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<p>Water scarcity and the high cost of conventional desalination motivate the search for passive, solar‑driven alternatives. However, single‑stage solar distillers suffer from low productivity due to unutilized latent heat. This study experimentally addresses this gap by evaluating a novel three-stage vertical cylindrical solar distiller (MCLSD) enhanced with capillary jute wicks, benchmarked against a conventional cylindrical solar distiller (CLSD) under identical climatic conditions. The multi-stage cascade design enables sequential latent heat recovery, establishing stable inter-stage temperature gradients of 68&#xa0;°C, 62&#xa0;°C, and 58&#xa0;°C. The optimal configuration (4&#xa0;cm water depth with wick integration) achieved a daily productivity of 12.7&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m<sup>−2</sup>/day, representing a 310% increase over the CLSD baseline (3.1&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m<sup>−2</sup>/day). Wick application alone enhanced yield by 38% (11.38&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m<sup>−2</sup>/day vs. 8.23&#xa0;kg&#xa0;m<sup>−2</sup>/day for the non-wick MCLSD) by sustaining uniform thin-film evaporation and eliminating dry zones. Thermodynamic analysis revealed a maximum daily energy efficiency of 67.3% (peak instantaneous: 72.4%) and an exergy efficiency of 14.59%, with 68% of exergy destruction attributed to the evaporation phase. Economic assessment confirmed commercial viability with a unit water cost of $0.029/L and a payback period of 5–6&#xa0;months. Environmental evaluation demonstrated an energy payback time of 2.1&#xa0;months and an annual CO<sub>2</sub> mitigation potential of 1.77 tons. Statistical validation yielded a strong regression fit (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.934) with experimental uncertainty confined to ± 3.2%. These integrated 4E metrics confirm the MCLSD as a high-yield, cost-effective, and sustainable desalination solution for water-scarce regions.</p>

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Experimental enhancement of energy, exergy, economic, and environmental performances of a three‑stage vertical cylindrical solar still with capillary wicks at different water depths

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月16日

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  • Abdullah Alghafis,
  • Abdullah Alrashidi,
  • Fuhaid Alshammari,
  • Fadl A. Essa

摘要

Water scarcity and the high cost of conventional desalination motivate the search for passive, solar‑driven alternatives. However, single‑stage solar distillers suffer from low productivity due to unutilized latent heat. This study experimentally addresses this gap by evaluating a novel three-stage vertical cylindrical solar distiller (MCLSD) enhanced with capillary jute wicks, benchmarked against a conventional cylindrical solar distiller (CLSD) under identical climatic conditions. The multi-stage cascade design enables sequential latent heat recovery, establishing stable inter-stage temperature gradients of 68 °C, 62 °C, and 58 °C. The optimal configuration (4 cm water depth with wick integration) achieved a daily productivity of 12.7 kg m−2/day, representing a 310% increase over the CLSD baseline (3.1 kg m−2/day). Wick application alone enhanced yield by 38% (11.38 kg m−2/day vs. 8.23 kg m−2/day for the non-wick MCLSD) by sustaining uniform thin-film evaporation and eliminating dry zones. Thermodynamic analysis revealed a maximum daily energy efficiency of 67.3% (peak instantaneous: 72.4%) and an exergy efficiency of 14.59%, with 68% of exergy destruction attributed to the evaporation phase. Economic assessment confirmed commercial viability with a unit water cost of $0.029/L and a payback period of 5–6 months. Environmental evaluation demonstrated an energy payback time of 2.1 months and an annual CO2 mitigation potential of 1.77 tons. Statistical validation yielded a strong regression fit (R2 = 0.934) with experimental uncertainty confined to ± 3.2%. These integrated 4E metrics confirm the MCLSD as a high-yield, cost-effective, and sustainable desalination solution for water-scarce regions.