiation variation and
This section is reserved for the passive solar still with four absorber their respective peak values were localized around 2 p.m. It can be
shapes. First of all, the dissipation of global incident solar radiation observed that for the first hours of the day, temperatures increase
during sunshine hours inside the whole system is illustrated in the case gradually for all configurations and decrease slowly in the evening
of absorber rectangular shape (Fig. 6). The initial temperature of the hours. These last results (Fig. 8a and b) allow us to get to explain the
system is considered to be 19.8 ◦ C. In the early hours of June 15, 2017, a effect of absorber shape on the behavior of the solar distiller component
small portion of solar irradiation is absorbed by the glass cover because temperatures as well as the desalinated water production. In the thermal
of its lower coefficient of absorptivity (αg = 0.05). The power of solar point of view, curves of evaporative heat transfer coefficient (hevap), and
energy transmitted through the inclined glass and saline water is convective heat transfer coefficient between the absorber and saline
captured by the absorber (copper). For his part, it transfers heat by water (hconv/b-w), are respectively displayed in Fig. 9a & b, and their
thermal conduction to the PCM for storage in the form of sensible and expressions are given in the Appendix. From the five curves of Fig. 9a, it
latent heat. Moreover, the absorber gives off a substantial amount of is clearly seen that the evaporative heat transfer coefficient follows
heat and can act as a secondary source of water heating. Consequently, practically the same variation that (Tw-Tg) since they are dependent (see
the transport of water particles takes place instantaneously by free the Appendix). As for the heat transfer coefficient hconv/b-w (Fig. 9b), the
convection which is assumed to be laminar. During the night of this influence of absorber shape is only significant during discharging period
typical day, the storage medium (PCM) provides heat to the passive solar (night-time) and the triangular ripples seem to generate the best possible
still. On the other hand, Fig. 7 shows temporal temperature variation of heat exchange with fluid (water). This result can be confirmed by the
PCM at chosen times. So, the rectangular shape of the absorber con­ fluid motion represented by free convection velocity vw =
tributes to improving the heat transfer between the storage medium and √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
gLβ(Tb − Tw ) (Fig. 9b) which is globally the most important in the case
the absorber for the same reason that has been highlighted previously. of absorber triangular form. This is mainly due to the production of free
Now, let us turn to the main numerical results comparing perfor­ convection cells (Asbik et al., 2002, 2005).
mances of the proposed physical models and conventional desalination In the final analysis, the productivity of instantaneous and daily pure
systems. Figures presented here versus time (Figs. 8–10) are essentially water productivity are respectively defined by the following formula:
temperatures, heat transfer coefficients, and freshwater productivity. ( ) /
Thus, Fig. 8a shows temperature variation inside the brackish water and Ph = hewg . Tw − Tg .3600 Lw (17)
storage material (PCM) whereas Fig. 8b displays the temperature dif­ ∑
ference between the saline water and internal glass cover (Tw-Tg) for Pd = Ph (18)
each absorber shape which is the main responsible for evaporation and
hence pure water productivity. Furthermore, temporal variations of The effect of using different absorber shapes on instantaneous pro­
these graphical representations are virtually identical except for the case ductivity is summarized in Fig. 10a, which shows that pure water

7
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 6. Temperature variation of the passive solar still system with rectangular absorber shape at different times ((a): 9 a.m.; (b): 1pm, (c): 4pm and (d): 7pm)
respectively.

