Improved Thermal Performance and Distillate of Conventional Solar Still via Copper Plate, Phase Change Material and CuO Nanoparticles.

Background: The world is currently facing a growing concern regarding freshwater scarcity, which has arisen as a result of a complex interplay of various factors. Renewable energy-powered water desalination is a feasible solution to address freshwater scarcity.

Methods: This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the performance of a conventional solar still (CSS) and its modified versions, such as a still with copper plates, a still with PCM and a still with PCM and 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blend. The experiments were carried out concurrently under identical circumstances for the CSS and the proposed stills. Prior to usage, the CuO nanoparticles and their blend with PCM were characterized through various analyses.

Results: The investigation showcased the copper plate attached solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM significantly improved the distillate production, achieving approximately 6.85 kg/m2/day. This represents an increment of approximately 23.42% compared to the still with copper plate and PCM and 69.14% related to the CSS.

Conclusion: Moreover, the solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM demonstrated a thermal efficiency of 74.23% and an exergy efficiency of 9.75%. The production cost of distillate for all four stills remained at $0.03 per kg. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the proposed copper plate attached solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM as a viable method for producing potable water.