Improving solar still performance: A comparative analysis of conventional and honeycomb pad augmented solar stills

Numerous elements impact the performance of the conventional solar still, and among these surface area of water in the basin of the still is one such factor. The purpose of this research is to improve the distillate yield of conventional solar still by incorporating honeycomb pads. The manuscript presents an analysis of experimental and theoretical data for both conventional solar still (CSS) and conventional solar still enhanced with honeycomb pads (MSS). The coefficients of internal heat transfer and efficiency of stills have been analysed using an analytical/mathematical model introduced by Kumar and Tiwari. The evaporative heat transfer coefficient for MSS was determined to be 116.88% greater compared to CSS. The augmentation of honeycomb pads in MSS led to a 51.70% increase in the overall distillate output when contrasted with CSS. The average internal efficacy of modified solar still showed a 21.89% improvement compared to conventional solar still. Moreover, the expense associated with generating one kg of drinkable water using MSS is 29.51% lower than that of CSS.