Active Solar Distillation-A Detailed Review (Articulo)

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser
Active solar distillationA detailed review

K. Sampathkumar a,*, T.V. Arjunan b, P. Pitchandi a, P. Senthilkumar c
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tamilnadu College of Engineering, Coimbatore 641659, Tamilnadu, India
Department of Automobile Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, Tamilnadu, India
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KSR College of Engineering, Tiruchengode 637215, Tamilnadu, India
b
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history:
Received 6 November 2009
Received in revised form 15 December 2009
Accepted 25 January 2010
All over the world, access to potable water to the people are narrowing down day by day. Most of the
human diseases are due to polluted or non-puried water resources. Even today, under developed
countries and developing countries face a huge water scarcity because of unplanned mechanism and
pollution created by manmade activities. Water purication without affecting the ecosystem is the need
of the hour. In this context, many conventional and non-conventional techniques have been developed
for purication of saline water. Among these, solar distillation proves to be both economical and ecofriendly technique particularly in rural areas. Many active distillation systems have been developed to
overcome the problem of lower distillate output in passive solar stills. This article provides a detailed
review of different studies on active solar distillation system over the years. Thermal modelling was done
for various types of active single slope solar distillation system. This review would also throw light on the
scope for further research and recommendations in active solar distillation system.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Active solar still
Desalination
Flat plate collector
Review
Solar pond
Thermal modelling
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Classication of active solar distillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Active solar distillation system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.
High temperature active solar distillation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.1.
Solar still coupled with at plate collector. . . . . .
3.1.2.
Solar still coupled with parabolic concentrator . .
3.1.3.
Solar still coupled with evacuated tube collector
3.1.4.
Solar still coupled with heat pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.5.
Solar still coupled with solar pond . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.6.
Solar still coupled with hybrid PV/T system. . . . .
3.1.7.
Multistage active solar distillation system . . . . . .
3.1.8.
Multi effect active solar distillation system . . . . .
3.1.9.
Air bubbled solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.10. Hybrid solar distillation system . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.
Pre-heated water active solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.
Nocturnal active solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theoretical analysis of active solar distillation system . . . . . . . . .
4.1.
Heat transfer in active solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1.
Internal heat transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.2.
External heat transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.
Thermal modelling of active solar still . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.1.
Inner and outer surface of glass cover . . . . . . . . .
4.2.2.
Inner surface of glass cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.3.
Outer surface of glass cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 421 2332544; fax: +91 421 2332244.
E-mail addresses: ksktce@gmail.com (K. Sampathkumar), cryosenthil@yahoo.com (P. Senthilkumar).
1364-0321/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.01.023
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1505
1505
1505
1506
1506
1509
1511
1511
1512
1512
1513
1514
1515
1515
1515
1516
1517
1517
1517
1519
1519
1519
1520
1520
1504
K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526
4.2.4.
Basin liner . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2.5.
Water mass . . . . . . . . . . .
Discussion and scope for further research
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.
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Nomenclature
Aa
Ac
AET
Ar
Ass
As
C
Cp
Cw
FR
g
Gr
hc;ba
hr;ba
ht;ba
hc;ga
hr;ga
ht;ga
hc;wg
he;wg
hr;wg
ht;wg
hw
hb
I(t)c
I(t)s
Ki
Kg
Kv
Kw
L
Li
Lg
aperture area of concentrating collector (m )

area of solar collector (m2)
absorber tube diameter times collector length in
ETC (m2)
receiver area of concentrating collector (m2)
area of sides in solar still (m2)
area of basin in solar still (m2)
constant in Nusselt number expression
specic heat of vapour (J/kg 8C)
specic heat of water in solar still (J/kg 8C)
heat removal factor
acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)
Grashof number
convective heat transfer coefcient from basin to
ambient (W/m2 8C)
radiative heat transfer coefcient from basin to
ambient (W/m2 8C)
total heat transfer coefcient from basin to
ambient (W/m2 8C)
convective heat transfer coefcient from glass
cover to ambient (W/m2 8C)
radiative heat transfer coefcient from glass cover
to ambient (W/m2 8C)
total (convective and radiative) heat transfer
coefcient from glass cover to ambient (W/m2 8C)
convective heat transfer coefcient from water to
glass cover (W/m2 8C)
evaporative heat transfer coefcient from water to
radiative heat transfer coefcient from water to
total heat transfer coefcient from water to glass
cover (W/m2 8C)
convective heat transfer coefcient from basin
liner to water (W/m2 8C)
overall heat transfer coefcient from basin
liner to ambient through bottom insulation (W/
m2 8C)
intensity of solar radiation over the inclined surface
of the solar collector (W/m2)
intensity of solar radiation over the inclined surface
of the solar still (W/m2)
thermal conductivity of insulation material (W/
m 8C)
thermal conductivity of glass cover (W/m 8C)
thermal conductivity of humid air (W/m 8C)
thermal conductivity of water (W/m 8C)
latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)
thickness of insulation material (m)
thickness of insulation glass cover (m)
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Ma
mew
Mew
Mw
M wv
n
Pgi
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1520
1520
1524
1524
1525
1525
Ra
Ra0
molecular weight of dry air (kg/mol)

hourly output from solar still (kg/m2 h)
daily output from solar still (kg/m2 day)
mass of water in the basin (kg)
molecular weight of water vapour (kg/mol)
constant in Nusselt number expression
partial vapour pressure at inner surface
glass temperature (N/m2)
Prandtl number
total vapour pressure in the basin (N/m2)
partial vapour pressure at water temperature (N/
m2)
rate of convective heat transfer from water to glass
cover (W/m2)
rate of evaporative heat transfer from water to
glass cover (W/m2)
rate of radiative heat transfer from water to glass
cover (W/m2)
rate of total heat transfer from water to glass cover
(W/m2)
rate of radiative heat transfer t from glass cover to
ambient (W/m2)
rate of convective heat transfer from glass cover to
ambient (W/m2)
rate of total heat transfer from glass cover to
ambient (W/m2)
rate of convective heat transfer from basin liner to
water (W/m2)
rate of heat transfer from basin liner to ambient
(W/m2)
useful thermal energy gain from the solar collector
(W/m2)
Rayleigh number
modied Rayleigh number
time (s)
Ta
Tb
ambient temperature (8C)

basin temperature (8C)
Pr
Pt
Pw
qc;wg
qe;wg
qr;wg
qt;wg
qr;ga
qc;ga
qt;ga
qw
qb
Qu
Tgi
inner surface glass cover temperature (8C)
Tgo
outer surface glass cover temperature (8C)
Tsky
Tw
temperature of sky (8C)

water temperature (8C)
DT
temperature difference between water and glass

surface (8C)
Ub
Us
ULC
overall bottom heat loss coefcient (W/m2 8C)

overall side heat loss coefcient (W/m2 8C)
overall heat transfer coefcient for solar collector
(W/m2 8C)
ULS
overall heat transfer coefcient for solar still (W/

m2 8C)
Ut
overall top heat loss coefcient from water surface

to ambient air (W/m2 8C)
v
Xv
Xw
wind velocity (m/s)

mean characteristic length of solar still between
evaporation and condensation surface (m)
mean characteristic length of solar still between
basin and water surface (m)
Greek letters
absorptivity
thermal diffusivity of water vapour (m2/s)
fraction of energy absorbed
absorptancetransmittance product
coefcient of volumetric thermal expansion factor
(1/K)
e
emissivity
g
relative humidity
mv
viscosity of humid air (Pa s)
rv
density of vapour (kg/m3)
s
Stefan Boltzman constant (5.67 108 W/m2 K4)
a
av
a0
(at)
b
Subscripts
a
ambient
b
basin liner
c
collector
eff
effective
g
glass cover
s
solar still
w
water
1. Introduction
Water is a natures gift and it plays a key role in the
development of an economy and in turn for the welfare of a
nation. Non-availability of drinking water is one of the major
problem faced by both the under developed and developing
countries all over the world. Around 97% of the water in the world
is in the ocean, approximately 2% of the water in the world is at
present stored as ice in polar region, and 1% is fresh water available
for the need of the plants, animals and human life [1]. Today,
majority of the health issues are owing to the non-availability of
clean drinking water. In the recent decades, most parts of the world
receive insufcient rainfall resulting in increase in the water
salinity. The pollution of water resources is increasing drastically
due to a number of factors including growth in the population,
industrialization, urbanization, etc. These activities adversely
affected the water quality in rural areas and agriculture. Globally,
200 million hours are spent each day, mostly by females, to collect
water from distant, often polluted sources. In the world, 3.575
million people die each year from water related diseases. The basic
medical facilities never spotted numerous villages in the developing and under developed countries. Majority of the rural people are
still unaware of the consequences of drinking untreated water.
Desalination is the oldest technology used by people for water
purication in the world. Various technologies were invented for
desalination from time to time and it has been accepted by people
without knowing future environmental consequences. Major
desalination techniques like vapour compression distillation,
reverse osmosis and electrolysis used electricity as input energy.
But in the recent years, most of the countries in the world have
been signicantly affected by energy crisis because of heavy
dependency on conventional energy sources (coal power plants,
fossil fuels, etc.), which has directly affected the environment and
economic growth of these countries. The changing climate is one of
1505
the major challenges the entire world is facing today. Gradual rise
in global average temperatures, increase in sea level and melting of
glaciers and ice sheets have underlined the immediate need to
address the issue. All these problems could be solved only through
efcient and effective utilization of renewable energy resources
such as solar, wind, biomass, tidal, and geothermal energy, etc.
Solar energy is available in abundant in most of the rural areas
and hence solar distillation is the best solution for rural areas and has
many advantages of using freely available solar energy. It is a simple
technology and more economical than the other available methods.
A solar still operates similar to the natural hydrologic cycle of
evaporation and condensation. The basin of the solar still is lled
with impure water and the sun rays are passed through the glass
cover to heat the water in the basin and the water gets evaporated.
As the water inside the solar still evaporates, it leaves all
contaminates and microbes in the basin. The puried water vapour
condenses on the inner side of the glass, runs through the lower side
of the still and then gets collected in a closed container [2]. Many
solar distillation systems were developed over the years using the
above principle for water purication in many parts of the world.
This paper reviews the technological developments of various active
solar distillation systems developed by various researchers in detail.
The review also extends to thermal modelling of some active solar
distillation systems, comparative studies of different active solar
stills, scope for further research and recommendation.
2. Classication of active solar distillation
The solar distillation systems are mainly classied as passive
solar still and active solar still. The numerous parameters are
affecting the performance of the still such as water depth in the
basin, material of the basin, wind velocity, solar radiation, ambient
temperature and inclination angle. The productivity of any type of
solar still will be determined by the temperature difference
between the water in the basin and inner surface glass cover. In a
passive solar still, the solar radiation is received directly by the
basin water and is the only source of energy for raising the water
temperature and consequently, the evaporation leading to a lower
productivity. This is the main drawback of a passive solar still.
Later, in order to overcome the above problem, many active solar
stills have been developed. Here, an extra thermal energy is
supplied to the basin through an external mode to increase the
evaporation rate and in turn improve its productivity. The active
solar distillation is mainly classied as follows [2]:
(i) High temperature distillationHot water will be fed into the
basin from a solar collector panel.
(ii) Pre-heated water applicationHot water will be fed into the
basin at a constant ow rate.
(iii) Nocturnal productionHot water will be fed into the basin
once in a day.
3. Active solar distillation system
The performance of a solar still could neither be predicted nor
improved by some of the uncontrollable parameters like intensity
of solar radiation, ambient temperature and wind velocity. But,
there are certain parameters such as depth of water, glass cover
angle, fabrication materials, temperature of water in the basin and
insulation thickness, which affects the performance of the solar
still that could be modied for improving the performance. The still
performance can be increased by reducing the water depth and
thereby increasing the evaporation rate. The temperature difference between water in the basin and condensing glass cover also
has a direct effect in the performance of the still. The increased
temperature of the water in basin can increase the temperature
1506
difference between the evaporating and condensing surfaces. To

