Performance assessment of concave-type stepped desalination unit with nanoparticles and varying water depth: an experimental approach
Laxmikant D. Jathar, S. Ganesan, Lakshmanan Palanimuthu
Abstract
In the present article, Concave-type stepped solar still (CTSSS) is tested for the climatic conditions of Pune, India. The proposed still is fabricated with a basin area of 1 m2 having a concave-type stepped basin. The performance of CTSSS is tested with MgO, Al2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles with 0.1% and 0.2% of volume concentration. Furthermore, stills with 0.2% of MgO, Al2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles were assessed with varying water depth. The result shows that the proposed still productivity is increased by 41.35%, 28.42% and 19.10% at 0.2% concentration of MgO, Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofluids, respectively. The output obtained from 0.2% MgO nanofluid at 7 mm of water depth is 16.66% higher than at15 mm of water depth. It shows that productivity of solar still is inversely proportional to water depth. Furthermore, the results obtained from chemical analysis show the water produced from the still fulfils the norms of WHO-2017, BIS-2010 and EPA-2014 standards.