IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v184y2023ics136403212300429x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A comprehensive review of the vacuum solar still systems

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamed, A.S.A.
  • Shahdy, Abanob G.
  • Mohamed, Hany A.
  • Ahmed, M. Salem

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity is a problem that is becoming more and more of a concern over the world, and as a result, the search for solutions has become a race against time. One of the most crucial solutions for this issue is seawater desalination. The simplest and easiest type of desalination technology is seawater desalination using a solar still system. This present study reviews the past/current status of vacuum solar still systems to pave the way for researchers to improve this technology. This paper aims to describe the design specifications and highlight the merits and demerits of various vacuum techniques used in solar stills systems upon which research has been done in the recent past. Also, a discussion on future ideas is given with some recommendations in the field of vacuum solar stills improvement to economically produce sustainable potable water. The current study concludes that lowering the operating pressure of solar still systems improves system productivity and efficiency by roughly 100% and 70%, respectively. According to the research, forced vacuums account for 52% of all vacuums, while natural vacuums account for 48%. Forced vacuum is an ideal method since it combines creating vacuum conditions and evacuating the non-condensable gases, which is not possible in a natural vacuum. The system productivity and efficiency of the forced vacuum conditions are higher by 80% and 25% than that of the natural vacuum conditions. The cost of freshwater produced per liter in natural vacuum conditions is less than that of forced vacuum conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed, A.S.A. & Shahdy, Abanob G. & Mohamed, Hany A. & Ahmed, M. Salem, 2023. "A comprehensive review of the vacuum solar still systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:184:y:2023:i:c:s136403212300429x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2023.113572
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403212300429X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2023.113572?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Madhlopa, A. & Johnstone, C., 2009. "Numerical study of a passive solar still with separate condenser," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1668-1677.
    2. El-Sebaii, A.A. & Al-Ghamdi, A.A. & Al-Hazmi, F.S. & Faidah, Adel S., 2009. "Thermal performance of a single basin solar still with PCM as a storage medium," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(7-8), pages 1187-1195, July.
    3. Ibrahim, Ayman G.M. & Allam, Elsayed E. & Elshamarka, Salman E., 2015. "A modified basin type solar still: Experimental performance and economic study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 335-342.
    4. Mahmoud Shatat & Saffa B. Riffat, 2014. "Water desalination technologies utilizing conventional and renewable energy sources," International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19.
    5. Kaushal, Aayush & Varun, 2010. "Solar stills: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 446-453, January.
    6. Ahmed, M.I. & Hrairi, M. & Ismail, A.F., 2009. "On the characteristics of multistage evacuated solar distillation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1471-1478.
    7. Elfasakhany, Ashraf, 2016. "Performance assessment and productivity of a simple-type solar still integrated with nanocomposite energy storage system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 399-407.
    8. Hassan, Hamdy & Ahmed, M. Salem & Fathy, Mohamed, 2019. "Experimental work on the effect of saline water medium on the performance of solar still with tracked parabolic trough collector (TPTC)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 136-147.
    9. Sharshir, S.W. & Peng, Guilong & Wu, Lirong & Essa, F.A. & Kabeel, A.E. & Yang, Nuo, 2017. "The effects of flake graphite nanoparticles, phase change material, and film cooling on the solar still performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 358-366.
    10. Xie, Guo & Sun, Licheng & Mo, Zhengyu & Liu, Hongtao & Du, Min, 2016. "Conceptual design and experimental investigation involving a modular desalination system composed of arrayed tubular solar stills," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 972-984.
    11. Sadineni, S.B. & Hurt, R. & Halford, C.K. & Boehm, R.F., 2008. "Theory and experimental investigation of a weir-type inclined solar still," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 71-80.
    12. Kabeel, A.E. & Omara, Z.M. & Younes, M.M., 2015. "Techniques used to improve the performance of the stepped solar still—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 178-188.
    13. Kalogirou, Soteris, 1997. "Survey of solar desalination systems and system selection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 69-81.
    14. Bhardwaj, R. & ten Kortenaar, M.V. & Mudde, R.F., 2015. "Maximized production of water by increasing area of condensation surface for solar distillation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 480-490.
    15. El-Bahi, A. & Inan, D., 1999. "Analysis of a parallel double glass solar still with separate condenser," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 509-521.
    16. Choi, Soon-Ho, 2017. "Thermal type seawater desalination with barometric vacuum and solar energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1332-1349.
    17. Abu-Hijleh, Bassam A/K & Mousa, Hasan A., 1997. "Water film cooling over the glass cover of a solar still including evaporation effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 43-48.