achieve better evaporation and condensation rate, the temperature
of water in the basin could be raised by feeding thermal energy
from some external sources.
3.1. High temperature active solar distillation
The water temperature of the conventional still is increased by
supplying additional thermal energy through solar collectors to the
basin. The temperature is increased from 2050 8C to 7080 8C in
high temperature distillation for better evaporation.
3.1.1. Solar still coupled with at plate collector
The solar still coupled with at plate collector is working as high
temperature distillation method. The solar still coupled with at
plate collector (FPC) works either in forced circulation mode or
natural circulation mode. In forced circulation mode, a pump is
used for supplying water. In natural circulation mode, water ows
due to the difference in the density of water.
3.1.1.1. Forced circulation mode. The at plate collector gives an
additional thermal energy to the basin of the solar still. A pump is
used to circulate the water from the basin via at plate collector to
the basin. Many researches have been carried out in this method and
the rst being reported by Rai and Tiwari [3]. They found that, the
daily distillate production of a coupled single basin still is 24% higher
than that of an uncoupled one using forced circulation mode. A
schematic diagram of an active solar still integrated with a at plate
collector under forced circulation mode is shown in Fig. 1. Rai et al.
[4] experimentally studied the various modes of operations in single
basin solar still coupled with at plate collector. From their study
shows that, the rate of daily distillate deceases with the salt
concentration. The addition of salt increases the surface tension and
hence decreases the rate of evaporation. The best performance was
observed in a single basin still coupled with a at plate collector
having forced circulation and blackened jute cloth oating over the
basin water and a small quantity of black dye added to the water. And
also found that, the rate of distillation increased by 30% when a small
quantity of black dye is added to the water. The bottom insulation is
an important design parameter of the active solar still and for
drinking purposes, the conventional solar still will give better
performance because, the efciency of the system reduces with the
increase in the effective area as reported by Tiwari and Dhiman [5].
Their experimental study showed that, there was only 12% rise in
yield of the system if the length of the heat exchanger is varied from
6.0 to 12.0 m and the overall efciency of the system varied from 15
to 19%.
Fig. 1. Schematic of an active solar still integrated with a at plate collector [12].
Sanjeev Kumar and Tiwari [6] observed that, temperature of

water and thermal efciency decreased with an increase in basin
area due to the large storage capacity of the water mass in the basin
and depth of water, respectively. Yield increased with increase in
the number of collectors, as expected, owing to increased heat
transfer from the collector panel into the basin and the optimum
number of collectors for maximum yield is 8 m2 since beyond that
the increase in gain will be lower than the thermal loss. Sanjeev
Kumar et al. [7] suggested that, for maximum annual yield, the
optimum collector inclination for a at plate collector is 208 and
that of still glass cover is 158 for New Delhi climatic condition.
Tiwari et al. [8] inferred that, the internal heat transfer
coefcients should be determined by using inner glass cover
temperature for thermal modelling of passive and active solar
stills. The heat transfer coefcients mainly depends on the shape of
the condensing cover, material of the condensing cover and
temperature difference between water and inner glass cover. On
the basis of the numerical computation, Singh and Tiwari [9] found
that, the annual yield is at its maximum when the condensing glass
cover inclination is equal to the latitude of the place and the
optimum collector inclination for a at plate collector is 28.588, for
a condensing glass cover inclination of 18.588 for New Delhi
climatic condition. Rajesh Tripathi and Tiwari [10] inferred that the
convective heat transfer coefcient between water and inner
condensing cover depends signicantly on the water depth of the
basin. It is also observed that more productivity was obtained
during the off shine hours as compared to day time for higher
water depths in solar still (0.10 m and 0.15 m) due to storage effect.
Vimal Dimri et al. [11] conducted theoretical and experimental
analysis of a solar still integrated with at plate collector with
various condensing cover materials. The results indicated that
yield is directly related to thermal conductivity of condensing
cover materials; copper gives a greater yield compared to glass and
plastic due to higher thermal conductivity.
Tiwari et al. [12] presented the parametric study of passive and
active solar stills integrated with a at plate collector. Computer
based thermal models were developed based on two assumptions:
Tgi = Tgo and Tgi 6 Tgo. The results show that (i) there is an effect of
the inner and outer glass temperature on the daily yield of both
active and passive solar stills. (ii) The mean estimated error
involved in predicting the hourly yield of the passive solar still and
active solar still using the thermal model based on the assumption
that Tgi = Tgo is 6% and 3%, respectively. Hence, the thermal model of
solar stills should be developed based on the assumption that
Tgi 6 Tgo. (iii) The results of the thermal model for the active solar
still for N = 1 show that the daily yield values are 3.08 l and 2.85 l
for Tgi = Tgo and Tgi 6 Tgo, respectively. Tiwari and Tiwari [2]
reported the performance of single slope passive still coupled with
multi at plate collectors. In their new design, rather than coupling
a single collector, multiple collectors were integrated with the
solar still. The results show that, for New Delhi climatic conditions,
the daily yield increases with number of collectors for basin area
1 m2, collector area 2 m2, mass of saline water 150 kg and also the
optimum number of collectors for single effect, double effect and
triple effect were 10, 9 and 6, respectively. In single effect, if there
are more than 8 collectors, the daily yield is higher than the double
effect but at the cost of additional collectors.
3.1.1.2. Natural circulation mode. The working of solar thermal
devices under thermosyphon mode has been more advantageous
than the forced circulation mode in terms of simplicity, reliability
and cost effectiveness. Theoretical study on single basin solar still
coupled with at plate collector through heat exchanger have been
reported by Lawrence and Tiwari [13]. The results show that, the
efciency of active solar still is less than that of a simple solar still
and the daily yield from the simple solar still decreases with the
1507
Fig. 3. Schematic of double effect solar still coupled with at plate collector [23].
natural circulation modes gives 51% higher yield in comparison to

the double slope passive solar still. The thermal efciency of
double slope active solar still is lower than the thermal efciency of
double slope passive solar still. However, the exergy efciency of
double slope active solar still is higher than the exergy efciency of
double slope passive solar still.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of (a) active solar still working under natural circulation;
(b) design of heat exchanger [13].
increase in water depth, while for an active solar still, it is the

reverse (Fig. 2).
Yadav [14] studied the performance of a solar still coupled with
a at plate collector using thermosyphon mode and forced
circulation mode for New Delhi climatic condition. The author
found that, the system using the forced circulation mode gives 5
10% higher yield than that of the thermosyphon mode and 3035%
enhancement in the yield was observed with simple solar still. The
steady state condition of the system was achieved after 23 days.
Yadav [15] studied the transient performance of a high temperature solar distillation system. The study reveals that it is
worthwhile to consider a temperature dependent evaporative
heat transfer coefcient when evaluating the performance of a
high temperature distillation. Tiris et
al. [16] conducted
experiments on two at plate solar collectors integrated with a
basin type solar still. From their study, the collector integrated
solar still gave an average increase of 100% in yield in comparison
with the simple basin solar still. Maximum yield was 2.575 l/
m2 day for the simple basin and 5.18 l/m2 day for the integrated
system, while the corresponding solar radiation is 24.343 MJ/
m2 day.
Ali A Badran et al. [17] performed the tests in solar still
augmented with at plate collector using tap water and saline
water. They found that the mass of distilled water production using
augmentation increased by 231% in case of tap water as a feed and
by 52% in case of salt water as a feed. Badran and Al-Tahainesh [18]
presented the effect of coupling a at plate collector on the solar
still productivity. The results showed that, the output of the still is
maximum for the least water depth in the basin (2 cm). Also, the
increase in water depth has decreased the productivity, while the
still productivity is found to be proportional to the solar radiation
intensity.
Dwidevi and Tiwari [19] experimentally studied the double
slope active solar still under natural circulation mode. From the
study, they observed that, the double slope active solar still under
3.1.1.3. Double effect active solar still. Glass temperature is another

main parameter, which affects the performance of the solar still.
The rate of evaporation increased with reduction of glass
temperature. The rate of evaporation of water from a water
surface will be higher than the rate of release of heat from the glass
cover to ambient by convection and radiation processes. If the heat
loss from glass cover to ambient can be increased and that heat loss
is used for further distillation, then overall efciency of the
distillation unit under active modes of operation can be increased
signicantly, as in the case of double basin solar still. This can be
obtained by owing the water over the glass cover for fast heat
transfer through the lower glass cover and then condensing the
evaporated water from the upper glass cover as distillate (Fig. 3).
Tiwari and Lawrence [20] observed from the experimental
study that, there is an increase of about 20% and 30% yield for inlet
temperature equal to ambient temperature for a passive and active
solar still, respectively. If the inlet temperature is increased, the
output from the upper basin is increased but the output from the
lower basin is appreciably reduced due to a lower value of waterglass temperature difference in the lower basin. Bapeshwararao et
al. [21] presented from transient analysis that the distillate output
increases with increase in the initial water temperature in both
basins, the dependence on lower basin water temperature shows
more effect than that of upper one comparatively and remarkable
increase in the efciency of the present system over that of the
simple solar still in all the cases. Tiwari and Sharma [22] studied
the double effect solar distillation under active mode of operation
using heat exchanger. The study shows that, there is an increase of
about 30% in the active solar still due to water ow through the
upper basin and there is a marginal increase in efciency with
increase in the length of the heat exchanger.
Kumar Sanjeev and Tiwari [23] presented the performance of
daily yield for an active double effect distillation system with
water ow. The results show that, a higher yield from the lower
basin with a maximum yield of 3.34 kg/m2/h at noon is due to the
high water temperature of 95 8C at that time (Fig. 4). With the
increase in water masses, the operating water temperature in the
lower basin is lowered resulting in reduced yield and efciency.
The daily yield increases with an increase of collector area, because
the thermal energy in the basin increases as the collector area
1508
Fig. 5. (a) Schematic view of uncoupled double basin solar still. (b) Double basin still
coupled to a collector in the thermosyphon mode. (c) Double basin still coupled to a
collector in the forced circulation mode [26].
Fig. 4. Hourly variation of yield in lower and upper basin [23].
increases. Sanjay Kumar and Tiwari [24] studied the performance

of single and double effect active solar distillation, with and
without water ow over the glass cover. The study shows that, an
active solar still with water ow arrangements over the glass cover
produces maximum distillate output. The solar still operating in
the double effect mode does not enhance the daily output
signicantly because of the difculties in maintaining reasonably
low and uniform ow rates over the glass cover (10 ml/min).
Sanjay Kumar and Tiwari [25] conducted experiments to
estimate the convective mass transfer in active solar still. The
modied values of C and n for Nu = C(GrPr)n, are proposed as
C = 0.0538; n = 0.383 for 5.498 106 < Gr < 9.128 106 in an
active solar still. The percentage of deviation between the
experimental and theoretical results was found be within an
accuracy of 12%. The authors also recommended that before
predicting the performance theoretically, an experiment may be
carried out on a particular model of still for a given climatic
condition to evaluate the values of C and n from a thermal model.
Yadav [26] conducted the experiments on double basin solar still
coupled to a collector in the thermosyphon mode and still coupled
to a collector in the forced circulation mode (Fig. 5). The results
show that, the double basin solar still coupled to a at plate
collector performs better in the forced circulation mode than in the

