An experimental wick-type solar still system: Design and construction

A tilted wick-type solar still was designed and constructed. Its practical aspects and performance are presented. Charcoal cloth was used as an absorber/evaporator material and for saline water transport. The distillation system consists of five main parts: (1) the still, (2) main reservoir, (3) constant head device, (4) distillate bottle, and (5) brine reservoir. Indoor and outdoor experimental testings were carried out to investigate the effect of input water flow rate and salinity on the still productivity together with the variation of the solar still efficiency with absorber temperature. The representative daily efficiency of the still was about 53% on clear days in summer. It has been concluded that, the charcoal cloth is a good material for use as an absorber/evaporator and also as a water transport medium. Increase of the input water mass flow rate leads to a reduction in the efficiency of the wick-type solar still. The still efficiency decreased linearly with increase of salinity of the input saline water e.g. it decreased, by indoor testing, from 37.7% to 20% as the NaCl salt concentration increased from 0% to 10% by weight. ► A tilted wick-type solar still unit was designed and constructed. ► The effect of input water flow rate and salinity on the still productivity together with the variation of the solar still efficiency and absorber temperature have been investigated. ► The representative daily efficiency of the still was about 53% on clear days in summer. ► The still efficiency decreased linearly with increase of salinity of the input saline water.