production behavior is identical to that of h evap. In the daytime, the 2020b) gives a higher efficiency of 26.77% and 24.19% for the inclined
relative deviation between different curves and that of conventional and vertical fins compared to the traditional distiller. Similarly, novel
solar still is depicted in Fig. 10b. Accordingly, it seems that rectangular designs of inclined solar still with PV panel presents a maximum value of
absorber permits to produce more desalinated brackish water (Fig. 10b). 3.7 kg at the minimum flow rate.
This result is certified by the comparison given in Table 3 and also by The relative deviation is estimated by:
Fig. 10a in which the daily productivity concerning absorber shapes is
(Pd )i − (Pd )ξ
presented. It has been shown that the corrugated surface with rectan­ Erξ = (19)
gular shape contributes to increasing the passive solar still performance (Pd )ξ
by 109% and 41.86% relative to conventional distiller (cv), and to that of
where ‘‘i’’ refers to the absorber shape and ξ designates conventional
absorber flat form with storage system (fl), respectively.
solar still (cv) or solar still with flat form absorber placed on PCM (fl).
To further highlight the feasibility of the proposed design, a com­
parison has been conducted with different passive solar stills based on
their daily productivity, as detailed in Table 4. As preceded, the varia­ 3.4. Active desalination system
tion of freshwater yield depends closely on the most important influ­
ential parameters as climatic conditions, parameters design, etc. From the previous part of the results, it was concluded that the
Otherwise, It can be observed from Table 4 that the modified solar still rectangular configuration of absorber gives the highest distillate yield
with vertical and inclined fins (El-Sebaii et al., 2015; Panchal et al., for passive solar still. At the same time, particular attention was paid to
the active solar system which is intended to increase desalination system

8
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 7. Temperature variation of PCM at different times ((a): 9 a.m.; (b): 1 p.m., (c): 4 p.m.,(d): 7pm and (e): 9 p.m.) respectively.

Fig. 8. (a) Temperature variations of brackish water (Tw) and PCM (Tpcm) for different absorber shapes versus time. (b) Difference temperature between glass cover
and brackish water for different absorber shapes.

performances. It should be emphasized that the active desalination output temperature of HTF increases with DNI to attain its maximum
system consists of coupling the solar still with parabolic trough through value, which exceeds 130 ◦ C (Fig. 12), so an auxiliary heat source is
a heat exchanger HX (see Fig. 2a). The HTF considered is thermal oil (see guaranteed.
Appendix Table A1) with a constant flow rate of 6 ℓ/minat the heat To compare passive and active system performances, the curves of
exchanger inlet. Moreover, thermal efficiencies of PTC and HX are re­ TW, TPCM, (Tw -Tg), hevap, and Ph are plotted in Figs. 13–19, in the same
ported in Fig. 11 whose curves are plotted using literature correlations way as for the passive desalination system. It is obvious that their pro­
(Kumar and Kumar, 2015, 2017; Forristall, 2003). The instantaneous files are almost identical to those of passive solar still, but their

9
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 9. (a) Evaporative heat transfer coefficient (b) Convective heat transfer coefficient (hconv/b-w) and free convection velocity of brackish water (Vw).

Fig. 10. (a) Hourly and daily pure water productivity (b) relative deviation of pure water production with respect to absorber shapes.

Table 3 Table 4
The relative deviation of daily pure water for different absorber shapes for Comparison of productivity of different passive solar stills.
passive solar still. S. Author Types of Modification made Productivity (kg/m2.
Absorber shape Pd (kg/m2. Relative deviation Relative deviation No name solar still in the basin day)
day) (Ercv) (Erfl)
1 Present Flat plat Different absorber 1.67, 2.37, 1.87 and
Flatform 1.67 47.32% – work solar still shape (Flat, 2.12 for flat,
Rectangular 2.37 109% 41.86% rectangular, rectangular,
ripples triangular, and triangular, and
Triangular ripples 1.87 65% 11.94% spherical) spherical ripples
Spherical ripples 2.12 87% 26.67% respectively.
2 El-Sebaii Flat plate vertical fins 5.377 for 7 fins with
et al. (2015) solar still 0.04 m height and
magnitudes are so different. As an illustration, for each absorber type of 0.001 m thickness.
3 Panchal Passive vertical and inclined 2.375 and 2.322 for
the active system, the water temperature reaches a maximum value of
et al. solar still fins vertical and inclined
79.96 ◦ C, 78.72 ◦ C, 76.81 ◦ C, 68.12 ◦ C, and 47.89 ◦ C by using the (2020b) fins respectively
rectangular, spherical, triangular, flat forms and the conventional solar 4 Muthu inclined PV panel is used as a 3.7, 2.7 and 1.6 kg for
still, respectively. As expected, PCM temperature undergoes a tangible Manokar solar still basin of Inclined 4.68, 7.56 and 10.08
et al. Solar Still kg/h flow rate.
increase by comparison with the passive system (Fig. 15). Hence, the
(2020b)
choice of the PCM must be questioned since its phase change period
would be reduced and heat storage would carry only out in sensible
mode (Ansari et al., 2013). As for the temperature difference (Fig. 14), kg/m2/day (slightly over 2 kg/m2/day for the passive system) for rect­
its maximum value is almost twice that for the passive system, which angular and spherical absorber ripples and hence their rates of increase
would generate higher productivity. Subsequently, evaporative heat seem to be high (549.36% and 611.37% respectively) compared to
coefficient (Fig. 16) and water productivity (Figs. 17 and 19), increase to passive solar stills with the same absorber shapes. After these profitable
a higher degree than those for a passive system. This fact is quantified results, it seems appropriate to return to the influence of absorber shapes
and presented in Table 5. Indeed, the daily productivity exceeds 15 on the active desalination system. So, the previously established