thermosyphon mode; however, these performances are still better
than those of the uncoupled double basin solar still. The efciency
of the high temperature distillation system decreases with
increasing area of the collector panel.
3.1.1.4. Regenerative active solar still. The higher evaporation rate is
achieved, when the solar still works in high temperature by means of
supplying heat to the basin in active mode. Thus, the glass cover will
receive more latent heat of vaporization. In turn, the temperature of
the glass cover increases, and temperature difference between the
glass cover and basin water decreases. This causes low vaporization
and, thus, low yield. To decrease the glass temperature, cold water is
made to ow over the glass cover. Heat is transferred from the glass
to the owing water which, in turn, keeps the temperature
difference large. Moreover, if the temperature of the owing water
at the outlet becomes higher than the basin water temperature, then
it can be fed to the basin for higher yield. This system is known as a
regenerative active solar distillation system and its cross-sectional
view is shown in Fig. 6. Tiwari and Sinha [27] observed based on
experimental study on active regenerative solar still that the passive
regenerative solar stills have better thermal efciency than active
regenerative solar stills and the thermal efciency increases with
increase in the ow of water.
Singh and Tiwari [28] studied the thermal performance of a
regenerative active solar distillation system working under the
Fig. 6. Cross-sectional view of an active regenerative solar still [27].
1509
Fig. 7. Schematic diagram of a solar still integrated with a parallel at plate water collector [31].
thermosyphon mode of operation for New Delhi climatic condition. The authors inferred that, (i) there is a signicant improvement in overall performance due to water ow over the glass cover.
(ii) The hot water available due to the regenerative effect does not
enhance the output. (iii) The overall efciency of the active stills
(conventional and regenerative) is lower than that of the passive
stills (conventional and regenerative) at any common depth of
water because the active stills are operating at higher temperature.
Tiwari et al. [29] observed that the instantaneous thermal
efciency of the system decreases with an increase of collector
area, due to the higher operating temperature range of the
distillation system. Yousef H. Zurigat et al. [30] proved that, the
thickness of water on top of the rst glass cover and the mass ow
rate of the water going into the second effect have marginal effect
on the productivity of the regenerative solar still.
3.1.1.5. Solar still coupled with parallel at plate collector. Yadav and
Prasad [31] experimentally studied the solar still integrated with
parallel at plate collector. The schematic diagram of a solar still
integrated with a parallel at plate solar energy collector is shown
in Fig. 7. The collector essentially consists of a parallel at plate
placed over the insulation with an air gap through which the water
will ow below the absorber.
There is a glass sheet over the absorber and the whole assembly
is enclosed in a wooden box. The top of the plate (absorber) is
blackened by black board paint before the glass cover is placed over
the absorber. The collector outlet is connected to the still by a pipe
covered with insulation. The circulation of water between the
collector and the still can be made either via a pump (forced
circulation system) or by placing the collector over a supporting
structure at such a height as to provide adequate head for natural
circulation of water (thermosyphon) in the system. The results
show that, a signicant rise in the distillate output is observed
when the still is coupled with the collector and this system can be
preferred as cost effective compared to the at plate collector.
coupled with at plate solar collector. The schematic sketch is

shown in Fig. 8. The distillation unit consists of n parallel vertical
plates. The rst plate is insulated on its front side and the last plate
is exposed to ambient.
Each plate in the enclosure is covered with wetted cloth on one
side. The cloth is extended into a feed through along the upper edge
of each plate. Feed water in the through is then drawn onto the
plate surface by capillary. Excess water moves down the plate and
is conducted out of the still. The last plate is cooled by air or water.
The authors found that, the distillation output increases slightly
when the plate number is over 5, and it increased by about 34% and
15% when the evaporating plate numbers are 1 and 6, respectively.
3.1.2. Solar still coupled with parabolic concentrator
The schematic diagram of the solar still coupled with parabolic
concentrator is shown in Fig. 9. The parabolic shaped concentrator
or solar collector concentrates the incident solar radiation on large
surface and it focuses on to a small absorber or receiver area. The
performance of concentrators is much affected by the sun tracking
mechanism. The tracking mechanism should move the collectors
throughout the day to keep them focused on the sun rays to
achieve the higher efciency. These types of solar collectors reach
higher temperature compared to at plate collectors owing to
reduced heat loss area.
The various types of concentrators were used over the years
based on the applications. To achieve higher yield, the contractor is
coupled with solar still by means of increasing water temperature
in the basin. The water or oil will be supplied to trough receiver
pipe by natural circulation mode or forced circulation mode. Singh
et al. [33] found an analytical expression for water temperature of
an active solar still with at plate collectors and parabolic
concentrator through natural circulation mode.
The results show that, the efciency of the system with
concentrator is higher than parabolic collector as the evaporative
heat transfer coefcient is higher in concentrator. Garcia Rodriguez
and Gomez Camacho [34] experimentally studied the multi effect
3.1.1.6. Vertical solar still coupled with at plate collector. Kiatsiriroat et al. [32] analysed the multiple effect of vertical solar still
Fig. 8. Schematic sketch of the multiple effects still with a at plate collector [32].
Fig. 9. Solar still coupled with parabolic concentrator. (1) Parabolic through, (2) oil
pipeline, (3) valves, (4) solar still, (5) oil heat exchanger, (6) pump [36].
1510
concluded with an average relative error of 42% for the distillate ow

rate. This is due to the imperfections in paraboloid geometry, the sun
manual follow up and especially to the systems tilt variation during
the day, which does not make it possible always to keep the absorber
surface covered with salted water. Lourdes Garcia Rodriguez et al.
[38] proposed and evaluated the application of direct steam
generation into a solar parabolic through collector to multi effect
distillation. The obtained results were useful in nding the most
suitable conditions in which solar energy could compete with
conventional energies in solar desalination.
Fig. 10. Desalination by a parabolic solar concentrator [37].
distillation system coupled to a parabolic through collector (PTC)

for sea water desalination and suggested the following, (i) the
annual energy production is about 23% grater for a northsouth
collector than for an east west one. (ii) The optimum axis height for
a single collector is 298 and it is 12% higher production than a
horizontal collector for an inlet/outlet thermal oil temperature of
225 8C/300 8C. (iii) The maximum yearly average of the daily
operation time is only about 12 h/day in coastal areas in southern
Spain.
Scrivani et al. [35] presented the concept of utilizing through
type solar concentration plants for water production, remediation,
waste treatment and the system can be used for processing landll
percolate in arid regions where conventional depuration systems
are expensive and impractical. Zeinab and Ashraf [36] conducted
experimental and theoretical study of a solar desalination system
coupled with solar parabolic through with a focal pipe and simple
heat exchanger (Fig. 9). The results show that, as time goes on, all
the temperatures increase and begin to decrease after 4.00 pm
with respect to the solar radiation, although the temperature
values of the modied system are still higher than the conventional
one. In case of the modied design, the fresh water productivity
increased an average by 18%.
Bechir Chaouchi et al. [37] designed and built a small solar
desalination unit equipped with a parabolic concentrator (Fig. 10).
The results show that, the maximum efciency corresponds to the
maximum solar lightning obtained towards 14:00. At that hour, the
boiler was nearly in a horizontal position, which maximizes the
offered heat transfer surface. The experimental and theoretical study
3.1.2.1. Double effect still coupled with parabolic concentrator. Bhagwan Prasad and Tiwari [39] presented an analysis of a double
effect, solar distillation unit coupled compound parabolic concentration (CPC) collector under forced circulation mode (Fig. 11).The
authors suggested that, (i) the temperature of the water in the
lower basin is increased in comparison with single effect
distillation due to the reduced upward heat losses. (ii) The hourly
output in the lower basin is reduced due to the reduced
temperature difference between the water and glass temperatures.
However, the overall output is increased due to reutilization of the
latent heat of evaporation in the second effect. (iii) The hourly yield
from the lower basin increases with increase of ow velocity due to
the decrease in the lower glass temperature. It is due to the fact
that the lower glass cover temperature decreases due to the fast
removal of the latent heat of vaporization. (iv) The evaporative
heat transfer coefcient is a strong function of the operating
temperature range. The convective and radiative heat transfer
coefcients does not vary signicantly.
3.1.2.2. Regenerative solar still coupled with parabolic concentrator. Flowing water over the glass cover is made to reduce glass
temperature of the solar still. Heat is transferred from the glass to
the owing water which, in turn keeps the temperature difference
large. This regenerative effect helps to achieve higher productivity
of the solar still.
Sanjay Kumar and Sinha [40] conducted the experimental
analysis of a double slope solar still coupled with a non-tracking
cylindrical parabolic concentrator through an electric pump. The
system operates in a forced circulation mode to avoid the inherent
problems associated with a thermosyphon circulation mode. The
authors observed that, the concentrator coupled still gives the
maximum yield at all depths of the basin water (Fig. 12).
The concentrator assisted regenerative solar still has a much
higher thermal efciency than the at plate collector assisted
Fig. 11. Cross-sectional view of double effect active distillation system [39].
1511
Fig. 14. Total daily yield for active solar stills [42].
Fig. 12. Variation of daily yield with water depth of still [40].
regenerative still at all water depths and they inferred that there is
less thermal loss in the concentrator compared to the at plate
collector panel. From the analysis, an increase in the ow rate of
cold water over the glass cover also increases the overall thermal
efciency, followed by signicant increase in its yield. Lourdes
Garcia Rodriquez et al. [41] studied the global analysis of the use of
solar energy in seawater distillation under Spanish climatic
condition. They considered the following solar energy collectors
for the analysis: salinity gradient solar ponds, at plate collectors,
evacuated tube collectors, compound parabolic collectors and
parabolic through collectors for direct steam generation (DSG).
Each of the collectors were compared for the parameters like, the
fresh water production from a given desalination plant, attainable
fresh water production if a heat pump is coupled to the solar
desalination unit and area of solar collector required. Results
showed that direct steam generation parabolic through was a
promising technology for solar assisted seawater desalination.
3.1.3. Solar still coupled with evacuated tube collector
The evacuated tube solar collector has more advantageous than
the at plate collectors for water heating purposes. Evacuated Tube
Collectors (ETC) are well known for their higher efciencies when
compared to at plate solar collectors. In at plate collectors, sun
rays are perpendicular to the collector only at noon and thus a
proportion of the sunlight striking the surface of the collector is
always likely to be reected. But in evacuated tube collector, due to
its cylindrical shape, the sun rays are perpendicular to the surface
of the glass for most of the day. The evacuated tubes greatly reduce
the heat losses as vacuum is present in the tubes. Owens-Illinois
(OI) evacuated tube collector is shown in Fig. 13.
The OI collector consists of two coaxial tubes with evacuated
space between an outer surface of inner tube and inner surface of
outer tube. A selective coating is applied to the outer surface of the
Fig. 13. Schematic diagram of Owens-Illinois evacuated tube collector [42].
inner tube. The heat transfer uid enters through small diameter
delivery glass tube and exits from the same end of the tube through
annular space between delivery tube and selective coated absorber
tube (which is sealed from one end). The annular space between
selectively coated tube and borosilicate outermost glass tube is
evacuated to minimize the convection loss from the selective
surface.
Tiwari et al. [42] developed the thermal models for all types of
solar collector integrated active solar stills based on energy balance
equations in terms of inner and outer glass temperature. The total
daily yield of passive solar still, FPC, concentrating collector, ETC
and ETC with heat pipe is shown in Fig. 14.
The authors have drawn the following points: (i) the maximum
values of total heat transfer coefcient (htw) for active solar stills
integrated with at plate collector, concentrating collector,
evacuated tube collector and ETC with heat pipe are 43, 86, 67
and 76 W m2 8C1, respectively. (ii) The overall thermal efciency
of active solar stills integrated with FPC, concentrating collector,
ETC and ETC with heat pipe is 13.14, 17.57, 17.22 and 18.26%,
respectively. (iii) The overall average thermal and exergy efciency
of FPC integrated active solar still are in the range of 5.619.1 and
0.250.85%, respectively. If the exergy out from FPC is considered,
then average exergy efciency of active solar still varies in the
range 0.591.82%.
3.1.4. Solar still coupled with heat pipe
Hiroshi and Yasuhito [43] proposed the newly designed,
compact multiple effect diffusion type solar still consisting of a
heat pipe solar collector and a number of vertical and parallel
partitions in contact with saline soaked wicks. The system consists
of a heat pipe solar collector and a Vertical Multiple Effect Diffusion
type (VMED) still. The solar collector consists of a glass cover and
collector plate, on which the selective absorbing lm is attached,
with an air gap between them. Copper tubes, are attached to the
under surface of the collector plate with a xed pitch.
VMED still consists of vertical and parallel partitions with
narrow air gaps between them, and the partitions, with the
exception of the outside one, are in contact with saline soaked
wicks. Saline water is constantly fed to the wicks. The copper plate
is in front of the rst partition with a narrow gap. The gap becomes
the condensing path of the working uid. The condensing path in
front of rst partition and the evaporating copper tubes attached to
the under surface of the collector plate are connected with two
connecting pipes, so that a closed loop between the solar collector
and VMED still is formed. The constant mass of ethanol liquid is
charged into the closed loop and the closed loop is evacuated with
an evacuating pump. The front surface of the VMED still and the
under surface of collector plate are insulated.
1512
Fig. 15. Schematic diagram of multiple effect diffusion type still coupled with heat pipe solar collector [45].
The solar radiation transmits through the glass cover and is

