Yield augmentation by integrating jute wick in a single slope solar still: an experimental study

Authors

  • Akashdeep Negi Department of Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun 248 002, Uttarakhand, India
  • Lalit Ranakoti Department of Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun 248 002, Uttarakhand, India
  • Prabhakar Bhandari Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, K.R. Mangalam University, Gurugram, Haryana 122 103, India
  • Saurabh Aggarwal Department of Mechanical Engineering, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun 248 007, Uttarakhand, India
  • Rajesh P. Verma Department of Aerospace Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun 248 002, Uttarakhand, India
  • Ankur Singh Bist Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Graphic Era Hill University, Bhimtal Campus, Bhimtal 263 136, Uttarakhand, India
  • Arun Uniyal Department of Mechanical Engineering, COER University, Roorkee 247 667, Uttarakhand, India
  • Shivasheesh Kaushik Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shivalik College of Engineering, Dehradun 248 007, India
  • Nikhil Kanojia Department of Mechanical Engineering, UPES., Dehradun 248 007, India
  • Ayushman Srivastav Department of Mechanical Engineering, UPES., Dehradun 248 007, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24425/ather.2025.154190

Abstract

The availability of freshwater is a significant challenge in today's world, especially in arid and coastal regions. As a solution, purifying existing open water reservoirs or saline water could help bridge the gap between demand and supply. Solar distillation presents a promising method, requiring low initial investment and leaving no harmful environmental impact. However, limited yield due to the traditional design of a solar system is still a problem. Therefore, in the present study, the traditional design of the solar still, i.e. single slope solar still or conventional solar still (CSS) is modified with jute wick (MSS) at an inclination angle of 30º. The length-to-width ratio was kept at 3:1 to avoid shadows at the corners. The studies were conducted to assess how jute fibre as a wick, wind speed and solar intensity affected the CSS’s distillate production. The total yield was found to be 2.69 and 3.208 kg/m2 per day for CSS and MSS, respectively. Additionally, daily thermal efficiency was analysed to check the feasibility and practicability of the systems. It was evident that incorporating jute wick improves the thermal efficiency of CSS by 26.6%. These findings recommend MSS as a promising and economically viable solution for enhancing solar still performance.

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Published

2025-03-30

How to Cite

Negi, Akashdeep, et al. “Yield Augmentation by Integrating Jute Wick in a Single Slope Solar Still: An Experimental Study”. Archives of Thermodynamics, vol. 46, no. 1, Mar. 2025, pp. 169-76, doi:10.24425/ather.2025.154190.

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