Thermo-Enviro-Economic Study of Solar Concentrated Hexagonal Covered Tubular Still Using Interrupted and Tilted Receiver

Abstract

Solar energy is still commonly used to produce clean drinking water due to its simple construction, low maintenance, and ecofriendliness. This work aims to experimentally investigate the yield upgrade and the thermal performance of a novel concentrated single-axis tracking trough tubular solar still (TSS). This tubular still is identified by three baffles that generate four interrupted sections in the U-receiver, which is inserted with copper mesh and fitted in a hexagonal-shaped glass cover. Two identical TSS models were side-by-side outdoor tested in Baghdad-Iraq 33.3° N and 43.3° E from January to March 2024. The first is inserted with black copper mesh (Model I), and the other has no insertion (Model ll). The effect of the inserted copper mesh (60, 120, and 180 g) and the receivers' tilt angle (5°, 10°, and 15°) on the still performance are involved. The still thermal performance is analyzed per heat transfer coefficients, energy, and exergy efficiencies. The results revealed that the accumulated daily yield is enhanced for Model I by 78.9%–194.8% while the thermal efficiency is enhanced by 68.3%–206.4% when it is tilted at 15° with the insertion of 60–180 g copper mesh, respectively, compared with Model II. It is concluded that an effective improvement in the solar still yield is obtained by using copper mesh.