Productivity analysis of pyramid solar still with solid clay pots

The present work investigates the influence of using sensible heat energy storage objects on the fresh-water yield of a square-basin pyramid-type solar still. In the current study, solid clay pots have been located at the bottom of the solar still's basin facing downward in two different configurations. In configuration-2, 16 clay pots and in configuration-3, 36 clay pots were used and the performance was compared to that of a conventional pyramid solar still (configuration-1). The experimental set-up was designed, fabricated, and tested in Faridabad (28.4089 degrees N, 77.3178 degrees E) Haryana, India, under real -world conditions. Experimental findings show that the sensible heat energy storage material augment the rate of fresh-water yield of the solar stills. Among all the investigated configurations, improvement of about 73% and 40% in daily fresh-water productivity was attained in the configuration-3 and configuration-2, respectively relative to that of configuration-1. Further in the study, the suitability of the produced distilled water for human consumption was tested as per the WHO standards by analysing its total dissolved solids content, electrical conductivity, and pH and compared with that of the saline water.Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Processing & Characterization.