Design and Testing of a Single-Slope Solar Still With a Semi-Elliptical Absorbent Base: An Experimental and Numerical Study

In this article, a single-slope solar still with a semi-elliptical absorption base (SES) is designed, manufactured, and tested. The semi-elliptical solar still (SES) design reduces the sun's shadow generated by the sharp walls on the absorbent base and makes the most of the available solar radiation. We compared the performance of the proposed solar still (SES) with the conventional square base absorption solar still (CSS). The two models were made of precisely the same materials and had the same area of the absorption part. The experimental results of semi-elliptical stills showed that yield productivity increased by about 306.5% compared to conventional stills. This decreased the cost of producing a liter of fresh water from 0.0316 $ to 0.0092 $, up to 71%.