absorbed on the collector plate and ethanol in the evaporating
copper tubes attached to the under surface of the collector plate is
heated up and evaporated. Ethanol vapour goes through the upper
connecting pipe to the top of the condensing path in front of rst
partition and ows downward the condensing path accompanied
with condensation on the front surface of rst partition.
Condensate of ethanol returns to the evaporating copper tubes
through the lower connecting pipe by gravity force. The latent heat
of ethanol released by condensation on rst partition enters the
VMED still and is recycled to increase the production of distillate
(Fig. 15). The authors observed from the experimental studies that,
(i) the solar collector and the VMED still can be folded or separated
when it is carried, so that the still would be easy to carry and
shipping cost would be very cheap. (ii) The proposed still of 10
partitions with 5 mm or 3 mm diffusion gap is theoretically
predicted to produce 19.2 or 21.8 kg/m2 day, respectively, on a
sunny autumn equinox day of daily solar radiation of 24.4 MJ/
m2 day. (iii) The productivity of the proposed still is 13% larger than
that of the VMED still coupled with a basin type still.
Hiroshi Tanaka et al. [44] found that, the optimum angle is 268
when solar collector angle is xed for the year if the proposed still
is used at 268N latitude. The overall daily productivity is 9% or 17%
larger for the optimum solar collector angle stills than the xed one
on the summer or winter solstices. The productivity increases with
a decrease in the thickness of diffusion gaps between partitions,
and the increase is considerable when the thickness of diffusion
gaps is smaller than several millimetres. Hiroshi Tanaka et al. [45]
conducted the indoor experiments on VMED solar still with a heat
pipe solar collector, and the experimental results of the overall
production rates of the multiple effect still were about 93%, which
indicates that the heat pipe of the proposed still can transport
thermal energy well from the solar collector to the vertical
multiple effect diffusion type still.
3.1.5. Solar still coupled with solar pond
Solar pond is an articially constructed pond in which
signicant temperature rises are caused to occur in the lower
regions by preventing convection. Solar ponds are used for
collection and storage of solar energy and it is used for various
thermal applications like green house heating, process heat in
dairy plants, power production and desalination and this detailed
review of solar pond has been done by Velmurugan and Srithar
[46]. Velmurgan and Srithar [47] theoretically and experimentally
analysed the mini solar pond assisted solar still with sponge cube.
The results show that, average increase in productivity, when a

pond is integrated with a still is 27.6% and when pond and sponge
are integrated with a still is 57.8%.
Velmurugan et al. [48] studied the augmentation of saline
streams in solar stills integrated with a mini solar pond. Industrial
efuent was used as feed for n type single basin solar still and
stepped solar still. A mini solar pond connected to the stills to
enhance the productivity and tested individually. The schematic
diagram of experimental setup is shown in Fig. 16. The results
show that, maximum productivity of 100% was obtained when the
n type solar still was integrated with pebble and sponge. The
productivity increases with increase in solar intensity and waterglass temperature difference and decreases with increase in wind
velocity. Velmurugan et al. [49] experimentally investigated the
possibility of enhancing the productivity of the solar stills by
connecting a mini solar pond, stepped solar still and a single basin
solar still in series. Pebbles, bafe plates, ns and sponges are used
in the stepped solar still for productivity augmentation. Their
nding shows that, maximum productivity of 78% occurred when
ns and sponges were used in the stepped solar still and also found
that the productivity during night also improved when pebbles
were used in the solar stills.
Osamah and Darwish [50] studied a solar pond assisted multi
effect desalination of sea water in an arid environment and it is
recommended that an optimum area ratio is used such that quasi
steady operation is achieved. Huanmin Lu et al. [51] presented the
desalination coupled with salinity gradient solar ponds and
observed that, a multi effectmulti stage distillation unit produces
the high quality distillate. The total dissolved solid level of the
product is about 23 mg/l. There is no signicant inuence of
operating conditions on the quality of distillate. El.Sebai et al. [52]
experimentally studied to improve the productivity of the single
effect solar stills, a single-slope single basin solar still integrated
with a Shallow Solar Pond (SSP). They found that, the annual
average values of daily productivity and efciency of the still with
SSP were higher than those obtained without the SSP by 52.36%
and 43.80%, respectively.
3.1.6. Solar still coupled with hybrid PV/T system
The problem encountered with normal PV cells is that, most of
the solar radiation that is absorbed by a solar cell is not converted
into electricity. The excess energy which goes unabsorbed by the
solar cell increases the temperature of the photovoltaic cell and
reduces the efciency. Natural or forced circulation of a uid cooling
medium reduces the cell temperature. Cooling is often applied for
1513
Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of the mini solar pond integrated with single basin and stepped solar still [48].
concentrating photovoltaic systems, in which the irradiance on the

cell surface is high. An alternative to ordinary photovoltaic modules
is to use Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV/T) modules, which are photovoltaic modules coupled to heat extraction devices. Hence, these
systems, in addition to converting sunlight into electricity, collect
the residual thermal energy and delivers both heat and electricity in
usable forms. Shiv Kumar and Arvind Tiwari [53] conducted
experimental study of hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) active
solar still and found that, the yield increased by more than 3.5 times
than the passive solar still. The schematic diagram of hybrid (PV/T)
active solar still is shown in Fig. 17.
Shiv Kumar and Tiwari [54] have made an attempt to estimate the
internal heat transfer coefcients of a deep basin hybrid (PV/T) active
solar still for composite climate of New Delhi. The authors observed
Fig. 17. Schematic of a hybrid (PV/T) active solar still [54].
that, Kumar and Tiwari model better validate the results than the
other model and the average annual values of convective heat
transfer coefcient for the passive and hybrid (PV/T) active solar still
are 0.78 and 2.41 W m2 K1, respectively at 0.05 m water depth.
Shiv Kumar and Tiwari [55] presented the life cycle cost
analysis of single slope hybrid (PV/T) active solar still and
suggested the following, (i) the lowest cost per kg of distilled
water obtained from the passive and hybrid (PV/T) active solar
stills is estimated as Rs. 0.70 and Rs. 1.93, respectively. It is much
economic in comparison to the bottled water available, which costs
around Rs. 10 per kg in Indian market for consumers. (ii) The
payback periods of the passive and hybrid (PV/T) active solar stills
are obtained in the range of 1.16.2 years and 3.323.9 years,
respectively, for the selling price of distilled water in the range of
Rs. 10 to Rs. 2 per kg. Therefore, passive solar stills are acceptable
for potable use. (iii) The energy payback times (EPBT) of passive
and hybrid (PV/T) active solar stills are estimated as 2.9 years and
4.7 years, respectively.
3.1.7. Multistage active solar distillation system
Nishikawa et al. [56] developed and tested the triple effect
evacuated solar still. The authors reported that, the highest
distillation performance of 73.6 kg/day was obtained that corresponds to the 9.44 kg m2 day1 fresh water distilled at a condition
of the solar radiation of 13.85 MJ m2 day1 (108.3 MJ day1). The
total latent heat of the distillation (178.8 MJ day1) was about 1.7
times the solar radiation. The power consumption of the vacuum
pump was only 326 W day1 (1.17 MJ day1) when the solar cells
generated 952.5 Wh day1 (3.43 MJ day1) at 12.25 MJ m2 day1
(45.33 MJ day1) solar radiation.
Ahmed et al. [57] designed, fabricated and tested the multistage
evacuated solar still system that consists of three stages stacked on
the top of each other, and are carefully insulated from the outside
1514
Fig. 18. Schematic diagram of the evacuated multistage solar still [57].
environment using rock-wood and aluminium foil layers to

prevent any losses to the ambient environment. The three stages
are mounted on top of each other and a good sealing is maintained
between the stages to prevent any vapour leakage through the
contact surfaces. A thick insulation is also used to reduce heat
losses of the still to the ambient. A solar collector is used to supply
heat to the system through the lower stage, which is maintained at
a pressure lower than atmospheric by means of a heat exchanger. A
solar operated vacuum pump is used to evacuate the noncondensable gases from the stages. Fig. 18 shows a schematic
diagram of the multistage evacuated solar still. Saline water is fed
into each stage from the tank located at the top of the third stage.
Vapour generated in the lower stage condenses on the bottom
surface of the intermediate stage, giving its heat to the saline water
in the intermediate stage.
Vapour generated in the intermediate stage condenses at the
bottom surface of the upper stage giving its heat to the saline water
in the upper stage. The fed water is preheated by the heat given to
it by condensation of the vapour generated at the upper stage,
which condenses at the bottom of the feed water tank. Pressure
inside each one of the three stages is kept lower than the previous
stage. Vacuum is generated using a solar operated vacuum pump. A
set of valves is used to control the vacuum inside the different
stages. The results show that, the maximum production of the solar
still was found in the rst stage and is 6 kg/m2/day, 4.3 kg/m2/day
in second stage and 2 kg/m2/day in rst stage at a vacuum pressure
of 0.5 bar. Indeed, the total productivity of the solar still is affected
very much by changing the internal pressure. The productivity
decreased as the pressure increased due to the lower evaporation
rates at the higher pressure values.
Mahmoud et al. [58] experimentally investigated the performance of a multi stage water desalination still connected to a heat
pipe evacuated tube solar collector. The results of tests demonstrate that the system produces about 9 kg/day of fresh water and
has a solar collector efciency of about 68%. Schwarzer et al. [59]
developed the multistage solar desalination system with heat
recovery. The results show that, the system produces about 15
18 l/m2/day, which is 56 times higher than simple still.
3.1.8. Multi effect active solar distillation system
The multi effect solar distillation system is working based on
the multiple condensationevaporation cycle. Multi effect solar
still is an efcient method for the production of desalinated water

