Synergetic effect of absorber and condenser nano-coating on evaporation and thermal performance of solar distillation unit for clean water production

Thakur, A.K. and Sathyamurthy, R. and Velraj, R. and Saidur, R. and Lynch, I. and Chaturvedi, M. and Sharshir, S.W. (2022) Synergetic effect of absorber and condenser nano-coating on evaporation and thermal performance of solar distillation unit for clean water production. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 240: 111698. ISSN 0927-0248

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Abstract

Two design modifications to increase the evaporation/condensation and freshwater yield of conventional solar stills (CSS) are presented – absorber coating with black paint (BP) in which 10 wt % reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was dispersed, and use of a nano-silicon-coated glass cover alongside the rGO coated absorber. Water contact angle analysis revealed that the hydrophilic glass/condenser hindered water droplet movement, whereas the hydrophobic silicon-coated glass enabled significantly faster water droplet movement. The rGO-coated absorber SS, with 99.2% solar absorptivity, improved the average water temperature by 11% leading to an augmented full-day freshwater yield of 3031 mL (versus 2160 mL for the CSS). The synergistic effect of the nano-silicon-coated glass and rGO-coated absorber further enhanced the full-day freshwater yield to 3410 mL. Energy/exergy analysis demonstrated enhanced efficiencies of the combined condenser and absorber coated SS of 37% (energy) and 112% (exergy), compared to the CSS. Non-linear characteristic equations described the instantaneous gain in energy efficiency of the combined absorber and condenser coated SS. Absorber/basin exhibited the highest rate of irreversibility in all three SS. The cost of water was 0.01 $/L for the dual-modified still. Water physicochemical quality analysis before and after desalination revealed that the purified water was suitable for drinking. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Journal or Publication Title:

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Additional Information:

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 240, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2022.111698

Uncontrolled Keywords:

/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2500/2508

Subjects:

?? absorber and condenser nano-coatingdesalinationthermal performancewater droplet movementwater qualitycoatingscontact angledistillationdistillation equipmentdropsenergy efficiencyevaporationglassgraphenepotable waterquality controlsolar heatingcoated glass ??

Departments:

Faculty of Science and Technology > Engineering

ID Code:

170194

Deposited By:

ep_importer_pure

Deposited On:

11 May 2022 14:40

Refereed?:

Yes

Published?:

Published

Last Modified:

01 Sep 2024 23:57

URI:

https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/170194