Performance Enhancement of Solar Still Unit Using v-Corrugated Basin, Internal Reflecting Mirror, Flat-Plate Solar Collector and Nanofluids.

The conventional solar still (CSS) unit faces challenges such as low productivity (P_d) and thermal efficiency (η_th) due to the limited temperature difference between the hot water and the cold interior glass cover surfaces (ΔT_w-gi). This study addresses these issues by introducing enhancements in the CSS unit, incorporating a v-corrugated-type basin, internal reflecting mirror, flat-plate solar collector (FPSC) still, and FPSC nanofluids. A v-corrugated-type basin, internal reflecting mirror, FPSC still, and FPSC nanofluids elicited a significant improvement in the distillate productivity (P_d) up to approximately 22.39%, 41.72%, 70.10%, and 104.13% compared to the CSS unit. This increase in the P_d is attributed mainly to a notable raise in the ΔT_w-gi, showing increments of around 34.33%, 52.32%, 77.37%, and 112.87% compared to the CSS unit. Moreover, a v-corrugated basin, internal reflecting mirror, FPSC still, and FPSC nanofluids substantially increased the average daily thermal efficiency (η_th), around 22.01%, 26.71%, 39.57%, and 56.21%, respectively. The results confirmed that integrating the v-corrugated basin, internal reflecting mirror, FPSC still, and FPSC nanofluids within a combined seawater distillation system can significantly enhance the performance of the CSS unit. These different combinations effectively raised the basin water temperature (T_w) and ΔT_w-gi, consequently improving the overall performance of the solar still unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]