at relatively low temperature up to 70 8C. Adel M Abdel Dayem [60]
demonstrated experimentally and numerically the performance of
a simple solar distillation unit. The basic distillation unit consists of
air humidiers (evaporators) and dehumidiers (condensers).
There is no wall separating the two enclosures. The brine is passed
through the hot storage tank-2 where its temperature rises. It then
passes through evaporators where water vapour and heat are given
up to the counter-current air stream, reducing the brine
temperature. The air is heated and humidied simultaneously
since the humidity of saturated air is decreased in the condenser
side. On the other side, the evaporator consists of two horizontal
pipes with small holes provided on the lower side of the pipe. The
holes work as injectors that inject the hot salt water to increase the
evaporation rate. Fig. 19 gives a schematic diagram of the system.
The results show that, the system can work continuously and
the productivity of the distilled water is high for the collector mean
temperature of 50 8C and the estimated optimum collector area
based on the system life cycle solar savings was obtained as 6 m2
rather than that used in the present system, i.e., 3.1 m2. Zheng
Hongfei and Ge Xinshi [61] conducted the experimental study of a
steady state closed recycle solar still with enhanced falling lm
evaporation and regeneration. Based on the experimental results,
the authors found that, the performance ratio of the unit is about
two to three times greater than that of a conventional basin type
solar still (single effect). Shaobo Hou and Hefei Zhang [62] studied
the hybrid solar desalination process of the multi effect
humidicationdehumidication and the basin type unit. The
gain output ratio of this system was raised by 23 at least through
reusing the rejected water.
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of the present solar distillation system [60].
Frieder Grater et al. [63] experimentally investigated the multi

effect still for hybrid solar/fossil desalination of sea and brackish
water. The results show that, heat recovery from the outlet mass
ows of concentrate and distillate has only little effect on distillate
output but the Gained Output Ratio (GOR) increases considerably.
With blowers and intermediate screens, installed inside the
distillation effects, the distillate yield can be increased by more
than 50% and the GOR by 60% related to results of a conguration
without heat recovery and blowers. Garg et al. [64] presented an
experimental design and computer simulation of multi effect
humidicationdehumidication solar desalination and the developed model which is useful in the estimation of the distillation
plant output and optimized various components of the system like,
solar water heater, humidication chamber, and condensation
chamber.
Ali M. El-Nashar [65] studied the multiple effect solar
desalination plant and found that dust deposition and its effects
on performance depend strongly on the season of the year and the
frequency of jet cleaning should be adjusted accordingly. Lianying
Zhang et al. [66] developed a specically designed solar desalination system with a solar collector and tested under practical
weather conditions. The results show that, the yield is about two to
three times more than that of a conventional single basin solar still
under the same conditions. Ben Bacha et al. [67] conducted
experimental validation of the distillation module of a desalination
station using the solar multiple condensationevaporation cycle
principle. The results show that, a correct choice of a packed bed
material, which permits higher exchange coefcients and the solar
collector should be selected with high efciency performance.
3.1.9. Air bubbled solar still
Pandey [68] reported the effect of dried, forced air bubbling and
cooling of glass cover in solar still. The results show that, the
simultaneous bubbling of dry air and glass cooling gives the
highest increase followed by bubbling of dry air alone (Fig. 20).
Gyorgy Mink et al. [69] designed and conducted the experiments on air blown solar still with heat recycling. The results show
that, about a threefold increase in yield was achieved compared
with that of a basin type solar still of the same area and with the
same irradiation. Mink et al. [70] presented the performance test
on air blown, multiple effect solar still with thermal energy recycle
consisting of an upper evaporation chamber and lower condensation chamber. The experimental result indicated that the still
performance can be enhanced further by increasing the liner air
stream velocity in the lower chamber by decreasing its crosssectional area.
3.1.10. Hybrid solar distillation system
The hybrid solar still can produce the desalinated and hot water
from the same system. These types of designs have more
advantages over the other type of systems. Voropoulos et al.
1515
Fig. 21. Schematic diagram of hybrid solar distillation system [71].
[71] experimentally investigated the hybrid solar still coupled with

solar collectors (Fig. 21). The results show that, (i) the productivity
of the coupled system is about double that of the still only. (ii)
Signicant raises in distilled water productivity have been
obtained not only during the day but mainly during night
operation of the system, reaching triples the solar only system
productivity. (iii) The continuous heating of basin water from tank
water result in higher production rates in all operation periods as a
result of signicantly higher differences between water and cover
temperatures, mainly at night. Voropoulos et al. [72] studied the
energy behaviour of hybrid solar still and concluded that, the
developed method can be a valuable tool for the system
optimization, used during its design and also for evaluation of
an existing solar distillation installation through short term
testing.
Mathioulakis and Belessiotis [73] investigated the possibilities
of using optimization of a simple solar still through its incorporation in a multi-source and multi-use environment and observed
that, the design of such systems depending on the available heat
sources and/or expected consumption of hot water usage.
Voropoulos et al. [74] conducted experimental study of a hybrid
solar desalination and water heating system. The results show that,
the output of a conventional solar still can be signicantly
increased if it is coupled with a solar collector eld and hot water
storage tank. The distilled water production was gradually
reduced, when the increase delivered energy through hot water
draw-off. Ben Bacha et al. [75] developed a mathematical model to
give the ability to estimate the expected performance of the system
under given climatic conditions, allowing the choice of the proper
design solutions in relation to the desired usage.
3.2. Pre-heated water active solar still
In this method pre heated water is used to increase the water
temperature in the basin. The waste hot water is available from
various sources like paper industries, chemical industries, thermal
power plants and food processing industries and the same may be
utilized for solar distillation plant to increase the productivity. The
hot water will be supplied directly to the basin or through heat
Fig. 20. Schematic diagram of air bubbled solar still [68].
1516
exchangers. Proctor [76] proposed the technique of using waste

heat in a solar still and predicted that productivity increased 3.2
times compared with ordinary still.
Sodha et al. [77] presented the experimental results on
utilization of waste hot water for distillation. In that test, two
modes were studied: (i) owing waste hot water from thermal
power plants at constant rate through the solar still. (ii) Feeding
waste hot water obtained from thermal power plants once a day.
Their results showed that, length of solar still, depth of water in
basin, inlet water temperature and solar radiation are the
parameters which affects the performance of the still and the
still fed with hot water at constant rates gives higher yield in
comparison to a still with hot water lled only once in a day.
Tiwari et al. [78] studied the performance on effect of water
ow over the glass cover of a single basin solar still with an
intermittent ow of waste hot water in the basin (Fig. 22). Based on
the experimental study, the authors made following points, (i) the
temperature of the water owing over the glass cover always
remains of the same order as the ambient temperature and the
glass cover temperature is slightly higher than this. (ii) With the
ow of waste hot water during off sunshine hours, one can have a
higher yield than that of stationary water. (iii) The still productivity
increases with the increase in mass ow rate for higher inlet water
temperatures and decreases for inlet water temperatures less that
the average ambient temperature. (iv) The still productivity is
better for the waste hot water ows during off sunshine hours than
the continuous ow of hot water for lower inlet temperatures. But
for higher inlet water temperatures, a continuous ow of water is
better. Ashok Kumar and Tiwari [79] investigated the use of hot
water in double slope solar still through heat exchanger (Fig. 23).
The authors observed that, the evaporative heat transfer
coefcient depends strongly on temperature and advised to use
the waste hot water with either higher temperature or during off
sunshine hours. Also found that, the efciency of the system was
improved with the inlet temperature of the working uid.
Yadav [80] analysed the performance of double basin solar still
coupled to a heat exchanger. Based on the analysis, the author
observed the following points, (i) the efciency of a double basin
solar still coupled to a heat exchanger is signicantly less, as
compared to that without heat exchanger. (ii) The efciency of a
double basin solar still coupled to a heat exchanger is a strong
function of the heat exchanger length and the mass ow rate of the
working uid. Yadav and Yadav [81] proposed the solar still
integrated with a tubular solar energy collector for productivity
enhancement.
3.3. Nocturnal active solar still
Fig. 23. Schematic diagram of double slope single basin solar still with heat
exchanger [79].
waste heat available from various sources. The large water depths,
in a conventional solar still are heated during sunshine hours and
most of the thermal energy acquired by the water mass is stored
within it. This stored energy is mostly utilized during off sunshine
hours for the distillation, in the absence of solar radiation, and is
known as nocturnal distillation and this can also be achieved by
feeding the hot water available through any source (other than
solar energy) in the morning or evening for higher production [2].
Madhuri and Tiwari [82] conducted experiments on solar still
with intermittent ow of waste hot water in the basin during off
sunshine hours. The authors observed that, the yield increases in
proportion to the increase in inlet water temperature during the
ow of water and remain the same for stationary water. With the
ow of waste hot water during off sunshine hours, one can have
higher yield than that of the continuous ow of hot water and
stationary water. Gupta et al. [83] presented the analysis report on
effect of intermittent ow of waste hot water into the lower basin
at a constant rate during off sunshine hours (Fig. 24).
The results show that, (i) initially, the temperature of glass
covers is greater than the temperature of the water in the
corresponding basin. Soon, after 2 days, the situation is reversed.
Quasi-steady state is reached in about 5 days and evaporation
becomes signicant. (ii) The yield of the still increases with
increasing inlet waste hot water temperature, while the other
parameters are kept constant. (iii) The daily productivity of the still
increases with the rate of ow of waste hot water, provided the
temperature of the inlet waste hot water is greater than its critical
value. If temperatures of the inlet waste hot water is less than its
critical value, the productivity of the still decreases as the rate of
ow of water increases. So, they suggested to use a higher ow rate
Nocturnal production is the working of a solar still in the

absence of sunlight. This may be achieved by either the solar
energy stored during day time is used during night or the supply of
Fig. 22. Schematic representation of the single basin solar still with water owing
over the glass cover and inside the basin [78].
Fig. 24. Double basin solar still with constant ow rate [83].
1517
Fig. 25. Schematic representation of a tubular solar still [85].
of inlet water only when its temperature is above the critical value.
Nocturnal outputs from basin type stills were studied experimentally for 0.178 m and 0.76 m depth by Onyegegbu [84]. Results
indicated that, on average, nocturnal distillation accounted for 78%
of the total daily output of the 0.178 m deep still while accounting
for about 50% of the total daily output of the 0.076 m deep still.
Tiwari and Ashok Kumar [85] experimentally studied the
tubular solar still design suggested by Tleimat and Howe. The still
consists of a rectangular (0.1 m 1.1 m 0.0127 m) black metallic
tray placed at the diametric plane of a cylindrical glass tube
(Fig. 25).
The length and diameter of the glass tube are slightly greater
than the length and width of the tray, respectively. During
operation, the ends of the glass tube are sealed with gasketed
wooden heads. The tray and glass tube are xed slightly tilted from
the horizontal plane but in opposite direction. Brine fed from one
end is partly evaporated, and the remainder discharged through
the other end of the tube. The evaporated water condensed on the
inside walls of the glass cover ows down and it is removed from
one end at the bottom of the glass tube.
Based on the study, the authors found that, (i) the average brine
temperature is independent of still length for higher ow rate
while the output temperature of brine strongly depends on still
length. (ii) The daily yield of distillate in the tubular solar still is
higher than that of the conventional solar still for the same set of
still and climatic parameters. (iii) The internal heat transfer
coefcient remains constant for constant inlet brine temperature
in contrast with the conventional solar still for higher ow rates.
(iv) The purity of the product in the tubular solar still is greater
than in a conventional one, and could be used for chemical
laboratories, etc.
4. Theoretical analysis of active solar distillation system
4.1. Heat transfer in active solar still
The heat transfer in solar still is mainly classied into internal
and external heat transfer. The details of various heat transfers that
take place in active solar still are shown in Fig. 26.
4.1.1. Internal heat transfer
The internal heat transfer occurs within the solar still from
water surface to inner surface of the glass cover, which mainly
consists of evaporation, convection and radiation. The convective
and evaporative heat transfers takes place simultaneously and are
independent of radiative heat transfer.
4.1.1.1. Radiative heat transfer. The view factor is considered as
unity because of glass cover inclination is small in the solar still.
The rate of radiative heat transfer between water to glass is given
Fig. 26. Energy ow diagram of single slope active solar still.
by [2],
qr;wg hr;wg T w T gi
(1)
The radiative heat transfer coefcient between water to glass is

