Experimental Analysis and Productivity Enhancement of Single Basin Solar Still by Utilizing Latent and Sensible Heat Storage Material

All living things have the fundamental need to consume safe drinking water on a daily basis; therefore, it is essential to have an understanding of the shortage of water and the primary freshwater supplies. With the rising levels of pollution caused by both industry and people, the amount of potable water that is available is coming under growing threat. The present work makes use of latent and sensible materials to maximize the distillate yield of a single basin solar stillSingle basin solar still. Utilizing latent and sensible material enhances the production of distillates yield and overall performancePerformance of solar still. Latent material paraffin wax enhanced nocturnal distillates, while suspended wicks increased the rate of evaporation for daytime productivityProductivity. The experimental investigation utilizes 5,500 g of paraffin wax because it provides the highest cumulative efficiencyEfficiency. The overall productivityProductivity of paraffin wax and paraffin wax with suspended wicks increased by 27.65% and 30.12%, respectively. In a modified solar still, the overall maximized distillate yield was recorded as 4.24 kg/m2 and the cumulative efficiencyEfficiency was 78.62%. The single component temperatures of solar still show significant changes in temperature throughout the day. It was determined that the utilization of wicks as a sensible material enhanced the evaporation rate and the quantity of distillate produced. 32.8 g of maximum distillates were obtained by using wicks with a length of three inches and a depth of 3 cm.