Effects of design and operational parameters on the performance of a solar distillation system: A comprehensive review

The utilization of solar energy to distillate the brackish water is paramount to deal with the environmental downsides along with the inadequate reserve of fossil fuels. In recent years, many developments have been carried out to improve the production yield of solar desalination system due to its low production rate and the inherent seasonal and diurnal fluctuation of solar resources. The objective of this paper is to deliver a comprehensive review on the recent advancement of different individual and combined parameters affecting the performance of solar distillation system. The integration of fins, nanofluids, solar collectors, phase change materials (PCMs), and energy-storing materials into the distillation system are also included in detail in the present work. In addition, the usage of vacuum technology, reflector, condenser, heat pump, refrigeration cycle, vibratory harmonic effect, and cover cooling method are also considered as efficient modifications. It is reported that the substantial productivity improvement is achieved for a concentrator assisted distillation system utilizing paraffin wax as PCM. It is also to be noted that the hybrid renewable resources with storage technologies is a sustainable solution for uninterrupted supply of fresh water in off-grid remote coastal areas. Finally, the future research directions are also identified in this review work. •A state-of-art review on recent progress of solar distillation system is presented.•Research on various individual and combined parameters of solar still are reported.•Fin, solar collector, and PCM integrated solar stills provide high productivity.•Hybrid multi-effect diffusion with waste heat source offers yield of 18 kg/m2/day.•Future works on development, optimization techniques and reliability are identified.