10
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 11. Temporal efficiency of the PTC and HX. Fig. 14. Temperature difference between saline water and glass cover versus
absorber shapes.

Fig. 12. Temporal output temperature variation of HTF.

Fig. 15. Temperature variation of PCM for different configurations of
the absorber.

hierarchy is ultimately followed (Figs. 17–19). In other words, water

productivity is relevant for the rectangular configuration of the absorber
by comparison with other absorber shapes. These results are entirely
confirmed by Table 5. In addition of that, the productivity of the studied
system was compared with other types of active solar desalination sys­
tems as mentioned in Table 6. It can be concluded that the results ob­
tained from the present work are acceptable and much better than other
active solar stills available in the literature. Accordingly, to further
highlight the economic feasibility of the design proposed in this study, a
comparison has been conducted with some passive and active designs
found in the literature (Table 7). From their results, it can be noted that
both designs currently proposed (passive and active solar stills) are
promising in terms of being not only efficient but less costly as well.
Hence, the unit cost of distillate freshwater is in the lower range of
0.0014–0.0392 $/l/m2 for passive solar still modified with fins while the
highest cost from the modified solar still with PTC is estimated as 0.0174
$/l/m2.
With.
Fig. 13. Temperature variations of brackish water versus absorber shapes.
Pd is the daily productivity. Ercv and Erfl are the relative deviations of
conventional distiller (cv) and solar still with flat form absorber placed
on PCM (fl).

11
H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Fig. 16. Evaporative heat transfer coefficient variations during the time for
Fig. 18. Hourly relative deviation of pure water production for
developed active solar still.
absorber shapes.

Fig. 17. Influence of different absorber shapes on the hourly pure water
productivity. Fig. 19. Influence of different absorber configurations on the accumulated
distillate yield of the active system.
4. Conclusion
- Temperatures of all components follow solar irradiation variation
The desalination process of the studied system deals with one of the and their respective peak values were localized around 2 p.m.;
most original technologies to remedy the problem of groundwater - The corrugated surface with rectangular shape contributes to
salinity for arid and semi-arid zones where solar energy and under­ increasing the passive solar still performance by 109% and 41.86%
ground water are abundant. The developed technology was founded to relative to the conventional distiller, and to the distiller with
be of real benefit to many communities that are struggling with the absorber flat form and storage system, respectively.
problem of saline intrusion. It will provide a real alternative to As for the active solar desalination system, the results below are
increasing shortages of groundwater. The passive and active solar generally encouraging:
desalination devices were equipped with various absorbers each with a - For each absorber type, the water temperature reaches a maximum
corrugated surface in rectangular, triangular, or spherical shape besides value of 79.96 ◦ C, 78.72 ◦ C, 76.81 ◦ C, 68.12 ◦ C, and 47.89 ◦ C by
its classical flat form. The main results obtained from the thermal using the rectangular, spherical, triangular, flatforms and the con­
modeling and simulation of the passive solar still, are as follows: ventional solar still respectively;