given as,
"
#
T w 2732 T gi 2732
hr;wg eeff s
(2)
T w T gi 546
The effective emittance between water to glass cover is
presented as,
eeff
1
:
1=eg 1=ew 1
(3)
4.1.1.2. Convective heat transfer. Natural convection takes place

across the humid air inside the basin due to the temperature
difference between the water surface to inner surface of the glass
cover. The rate of convective heat transfer between water to glass
is given by [47],
qc;wg hc;wg T w T gi
(4)
The convective heat transfer coefcient depends on the

temperature difference between evaporating and condensing
surface, physical properties of uid, ow characteristic and
condensing cover geometry. The various models were developed
to nd the convective heat transfer coefcient. One of the oldest
method was developed by Dunkles [86] and his expressions have
certain limitations, which are listed below.
1518
a. Valid only for normal operating temperature 50 C in a solar

still and equivalent temperature difference of DT 17 C.
b. This is independent of cavity volume, i.e., the average spacing
between the condensing and evaporating surfaces.
c. This is valid only for upward heat ow in horizontal enclosed air
space, i.e., for parallel evaporative and condensing surfaces.
The convective heat transfer coefcient is expressed as [86],
where,
DT 00 T w T gi

P w P gi
T w 273:15
M a P t =M a M wv P w
(15)
The convective heat transfer between basin to water is given by

[42]
qw hw T b T w
0 1=3
hc;wg 0:884DT
(5)
where
DT 0 T w T gi
Pw Pgi T w 273
268:9 10
3

5144
P w exp 25:317
273 T w
(6)

5144
P gi exp 25:317
273 T gi
(7)
The value proposed in the above equation for C and n are

0.075 and 0.33, respectively, for Gr > 3.2 105. The above equation
is not used widely because of its limitations. Kumar and Tiwari [87]
have proposed a thermal model for predicting the convective heat
transfer coefcient using linear regression analysis and it is free
from Dunkles shortcoming. Nusselt number for convective heat
transfer coefcient is represented as,
Nu
hc;wg X v
CGr Prn
Kv
(8)
Kv
CGr Prn
Xv
(9)
where, Grashof number (Gr) and Prandtl number (Pr) are expressed
as follows,
Gr
Pr
bgXv3 rv 2 DT 0
mv 2
(10)
mv C p
(11)
Kv
The unknown constants C and n will be calculated by linear

regression analysis using experimental data. From the experimental study, they proposed that value of C and n was 0.0278 and
0.3513, respectively, for active single slope solar still. Chen et al.
[88] developed the model of free convection heat transfer
coefcient of the solar still for wide range of Rayleigh number
3:5 103 < Ra < 106 and as follows,
hc;wg 0:2Ra0:26
Kv
Xv
(12)
0:26
Kv
Xv
(13)
where,
X 3 r gb
DT 00
Ra0 v v
mv av
where; C 0:54
and
N 1=4:
(17)
4.1.1.3. Evaporative heat transfer. The performance of solar still

depends on the evaporative and convective heat transfer
coefcients. Various scientists developed mathematical relations
to evaluate the evaporative and convective heat transfer coefcients. The general equation for the rate of evaporative heat
transfer between water to glass is given by [47],
qe;wg he;wg T w T gi
(18)
The evaporation takes place inside the solar still by addition of

heat in the water by means of solar radiation. Dunkles [86]
developed a model to evaluate the evaporative heat transfer
coefcient as follows,

Pw Pgi
(19)
he;wg 16:273 103 hc;wg
T w T gi
he;wg 0:013hc;wg
(20)
Kumar and Tiwari [87] developed a new model by considering

operating temperature range, orientation of glass cover and solar
still cavity. They used regression analysis after conducting
experiments in actual eld to evaluate the C and n.

Pw Pgi
Kv
he;wg 16:273 103
CGr Prn
(21)
Xv
T w T gi
Clark et al. [91] developed model by using the rate of
evaporative mass ux in an airwater humidication situation as,
0
K
hc;wg Pw Pgi
(22)
qe;wg
2
where K 0 0:016273 and it is valid only when the rate of
evaporation and condensation are equal, which is only possible for
a high operating temperature range (>80 8C) and spacing between
evaporating and condensing surfaces is large.
The total heat transfer coefcient of water to glass is dened as,
ht;wg hc;wg he;wg hr;wg
(23)
The rate of total heat transfer of water to glass is dened as,
Zheng et al. [89] have developed a modied Rayleigh number

using Chen et al. [88] model for evaluating the convective heat
transfer coefcient,
hc;wg 0:2Ra0
Kw
CGrPrn
Xw
Malik et al. [90] developed a correlation based on Lewis relation

for low operating temperature range and it is expressed as,
or
hc;wg
The convective heat transfer coefcient between basin to water

is given as,
hw
Pw
(16)
(14)
qt;wg qc;wg qe;wg qr;wg

qt;wg ht;wg T w T gi
(24)
Shiv Kumar and Tiwari [54] compared the various internal heat
transfer coefcients of different models in active solar still. On the
basis of results, the following points have been made. (i) On the
basis of hourly yield Kumar and Tiwari model is superior to the
others model under consideration with least percentage deviation
except in extreme cases. The better tting of the curves with higher
value of correlation coefcient is obtained for wide range of water
temperature. (ii) The values of C and n differ for each design of

the solar still and for the operating water temperature range.
Therefore, it is recommended that before predicting the performance theoretically, experiments must be carried out for given
climatic conditions to evaluate the values of C and n for a
particular design of solar still. Dwivedi and Tiwari [19] observed
from their studies in passive solar still that, Dunkles model gives
better agreement between theoretical and experimental results for
lower depth (0.010.03 m).
4.1.2. External heat transfer
The external heat transfer in solar still is mainly governed by
conduction, convection and radiation processes, which are
independent each other.
4.1.2.1. Top loss heat transfer coefcient. The heat is lost from outer
surface of the glass to atmosphere through convection and
radiation modes. The glass and atmospheric temperatures are
directly related to the performance of the solar still. So, top loss is
to be considered for the performance analysis. The temperature of
the glass cover is assumed to be uniform because of small
thickness. The total top loss heat transfer coefcient is dened as
[92],
qt;ga qr;ga qc;ga
(25)
qt;ga ht;ga T go T a
(26)
1519
The overall top loss coefcient (Ut) from the water surface to the
ambient through glass cover,
Ut
ht;wg ht;ga
:
ht;ga U wo
(34)
4.1.2.2. Side and bottom loss heat transfer coefcient. The heat is
transferred from water in the basin to the atmosphere through
insulation and subsequently by convection and radiation from the
side and bottom surface of the basin.
The rate of conduction heat transfer between basin liner to
atmosphere is given by [93],
qb hb T b T a
(35)
The heat transfer coefcient between basin liner to atmosphere

is given by [93],
hb
Li
1
K i ht;ba
1
(36)
where, ht;ba hc;ba hr;ba and it is similar to Eq. (32). There is no

velocity in bottom of the solar still. By substituting v 0, to obtain
the heat transfer coefcient. The bottom loss heat transfer
coefcient from the water mass to the ambient through the
bottom is expressed as,

1
1 1
Ub
(37)
hw hb
The above equation could be rewritten as,
where,
ht;ga hr;ga hc;ga
(27)
The radiative heat transfer between glass to atmosphere is

given by [92],
qr;ga hr;ga T go T a
(28)
The radiative heat transfer co efcient between glass to

atmosphere is given as,
"
#
T go 2734 T sky 2734
hr;ga eg s
(29)
T go T a
where,
The convective heat transfer between glass to atmosphere is

given by [2],
(30)
The convective heat transfer coefcient between glass to

atmosphere is given as,
hc;ga 2:8 3:0 v
(31)
Another direct expression for total top loss heat transfer

coefcient in terms of function of wind speed is given by [2],
ht;ga 5:7 3:8 v
(32)
But, there is no signicant variation in the performance of the

distillation system by considering Eq. (27) or Eq. (32).
The total internal heat loss coefcient ht;wg and conductive
heat transfer coefcient of the glass K g =Lg is expressed as U wo
1=ht;wg Lg =K g and the above equation could be rewritten
as,
U wo
ht;wg K g =Lg
ht;wg K g =Lg
hw hb
hw hb
(33)
(38)
The conduction heat is lost through the vertical walls and

through the insulation of the still and it is expressed as,

Ass
Us
(39)
Ub
As
The total side loss heat transfer coefcient (Us) will be neglected
because of side still area (Ass) is very small compared with still
basin area (As).
The overall heat transfer coefcient from water to ambient
through top, bottom and sides of the still is expressed as [93],
U LS U t U b :
T sky T a 6
qc;ga hc;ga T go T a
Ub
(40)
4.2. Thermal modelling of active solar still

The thermal models of the single slope-single basin active solar
stills are developed based on the energy balance equations. The
following assumptions have been considered for writing the
energy balance equation in terms of w/m2
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
The solar still is vapour leakage proof.

