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Annual thermal performance analysis and economic assessment of an evacuated tube coupled solar still for Indian climatic conditions

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Abstract

In this experimental study, the annual performance and economic analysis of an evacuated tube augmented solar still is presented from June 2020 to May 2021. The experiments are also performed simultaneously on a conventional still as well. The experiments are performed throughout the year at 6 cm water depth for both solar stills in the climate of Kurukshetra City, India. The main output parameters, namely, maximum daily water output, maximum hourly water output, thermal efficiency, and maximum basin water temperature have been taken into account and represented in this study. In addition, thermal analysis for both solar stills is performed in this study. The results from experimentation showed 149% improvement in the daily freshwater output from the modified still in comparison to the conventional still. Also, an increase of 1.7% in overall thermal efficiency is achieved for the modified still in comparison to the conventional still. The maximum still performance is achieved in the month of June 2020. In the economic analysis, the cost of water obtained per litre after distillation is $0.0098 for a conventional still and $0.022 in the case of a modified still.

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Data availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated during this study.

Abbreviations

Aet :

Surface area of evacuated tube (m2)

Agc :

Glass cover area (m2)

Asb :

Area of still basin (m2)

CPL:

Cost per litre (Rs)

CRF:

Capital recovery factor

Cc :

Capital cost of still

co :

Specific heat of heat transfer fluid (kJ/k)

cw :

Specific heat of water (kJ/k)

die :

Inner diameter of evacuated tube (m)

doe :

Outer diameter of evacuated tube (m)

hes :

Heat transfer coefficient between evacuated tube and surrounding air (W/m2)

ETC:

Evacuated tube collector

FPC:

Flat plate collector

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

hew :

Heat transfer coefficient between evacuated tube and basin water (W/m2K)

hgc :

Heat transfer coefficient of glass cover (W/m2K)

hw1 :

Heat transfer coefficient basin water to inner surface of glass cover (W/m2K)

Tp :

Temperature of bottom plate of still basin (°C)

Ts :

Temperature of surrounding air (°C)

S:

Bank interest rate (%)

SFF:

Sinking fund factor

Sn :

Number of sets

So :

Total observations in a set

Nt :

Number of evacuated tubes

Te :

Temperature of evacuated tube (°C)

Tc :

Total annual cost

Tig :

Temperature of inner surface of glass cover (°C)

Tog :

Temperature of outer glass surface (°C)

hpw :

Heat transfer coefficient from bottom plate of still basin to the basin water (W/m2K)

Iet :

Solar intensity on evacuated tube collector (W/m2)

It :

Solar intensity on the glass cover of the still (W/m2)

kp :

Thermal conductivity of bottom plate of still basin (W/mK)

L:

Latent heat of vapourisation (J/kg)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid through a single evacuated tube (kg/s)

Moe :

Mass of heat transfer fluid in evacuated tube collector (kg)

Mow :

Mass of water output obtained from solar still daily (kg)

\(\dot{{m}_{ow}}\) :

Mass of water obtained from solar still per hour (kg/h)

Mw :

Mass of water in still basin (kg)

n:

Average life of still

Paverage :

Annual average water production (kg)

ho :

Overall heat transfer coefficient from outer glass cover to the surroundings (W/m2K)

hpa :

Overall heat transfer coefficient from bottom plate of still basin to the surrounding air (W/m2K)

PTC:

Parabolic trough concentrator

Sc :

Salvage cost

\({\alpha }_{g}^{^{\prime}}\) :

Fraction of solar flux absorbed by glass cover

\({\alpha }_{b}^{^{\prime}}\) :

Fraction of solar flux absorbed by the bottom plate of still basin

\({\alpha }_{w}^{^{\prime}}\) :

Fraction of solar flux absorbed by basin water

\({\alpha }_{t}^{^{\prime}}\) :

Fraction of solar flux absorbed by a single evacuated tube

Ɛbw :

Emissivity of basin water

Ɛgc :

Emissivity of glass cover

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to Be) University, Mullana, Ambala, India

    Mohit Bhargva

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Harcourt Butler Technical University, Kanpur, India

    Avadhesh Yadav

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  1. Mohit Bhargva
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  2. Avadhesh Yadav
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Contributions

MB analyzed all the design, operating, and environmental parameters which influenced the performance of the solar still. AY identified different modifications in the design of solar still which resulted in productivity enhancement. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mohit Bhargva.

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Bhargva, M., Yadav, A. Annual thermal performance analysis and economic assessment of an evacuated tube coupled solar still for Indian climatic conditions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 31268–31280 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24342-5

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