A vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type solar still coupled with a heat-pipe solar collector

We proposed a newly designed, compact multiple-effect diffusion-type solar still consisting of a heat-pipe solar collector and a number of vertical parallel partitions in contact with saline-soaked wicks. The solar collector and the vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type solar 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. The solar energy absorbed on the solar collector is transported as latent heat of working fluid to the vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type still where the energy is recycled to increase the productivity of distillate. The performance of the proposed still is analyzed theoretically, and the still is predicted to produce 21.8 kg/m2d distilled water on a sunny autumn equinox day of 22.4 MJ/m2d solar radiation, and the productivity is greater than that of a vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type still coupled with bulky basin type still.

We theoretically predicted the performance of a vertical multiple-effect diffusion-type (VMED) solar still coupled with a heat-pipe solar collector, and the results of this work are summarized as follows: 1) 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. 2) The proposed still of 10 partitions with 5 mm or 3 mm diffusion gaps is theoretically predicted to produce 19.2 or 21.8 kg/m2d, respectively, on a sunny autumn equinox day of daily solar radiation of 24.4 MJ/m2d. 3) The productivity of the proposed still is 13% larger than that of the VMED still coupled with a basin type still.