The level of water in the basin is maintained at a constant level.
Inclination of glass cover is small.
No stratication of water occurs in the basin of the solar still.
The heat capacity of the glass cover, absorbing and insulation
materials (bottom and sides) is negligible.
vi. The condensation that occurs through the glass is lm type.
The energy balance equation of three main components of

active solar still is as follows [42].
4.2.1. Inner and outer surface of glass cover
Tiwari et al. [12] conducted the parametric study of an active
solar stills for development of thermal models based on the two
1520
assumptions that Tgi = Tgo and Tgi 6 Tgo and found that, the thermal
model of solar stills should be developed based on the assumption
that Tgi 6 Tgo.
The above conclusion is taken in to consideration for writing the
energy balance equation of glass cover. The rate of energy gained
by glass and rate of energy gained from water surface to glass by
radiation, convection and evaporation is equal to the rate of energy
lost to air.
4.2.2. Inner surface of glass cover
a0g Its qr;wg qc;wg qe;wg
Kg
T T go
Lg gi
(41)
By substituting Eq. (24) in Eq. (41), the energy balance equation

of inner surface of glass cover becomes,
a0g Its ht;wg T w T gi
Kg
T T go
Lg gi
(42)
After simplifying the above Eq. (42), inner surface of glass

temperature is written as follows,
a0g Its ht;wg T w K g =Lg T go
T gi
ht;wg K g =Lg
(43)
After simplifying Eq. (51), the basin liner temperature of solar

still is written as follows,
Tb
a0b Its hw T w hb T a
hw hb
where,
a0b a0b 1 a0g 1 a0w :
a0w 1 a0g Its qw Q u MCw
By substituting Eqs. (25) and (26) in Eq. (44), the energy balance
equation of outer surface glass cover becomes,

Kg
T T go ht;ga T go T a
Lg gi
(45)
By substituting Eq. (43) in L.H.S. of Eq. (45), it becomes,
a0g Its K g =Lg

Kg
ht;wg K g =Lg
T w T go
T gi T go
ht;wg K g =Lg
Lg
ht;wg K g =Lg
a0w 1 a0g Its hw T b T w Q u
Q u at eff Its MCw

where,
(47)
K g =Lg
ht;wg K g =Lg
By substituting Eq. (47) in Eq. (45).it becomes,
a0g Its hk U wo T w T go ht;ga T go T a
(48)
By simplifying above Eq. (48), outer glass temperature (Tgo) is

written as follows,
T go
a0g Its hk U wo T w ht;ga T a

ht;ga U wo
(49)
4.2.4. Basin liner

The rate of energy absorbed by the basin plate is equal to the
rate of energy transferred to water and the rate of energy lost by
conduction through bottom and sides.
a0b 1 a0g 1 a0w Its qw qb

at eff a0b
(51)
dT w
U t U b T w T a
dt
(57)

ht;wg
hw
a0w a0g
hw hb
ht;ga U wo
In an active solar still, additional thermal energy (Qu) is supplied

to the solar still with the help of solar collectors to increase the
temperature in the basin. For solving the above equation, at plate
solar collector (Qu) is considered. The useful energy per unit area
from the at plate solar collector is given as follows:
Q u NF R at c Itc U LC T w T a
(58)
Assuming number collectors N = 1, by substituting Eq. (56) in

Eq. (55) and it becomes,
F R at c Itc U LC T w T a at eff Its
MCw
dT w
U t U b T w T a
dt
(59)
By substituting Eq. (40) in the above Eq. (59), it becomes,

F R at c Itc at eff Its MCw
(50)
By substituting Eqs. (16) and (35) in Eq. (50), the above equation
becomes,
a0b 1 a0g 1 a0w Its hw T b T w hb T b T a
(55)
By substituting values of Tgo and Tb from Eqs. (49) and (52) in Eq.
(55), it becomes,

ht;wg
hw
a0w a0g
Q u Its a0b
hw hb
ht;ga U wo

ht;wg ht;ga
dT w
MCw
T w T go
dt
ht;ga U wo

hw hb
T w T a
(56)
hw hb
(46)
where,
hk
dT w
ht;wg T w T go
dt
By substituting Eqs. (34) and (38) in the above Eq. (56) and it is
rewritten as,
By substituting Eq. (33) in Eq. (46) it becomes,

Kg
Kg
T T go U wo T w T go hk a0g Its
Lg gi
Lg
dT w
qr;wg qc;wg qe;wg
dt
(54)
Substituting Eqs. (16) and (24) in Eq. (54), the energy balance
equation of water mass in the solar still is as follows,
4.2.3. Outer surface of glass cover
(44)
(53)
4.2.5. Water mass

The rate of energy absorbed and the rate of energy convected
from the basin liner is equal to the rate of energy stored and rate of
energy transferred to the glass cover.
MCw
Kg
T T go qr;ga qc;ga
Lg gi
(52)
dT w
U LS
dt
F R U LC T w T a
(60)
The above equation is represented in the following form,

Ieff MCw
dT w
U eff T w T a
dt
(61)
Table 1
Comparative study of active solar stills.
Type of active solar still
Author(s) and
testing place
Specications
Experimental results
Remarks
Solar still coupled with at

plate collector (Forced
circulation mode)
Rai et al. [4]
Type = single basin solar still
50% more than the thermosyphon mode.
Pump is required for supply of water.
New Delhi, India
Area = 1 m 1 m
120% more than the simple single basin solar still.
Material = FRP
Collector angle = 458
Maximum distillate of 6.75 kg/m2.

From the economic point of view, the circulating pump
should used in the morning and evening.
Electricity consumed to run the pump is also

considered.
Operation difculties may occur during operation.
Flow rate = 1.15 kg/min

Badran and
Al-Tahaineh [18]
36% more than the simple single basin solar still.
Productivity is less compared to forced circulation

mode.
Amman, Jordan
Area = 1 m 1 m
Maximum distillate of 3.5 l/m2

Optimum angle is 108 for winter season in Jordan
Easy for operation.

Double slope solar still produces lower yield than
simple solar still.
An average of 7.5 l/day of distilled water was obtained

in the active mode with water ow arrangement.
In the passive and active modes without arrangements
for water ow average output was 2.2 and 3.9 l/day.
Operation and maintenance is difcult.
Insulation material = Rock wool

and thickness = 6 cm
Active double effect solar still
Sanjay Kumar and

Tiwari [24]
New Delhi, India

Area = 1 m 1 m
Double effect mode does not enhance the daily

output signicantly because of difculties in
maintaining reasonably low and uniform ow rates
over the glass cover.
Still angle = 158

collector length = 1 m
Flow rate = 40 ml/min
Gap between two glasses = 20 cm
Pump = 0.2HP
Active regenerative solar still
Tiwari and Sinha [27]

New Delhi, India
Type = Single basin solar still

with regenerative effect
Still area = 1 m2
The maximum yield of 1, 0.7, 0.3, and 0.02 kg/m2 h were

obtained at 13 h for active regenerative, active nonregenerative, passive regenerative and passive nonregenerative, respectively.
The thermal efciency of the active mode of operation is
lower than that of passive solar still
Collector area = 2 m2
Flow rate = 0.20 kg/s
Insulation thickness = 0.004 m
Heat exchanger is used
Solar still coupled with parallel
at plate collector
Yadav and Prasad [31]
New Delhi, India
Area = 1 m 1 m
Parallel plate collector length = 1 m
Higher yield as compare to at plate collectors.
The initial cost is high

Complex in design and operation.
Technology known person is required for operation.
Some accountable losses in heat exchanger.
Maximum productivity of 0.250 kg/m2 h at 1.00 pm is

achieved where as 0.150 kg/m2 h for simple solar still.
Maximum water temperature of 68 8C was achieved
Simple design as compared to the at plate

collector.
Cost effective as compared to the at plate collector.
Productivity is low as compared to the at plate
collector
The numbers of evaporative plates are optimized as 5

for the water ow rate is 50 kg/h.
The average distillate water production of 5 kg/m2 day
was obtained by using 5 numbers of evaporative plates.
Only few researches have been reported.
Solar still coupled with

at plate collector
(Natural circulation mode)
Insulation material = Rock wool

Vertical solar still coupled
with at plate collector
Kiatsiriroat et al. [32]
Type = Vertical solar still
Bangkok, Thailand
Area = 1.52 m 0.9 m
1521
Collector area = 1.4 m2

Initial and operational cost is higher as compared to

other at plate collectors.
Pump is required to run the system.
Author(s) and
testing place
Specications
Remarks
The productivity of 2.75 l/day was produced by

modied still, whereas 2 l/day for conventional still.
The maximum of 35% was achieved by the modied still
at 15 h.
This system is more economical than the

conventional still.
Pump and motor are used in this study.
More number of parts than the other system.
Maximum daily yield of 14.684 kg/day was obtained

through double effect.
The total hourly yield decreases with ow rate due to
the waste of hot water from the upper basin.
The tracking can be adjusted manually to receive the
maximum radiation.
Higher yield as compared to at plate collector due

to more concentration of solar radiation.
Maintenance efforts are higher.
Concentrator coupled regenerative solar was produced

8.2 l/m2 day, whereas 7.7 l/m2 day for at plate collector
and 4.1 l/m2 day for passive still.
The overall thermal efciency of CPC coupled
regenerative solar still was higher than the at plate
collector coupled regenerative solar still
Regeneration added the higher yield.
1522
Table 1 (Continued )
Copper tube diameter = 0.00925 m

Copper tube length = 14.4 m
parabolic concentrator

2
Giza, Egypt
Still area = 1 m
Collector area = 80 cm long
and 0.04 cm thickness
Copper pipe length = 2 m
Bhagwan Prasad and

Tiwari [39]
New Delhi, India

Area = 1 m 1 m
CPC collector area = 1 m 1 m
Collector length = 1 m
Forced circulation mode
Regenerative still coupled

with parabolic concentrator

evacuated tube collector

heat pipe
Sanjay Kumar and

Sinha [40]
Type = Double slope solar still
New Delhi, India
Still area = 1 m2
CPC area = 0.086 m2
Wind speed = 5 m/s
Tiwari et al. [42]
New Delhi, India
Still area = 1 m2
Mass of water in the basin = 50 kg
Evacuated tube collector area = 2 m2
Hiroshi Tanaka et al. [45]
Type: Vertical multiple

effect solar still
Collector area = 280 mm 570 mm
Fukuoka, Japan
Still angle = 268

Insulation material = Glass wool
Insulation thickness = 10 mm
Air gap = 24 mm
solar pond
Velmurugan et al. [49]
Type = Stepped solar still
Madurai, India
Area = 1 m 1 m
Still angle = 98550
Insulation material = saw dust
Dimensions of solar pond:
Top layer = 0.9 m
Bottom layer = 0.3 m
Total height = 0.3 m

hybrid PV/T system
Shiv Kumar and

Tiwari [54]
Very susceptible in operation.

Maintaining glass cover temperature is a crucial
factor.
More complex in constant ow of water.

Pump is required for circulation of water.
Not suitable for rural applications.
Capital cost is high compared to other active solar
stills.
The total daily production of 4 kg/m2 day was calculated

using theoretical analysis.
The overall thermal efciency is 17.22%, which is higher
than the at plate collector.
Nowadays evacuated tube collector become cheep

than the at plate collector.
Best option for the production of hot and distilled
water simultaneously.
The distillate production rate is 0.1 g/m2 s after 300 min

of the starting day.
The maximum temperature of 70 8C is obtained during
the test.
The overall production rates of the multiple effects still
were about 93%.
Relatively higher productivity as compared to other

solar collectors.
Initial cost is also higher.
Maximum productivity of 80% in single basin solar still

coupled with mini solar pond was achieved using ns
and sponges.
Pebbles store more thermal energy and releases after
sun set.
Industrial efuent is used as feed.
Payback period is 367 days.
Higher yield was achieved compare with passive solar

still.
Best option for higher production.
Operational difculty could by occur in adding of

energy storing materials.
Construction is intricate.
Best option for industrial applications.
High capital cost (PV module)
Double effect still coupled with

parabolic concentrator
Zeinab S.Abdel-Rehim et al. [36]
Table 1 (Continued )
Multistage evacuated
solar distillation system
Specications
Remarks
New Delhi, India.
Area = 1 m 1 m
Still angle = 308
Still material = GRP
Collector effective area: 2 m2
PV module area: 0.55 1.20 m2
The average values of convective and evaporative heat

transfer coefcients of the PV/T active solar still are 35
times higher than the passive solar still
The payback period of the passive and hybrid (PV/T)

active solar stills are 1.16.2 years and 3.323.9
years, respectively.
Ahmed et al. [57]
Type = Multistage solar still
Higher productivity as compared to other types.
Kualalumpur, Malaysia
Number of stages = 3
The maximum production of the solar still was found to

be 14.2 kg/m2/day at a vacuum pressure of 0.5 bar.
The cylindrical type found to be much better than the
rectangular one in terms of safety factor and maximum
defection.
The total daily yield was found to be about three times
of the basin type solar still.
Distillate water collected was 1 l in 60 min and 24 l/day

by using two units of condensers only.
This distillation is based on humidication and
dehumidication (HD) process.
Application for small units (hotels, rural regions,

light industries, etc.).
Capital and operational cost is higher.
Insulation material = rock

wood and Al foil
Pump is used for circulation
of brackish water
Multi effect active solar
distillation system
Adel M. Abdel
Dayem [60]
Mattarria, Egypt
Type = Multi effect solar still