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Table 5
Comparison of daily water productivity of the passive and the active solar desalination system with respect to absorber shapes.
Absorber shape Passive solar still Active solar still Relative deviation (%)
2 2 (Pd )Active − (Pd )Passive
Pd (kg/m .day) Ercv (19) Erfl(19) Pd (kg/m .day) Ercv(19) Erfl(19)
(Pd )Passive
Flat form 1.67118 47.32% – 6.38 463% – 282.63%
Rectangular ripples 2.3708 109% 41.86% 15.39 1257% 140.85% 549.36%
Triangular ripples 1.87072 65% 11.94% 13.47 1088% 110.91% 620.32%
Spherical ripples 2.11692 87% 26.67% 15.01 1223% 134.92% 611.37%
Conventional 1.13 – – 1.13 – – –

The comparative results between the passive and the active solar still
Table 6
configurations showed that the daily productivity is 2.37 and 2.11 kg/
Comparison of the productivity of different active solar stills.
m2/day for rectangular and spherical absorbers coupled with passive
S. Author name Types of Name of solar Productivity (kg/ solar stills, whereas it reaches 15.39 and 15.01 kg/m2/day when
No solar still collector or m2.day)
considering the same absorbers configurations with active solar still,
concentrator
representing thus an increase of the pure water productivity of respec­
1 Present work Modified PTC 6.38, 15.39, 13.47,
tively 549.36% and 611.37% under the active configuration.
solar still and 15.01 for flat,
with rectangular,
Finally, in the present work, the important challenge is to ensure the
different triangular, and availability of pure water for the sustainable development of the arid
absorber spherical ripples and semi-arid regions by using the most abundant resource on the earth.
shape respectively. Furthermore, the proposed modified systems perform better and
2 Bahrami et al. Single slope solar dish 6.5 with average
appropriate designs for household use by integrating passive solar still
(2019) solar still concentrator solar irradiation of
800–900 W/m2. with rectangular shape and storage medium. Also, for irrigation and
3 Muraleedharan Single slope linear Fresnel 12.19 with 0.1% industrial applications by coupling the active system, with more distil­
et al. (2019) solar still lens with Al2O3/ nHTF. late output and higher efficiency. The prospects suggested for the future
Therminol-55 as scope are to release experimental study of the developed systems, also
HTF
4 Kabeel and Single slope PTC with focal 10.77
the optimization of different parameters affecting the efficiency.
Abdelgaied solar still pipe
(2017) with PCM CRediT author statement
5 Taamneh et al. Inclined STC 4.4 and 8.3 for
(2020) Solar Stills incorporated in passive and active
Hajar Hafs: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Data cura­
passive and mode respectively
active modes tion, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review &
editing. Mohamed Asbik: Work Supervision, Project administration,
Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Results interpretation and analysis,
Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Hassane Boushaba:
Table 7 Methodology, Validation. Abdelghani Koukouch: Methodology, Vali­
Fresh water cost of similar distillation systems. dation. Anass Zaaoumi: Methodology, Formal analysis. Abdellah Bah:
Work supervision, Project administration, Methodology. Omar Ansari:
Reference Type of solar still Daily productivity Cost ($/L.m2)
(L/m2) Work supervision, Methodology, Formal analysis.

Kabeel & Active solar still with 10.77 0.0174

Abdelgaied PTC and PCM
Declaration of competing interest
(2017)
(El-Sebaii et al., Finned single basin 5.377 0.0392 The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
2015, 2017) solar still interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
Elashmawy Tubular solar still 4.51 0.0167
the work reported in this paper.
(2020) with PTC
Kabeel et al. Passive solar still 2.44 and 3.27 for 0.00189 for SS-
(2019a) with different PCM and CM PCM and
thermal heat storage respectively 0.0014 for SS-
(CM; PCM) CM

- PCM temperature undergoes tangible increase (a maximum value of

90 ◦ C) by comparison with the passive system and hence the choice
of the PCM must be questioned.

