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A review of solar still technology: solution for water scarcity

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Abstract

This review article provides an overview of the study on several forms of solar stills conducted by several scholars. Solar stills are becoming more popular for desalination and water purification, particularly in locations where clean water is scarce. This review study analyses the advantages and limits of several solar still designs, including passive single slope, double slope, and other forms of active solar still with varied configurations. Furthermore, the paper investigates the elements that influence solar still performance, such as solar radiation, water depth, and ambient temperature. Furthermore, the report discusses current advancements in solar still technology, such as the incorporation of nanofluids, sensible storage materials, phase change materials, and other hybrid techniques, all of which have the potential to improve the efficiency of solar stills. Finally, the paper finishes with a discussion of the potential of solar still technology, as well as the need for additional research to improve their performance and make them more generally available in water-stressed areas.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article.

Abbreviations

PCM:

Phase change materials

SWF:

Steel wool fibres

PF:

Pin fins

SS:

Solar still

FRP:

Finely-reinforced polymers

EC:

External condenser

TPTC:

Tracking parabolic trough collector

CBA:

Collector basin area

FPC:

Flat plate collector

TDSSS:

Tracking double slope solar still

VMED:

Vertical multiple effect diffusion

ANN:

Artificial neural network

HHO:

Harris hawks optimizer

PV/T:

Photovoltaic/thermal

SWH:

Solar water heater

VSBSS:

V-corrugated single basin solar still

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, MPSTME, NMIMS University, Mumbai, 400056, India

    A. Chorghe, A. Dhavale, V. Mehta, P. Rao, N. Patel & A. Priyam

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  1. A. Chorghe
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  2. A. Dhavale
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  3. V. Mehta
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  4. P. Rao
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  5. N. Patel
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Contributions

AC: Methodology, Resources, Writing—Original Draft; AD: Methodology, Resources, Writing—Original Draft; VM: Data curation; PR: Writing—Original Draft, Data curation; NP: Supervision; AP: Conceptualization, Writing—Review & Editing.

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Correspondence to A. Priyam.

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Editorial responsibility: S. Kumar.

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Chorghe, A., Dhavale, A., Mehta, V. et al. A review of solar still technology: solution for water scarcity. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 21, 5919–5946 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05428-0

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