Collector area = 1.55 m2
Storage tank capacity = 200 l
The cylindrical type found to be much better than

the rectangular one in terms of safety factor and
maximum deection.
A gallon of distilled water produced by the this still
will cost $0.02544
Skilled man power is required to operate the

system.
Distillation chamber dimension =

186.5 118 160 cm
Air bubbled solar still
Hybrid solar distillation
Pre heated water

active solar still
Pandey [68]
New Delhi, India
Still area = 0.6864 m2

Still angle = 108
Insulation thickness = 4 mm
Insulation material = Glass wool
Voropoulos et al. [74]
Type = Green house type

conventional solar still
Paraskevi, Attikis, Greece
Collector area = 5 m 2.5 m

Collector aperture area = 43 m2
Storage tank capacity = 3750 l
Depth of water = 5 cm
Tiwari et al. [78]
New Delhi, India
Still area = 1 m 1 m
The distillate output were increased by 7.1% for

bubbling of ambient air, 33.5% for bubbling of ambient
air after drying, 47.5% for bubbling of dry ambient
air + cooling of glass cover and 30.5% for cooling of glass
cover only.
Air is freely available one.

Electricity is required to run the motor.
A daily draw-off of hot water in the quantity of 1/4, 1/2

and 1 storage tank volume lead to reductions of the
maximum distilled water output of 36%, 57% and 75%,
respectively, with 1990, 3300 and 5200 MJ quantities,
respectively, of energy delivered.
It delivers simultaneous production of distilled

water and hot water.
Simple in design and operation.

Easily acceptable by the end users.
More suitable for house hold applications
The yield of 0.5 kg/m2 h was obtained by the mass ow
rate of 0.00585 kg/s.
The yield increases in proportion to the increase in inlet
water temperature during the ow of water.
Nocturnal active
solar still
Simple in design and construction.
Author(s) and
testing place
Simple in design and operation.

Mainly used for waste heat utilization areas.
Higher production rate as compared with simple
solar still.
Type = Tubular solar still
The daily yield strongly depends on the initial brine

temperature.
New Delhi, India
Still area = 0.1 m 1.1 m

0.0127 m
With the ow of waste hot water during off-sunshine

hours, one can have higher yield than that of the
continuous ow of hot water and stationary water.
The daily yield of distillate in the tubular solar still

is higher than that of the conventional solar still for
the same set of still and climatic parameters.
In particular use of hot water available places.
1523
Tiwari et al. [85]
1524
5. Discussion and scope for further research
where
Ieff F R at c Itc at eff Its
U eff U LS F R U LC
Dividing Eq. (61) by (MC)w, it becomes,

U eff
U eff
Ieff
dT w
Tw
Ta
dt
MCw
MCw
MCw
(62)
The above Eq. (62) can be written in rst order differential

equation form as,
dT w
aT w f t
dt
U eff
MCw
and
(63)
f t

Ieff U eff T a
MCw
The following assumption have been made to nd approximate

analytical solution,

1. The time interval Dt 0 < t < Dt is small.
2. a is constant during the time interval Dt.
3. The function f(t) is constant, i.e., f t f t for the time interval
between 0 and t.
The selection of solar still is a crucial factor, which directly

affects successful implementation of solar energy systems in rural
areas. The following factors are to be considered for the selection of
solar still: the availability of solar radiation, total water requirement, salt/saline water available, cost of the still, operating
easiness, maintenance cost, better utilization of available waste
hot water and life of solar still. The comparative study on different
types of active solar stills with their productivity and their remarks
are depicted in Table 1. The further research of active solar still may
be focussed on the following factors:
(a) The composite material may be used instead of FRP, GRP, GI
sheet, aluminium sheet, etc., as a basin liner to increase the
thermal conductivity and in turn the yield.
(b) The side and bottom heat losses may be minimized by good
insulation materials like PUF, glass wool, etc.
(c) The natural circulation mode is to be used in active solar still to
avoid electricity consumption by pump in forced circulation
mode.
(d) The effect of energy storing materials in high temperature
distillation may be taken to nd productivity enhancement.
(e) More research may be carried out in active solar stills with
other developed technologies like ETC, ETC with heat pipes and
multistage solar distillation.
6. Conclusion
By
T wt0
Tw
using the following boundary condition at t = 0,

T w0 , the solution of Eq. (63) is derived as follows,

f t
1 eat T wo eat
a
(64)
The hourly yield is given by the following equation

mew
he;wg T w T gi
3600 As
L
(65)
The total daily yield is given as follows

M ew
24
X
mew
(66)
i1
Similarly, yield expression will be obtained for other type of

solar collectors using the following equations. The rate of heat
energy delivered by concentrating collector is given as,

Ar
Q u F R at c Itc U LC
(67)
T w T a
Aa
The rate of heat energy delivered by evacuated tube collector is

given as,

AL
(68)
T w T a
Q u F R at c Itc U LC
AET
where, AL pAET
The rate of heat energy delivered by evacuated tube heat pipe
collector is given as,
Q u Ac F R at c Itc U LC T w T a
Overall thermal efciency of active solar still is,
P
mew L
P
:
hActi P
Itc Ac 3600 Its As 3600
Energy is a basic necessity for all of us to lead a normal life in

this wonderful world. Solar energy technologies and its usage is
very important and useful for the developing and under developed
countries to sustain their energy needs. It is very consistent and is
not signicantly vulnerable to changes in climatic condition. The
use of solar energy in desalination process is one of the best
applications of renewable energy. Solar still has become more
popular particularly in rural areas. The solar stills are friendly to
nature and eco-system. Various types and developments in active
solar distillation systems, theoretical analysis and future scope for
research were reviewed in detail. Based on the review and
discussions, the following could be concluded.
(69)
(70)
The annual yield is at its maximum when the condensing glass

cover inclination is equal to the latitude of the place.
The yield is directly related to thermal conductivity of
condensing cover materials; copper gives a greater yield
compared to glass and plastic due to higher thermal conductivity.
Solar still coupled with FPC with forced circulation mode gives
higher yield than that of the thermosyphon mode.
Double slope active solar still under natural circulation mode
gives higher yield in comparison with the double slope passive
solar still. The thermal efciency of double slope active solar still
is lower than the thermal efciency of double slope passive solar
still.
The exergy efciency of double slope active solar still is higher
than the exergy efciency of double slope passive solar still.
In active double effect solar still, a higher yield from the lower
basin at noon is due to the high water temperature at that time.
The hourly yield is only possible in the active mode of operation
and hence commercially viable.
The concentrator assisted regenerative solar still has much
higher thermal efciency than the at plate collector assisted
regenerative still at all water depths and they inferred that there
is less thermal loss in the concentrator compared to the at plate
collector panel.
The direct stream generation parabolic through is a promising

technology for solar assisted seawater desalination.
The maximum productivity is achieved, when energy storing
materials were used in the stepped solar still coupled with mini
solar pond.
Higher productivity during night time is achieved by using
energy storing materials in the active solar stills.
The yield was high in hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) active
solar still compared to the passive solar still.
The multistage solar desalination system with heat recovery
system produces higher yield than the simple solar still.
The length of solar still, depth of water in basin, inlet water
temperature and solar radiation are the major parameters which
affects the performance of the still.
The solar still fed with hot water at constant rate gives higher
yield in comparison to a still with hot water lled only once in a
day.
The evaporative heat transfer coefcient depends strongly on the
temperature and it is advisable to use the waste hot water either
in higher temperature or during off sunshine hours.
The purity of the desalinated water in the tubular solar still is
greater than that of a conventional one.
Local climatic condition and application is to be considered while
selection of solar still.
The thermal model of solar stills should be developed based on
the assumption that Tgi 6 Tgo.
Kumar and Tiwari model is most suitable for evaluating the
internal heat transfer coefcients and hourly yield accurately
except in extreme cases.
The values of C and n differ for each design of the solar still and
for the operating water temperature range. Therefore, it is
recommended that before predicting the performance theoretically, experiments must be carried out for given climatic
conditions to evaluate the values of C and n for a particular
design of solar still.
Acknowledgements
The work was motivated by Prof. G.N. Tiwari, Centre for Energy
Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi through
QIP short term course sponsored by MHRD, Government of India.
The useful parley with Prof. M. Eswaramoorthy and Dr. S. Shankar
for the preparation of this article is gratefully acknowledged.
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Active solar distillationA detailed review

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

aperture area of concentrating collector (m )

molecular weight of dry air (kg/mol)

ambient temperature (8C)

inner surface glass cover temperature (8C)

outer surface glass cover temperature (8C)

temperature of sky (8C)

temperature difference between water and glass

overall bottom heat loss coefcient (W/m2 8C)

overall heat transfer coefcient for solar still (W/

overall top heat loss coefcient from water surface

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

wind velocity (m/s)

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

difference between the evaporating and condensing surfaces. To

Sanjeev Kumar and Tiwari [6] observed that, temperature of

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

natural circulation modes gives 51% higher yield in comparison to

increase in water depth, while for an active solar still, it is the

3.1.1.3. Double effect active solar still. Glass temperature is another

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

Fig. 4. Hourly variation of yield in lower and upper basin [23].

increases. Sanjay Kumar and Tiwari [24] studied the performance

collector performs better in the forced circulation mode than in the

Fig. 6. Cross-sectional view of an active regenerative solar still [27].

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

coupled with at plate solar collector. The schematic sketch is

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

concluded with an average relative error of 42% for the distillate ow

Fig. 10. Desalination by a parabolic solar concentrator [37].

distillation system coupled to a parabolic through collector (PTC)

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

Fig. 13. Schematic diagram of Owens-Illinois evacuated tube collector [42].

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

The solar radiation transmits through the glass cover and is

The results show that, average increase in productivity, when a

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

concentrating photovoltaic systems, in which the irradiance on the

Fig. 17. Schematic of a hybrid (PV/T) active solar still [54].

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

environment using rock-wood and aluminium foil layers to

still is an efcient method for the production of desalinated water

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

Frieder Grater et al. [63] experimentally investigated the multi

Fig. 21. Schematic diagram of hybrid solar distillation system [71].

[71] experimentally investigated the hybrid solar still coupled with

Fig. 20. Schematic diagram of air bubbled solar still [68].

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

exchangers. Proctor [76] proposed the technique of using waste

Nocturnal production is the working of a solar still in the

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

Fig. 25. Schematic representation of a tubular solar still [85].

Fig. 26. Energy ow diagram of single slope active solar still.

The radiative heat transfer coefcient between water to glass is

4.1.1.2. Convective heat transfer. Natural convection takes place

The convective heat transfer coefcient depends on the

K. Sampathkumar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 15031526

a. Valid only for normal operating temperature 50  C in a solar

The convective heat transfer between basin to water is given by

a. Valid only for normal operating temperature 50 C in a solar