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Nomenclature

A Area,m2
Ap Aperture Area of the collector,m2
Cp Heat Capacity, J/kg.C
e Thickness, m
eda Dirt of receiver
edm Dirt of mirrors
ege Geometry error
esh Receiver shadowing
etr Tracking error
eun Unaccounted
G Solar Intensity, W/m2
Gsc Solar constant, W/m2
H High-side wall, m
h Low-side wall, m
I0 extraterrestrial radiation on horizontal surface, W/m2
Ib Beam radiation on horizontal surface, W/m2
Id Diffuse radiation, W/m2
Ih Global solar radiation incident on horizontal surface, W/m2
k Thermal Conductivity, W/m.K
KT Hourly clearness index
Lv Latent Heat, J/kg
L Width of the still, m
l length of the still, m
P Productivity, kg/m2
Q Heat flux density, W/m2
q̇ Flow rateℓ/min
T Temperature, ◦ C
t Time, s
w1, w2 Hour angles at different times
X Thickness, m

Greek symbols
ρ Density, kg/m3
ρcl Clean mirror reflectance
η Effective optical efficiency
θ Solar incidence angle, degree
ε Emissivity
α Absoptivity
ϕ Latitude of location, degree
δ Angle of declination, degree
σ Stefan-Boltzman constant, W/m2.K4
ΔT Width of phase transition range, ◦ C

Subscripts
a Ambient
at Absorber tube
b Absorber surface
conv Convection
d Daily
e External
exch Heat exchanger
g Glass cover
ge Glass envelope
h Hourly
i Internal
ins Insulation material
l Liquid
m Melting point
pcm Phase change material
r,rad Radiation
s Solid/Sky
w Brackish water

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

Abbreviations
CSP Concentrated Solar Power
CTSS Conventional Tubular Solar Still
CM Composite heat storage material
DNI Direct Normal Irradiation
HTF Heat Transfer Fluid
Lat Latitude
Long Longitude
NPCM Nano Phase Change Material
PTC Parabolic Trough Collector
PCM Phase change Material
SSPCM Shape-stabilized PCM
SSSS Single Slope Solar Still
STC Spiral Tube Collector
TPTC Tracked Parabolic Trough Collector
TSS-PCM Tubular Solar Still with Phase Change Material
TSS-NPCM Tubular Solar Still with Nano Phase Change Material (TSS-NPCM)

Appendix

A 1 Physical properties and dimensions of the components of the active solar still
Table A1
Thermo-physical properties and dimensions of the PTC and the heat exchanger (Kabeel and Abdelgaied,
2017).

Parabolic Through Collector (PTC)

Thermal properties Value Dimensions value

Absorber tube Collector

ρat (kg/m3) 8960 W (m) 1.2
kat (W/m.k) 401 L(m) 2
Cpat (J/kg.◦ C) 384 Glass envelope
Thermal oil at 20◦ C lge (m) 2
ρhtf (kg/m3) 850 dge (cm) 3.8
khtf (W/m.k) 0.14 Xge (m) 0.002
Cphtf (kJ/kg.◦ C) 1966 Absorber tube
μhtf (Pa.s) 0.0686 lat (m) 2
dat (cm) 1.9
Xat (m 0.002
Heat exchanger
le (m) 9.514
di,exch (cm) 1
de,exch (cm) 1.06
q̇(l/min) 6

Table A2
Radiative and optical properties of PTC (Quaschning, 2014; Duffie and Beckman, 2013).

Collector

Physical-Properties esh etr eda ege edm eun ρcl

Values 0.974 0.994 0.95 0.98 0.9 0.96 0.935
Absorber tube
αat 0.90
εat 0.07

Table A3
Thermo-physical properties of Paraffin C18 (Ansari
et al., 2013).

Physical-Properties Values

ks /kl (W/m.K) 0.376/0.148

Cps /Cpl (J/kg.K) 1900/2240
ρs /ρl (kg/m3) 814/774
L(kJ/kg) 242
Tm (◦ C) 42

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H. Hafs et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 14 (2021) 100610

A 2 Determination of heat transfer coefficients

Various heat transfer coefficients used previously in this manuscript are given below. Thus, the heat transfer coefficient between glass cover and
the ambient air is expressed with respect to the wind velocity V:
hconv/g− a = 5.8 + 3.8V (A1)

The other heat transfer coefficients are defined as follows:

( )
hrad/g− a = σ .εg . Tg 3 + Ts 3 (A2)

hw− g = hrad/w− g + hconv/w− g + hevap/w− g (A3)

With
⎧ ( / ( / ) )( )
⎪
⎪ hrad/w− g = σ . 1 (1/εw ) + 1 εg − 1 . Tw 3 + Tg 3
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ [ ( ) ]
⎪
⎨ Pw − Pg (Tw + 273.15) 1/3
hconv/w− g = 0.844∗ Tw − T g + (A4a-c)
⎪ 268.9E3 − Pw
⎪
⎪ [ ]
⎪
⎪ P
⎪ w − Pg
⎪
⎩ hevap = 0.01623∗hconv/w− g ∗
Tw − Tg

Nu.λw
hconv/b− w = (A5)
Lc

A. 3 Estimation of the Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI)

The Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI or beam radiation on horizontal surface) is estimated using the following empirical formulas (El-Sebaii and
El-Naggar, 2017; Erbs et al., 1982):
⎧
1.0 − 0.09.KT KT ≤ 0.22
Id ⎨
= 0.9511 − 0.1604KT + 4.388. KT 2 for 0.22 < KT ≤ 0.80 (A6)
Ih ⎩
0.165 KT > 0.80

where.
KT = II0h Is the hourly clearness index.
Ih Is the global solar radiation incident on the horizontal surface.
I0 Is the extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface and define as:
( ) ( ( )) [ ]
12 360n π(w2 − w1 )
I0 = .(Gsc ). 1 + 0.033 cos . cos ϕ cos δ(sin w2 − sin w1 ) + sin ϕ sin δ (A7)
π 365 180
n is the day of year andw1 , w2 , ϕ, δ and GSC(GSC = 1367 (W/m2) are listed in the Nomenclature section.
Finally, the hourly beam solar radiation on horizontal surface is got by:
Ib = Ih − Id (A8)

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Further reading
nanoen.2017.04.025.
Manokar, A.M., Winston, D.P., 2017a. Experimental analysis of single basin single slope Asbik, M., Ansari, O., Zeghmati, B., et al., 2005. Numerical study of boundary layer
finned acrylic solar still. Mater. Today Proc 7234–7239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. transition in flowing film evaporation on horizontal elliptical cylinder. Heat Mass
matpr.2017.07.051. Transf./Waerme- und Stoffuebertragung 41, 399–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/
Manokar, A.M., Winston, D.P., 2017b. Comparative study of finned acrylic solar still and s00231-004-0554-0.
galvanised iron solar still. Mater. Today Proc 8323–8327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. EL-Kaddadi, Latifa, Asbik, Mohamed, Zari, Nadia, Zeghmati, Belkacem, et al., 2017.
matpr.2017.07.175. Experimental study of the sensible heat storage in the water/TiO2 nanofluid
Mastrocicco, M., Gervasio, M.P., Busico, G., Colombani, N., 2021. Natural and enclosed in an annular space. Appl. Therm. Eng. 122, 673–684. https://doi.org/
anthropogenic factors driving groundwater resources salinization for agriculture use 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.05.054.
in the Campania plains (Southern Italy). Sci. Total Environ. 758, 144033. https:// Sharifi, P. Naser, Freeman, E. Gregory, Sakulich, R. Aaron, et al., 2015. Using COMSOL
doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144033. modeling to investigate the efficiency of PCMs at modifying temperature changes in
Muraleedharan, M., Singh, H., Udayakumar, M., Suresh, S., 2019. Modified active solar cementitious materials – Case study. Construct. Build. Mater. 101, 965–974. https://
distillation system employing directly absorbing Therminol 55–Al2O3 nano heat doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.10.162.
transfer fluid and Fresnel lens concentrator. Desalination 457, 32–38. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.01.024.

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