    18. Li, Chennan & Goswami, Yogi & Stefanakos, Elias, 2013. "Solar assisted sea water desalination: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 136-163.
    19. Xie, Guo & Sun, Licheng & Yan, Tiantong & Tang, Jiguo & Bao, Jingjing & Du, Min, 2018. "Model development and experimental verification for tubular solar still operating under vacuum condition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 115-130.
    20. Narayan, G. Prakash & Sharqawy, Mostafa H. & Summers, Edward K. & Lienhard, John H. & Zubair, Syed M. & Antar, M.A., 2010. "The potential of solar-driven humidification-dehumidification desalination for small-scale decentralized water production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 1187-1201, May.
    21. Akash, Bilal A. & Mohsen, Mousa S. & Osta, Omar & Elayan, Yaser, 1998. "Experimental evaluation of a single-basin solar still using different absorbing materials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 307-310.
    22. Ayhan, Teoman & Al Madani, Hussain, 2010. "Feasibilty study of renewable energy powered seawater desalination technology using natural vacuum technique," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 506-514.
    23. Valsaraj, P., 2002. "An experimental study on solar distillation in a single slope basin still by surface heating the water mass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 607-612.
    24. Abdel-Rehim, Zeinab S. & Lasheen, Ashraf, 2005. "Improving the performance of solar desalination systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(13), pages 1955-1971.
    25. Bundschuh, Jochen & Ghaffour, Noreddine & Mahmoudi, Hacene & Goosen, Mattheus & Mushtaq, Shahbaz & Hoinkis, Jan, 2015. "Low-cost low-enthalpy geothermal heat for freshwater production: Innovative applications using thermal desalination processes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 196-206.
    26. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar & Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany & Deng, Shuguang, 2011. "Desalination using solar energy: Towards sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 78-85.
    27. Sharon, H. & Reddy, K.S., 2015. "A review of solar energy driven desalination technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1080-1118.
    28. Reali, M., 1984. "A refrigerator-heat-pump desalination scheme for fresh-water and salt recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 9(7), pages 583-588.
    29. Velmurugan, V. & Deenadayalan, C.K. & Vinod, H. & Srithar, K., 2008. "Desalination of effluent using fin type solar still," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1719-1727.
    30. Ali, Muhammad Tauha & Fath, Hassan E.S. & Armstrong, Peter R., 2011. "A comprehensive techno-economical review of indirect solar desalination," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 4187-4199.
    31. Gude, Veera Gnaneswar & Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany & Deng, Shuguang & Maganti, Anand, 2012. "Low temperature desalination using solar collectors augmented by thermal energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 466-474.
    32. Kabeel, A.E. & Hamed, A.M. & El-Agouz, S.A., 2010. "Cost analysis of different solar still configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 2901-2908.
    33. Vishwanath Kumar, P. & Kumar, Anil & Prakash, Om & Kaviti, Ajay Kumar, 2015. "Solar stills system design: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 153-181.
    34. Eltawil, Mohamed A. & Zhengming, Zhao & Yuan, Liqiang, 2009. "A review of renewable energy technologies integrated with desalination systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2245-2262, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. M, Chandrashekara & Yadav, Avadhesh, 2017. "Water desalination system using solar heat: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1308-1330.
    2. Dsilva Winfred Rufuss, D. & Iniyan, S. & Suganthi, L. & Davies, P.A., 2016. "Solar stills: A comprehensive review of designs, performance and material advances," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 464-496.
    3. Dsilva Winfred Rufuss, D. & Arulvel, S. & Anil Kumar, V. & Davies, P.A. & Arunkumar, T. & Sathyamurthy, Ravishankar & Kabeel, A.E. & Anand Vishwanath, M. & Sai Charan Reddy, D. & Dutta, Amandeep & Agr, 2022. "Combined effects of composite thermal energy storage and magnetic field to enhance productivity in solar desalination," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 219-234.
    4. Li, Chennan & Goswami, Yogi & Stefanakos, Elias, 2013. "Solar assisted sea water desalination: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 136-163.
    5. Nayi, Kuldeep H. & Modi, Kalpesh V., 2018. "Pyramid solar still: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 136-148.
    6. Chen, W.L. & Xie, G., 2022. "Performance of multi-stage tubular solar still operating under vacuum," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 34-46.
    7. Ibrahim, Ayman G.M. & Allam, Elsayed E. & Elshamarka, Salman E., 2015. "A modified basin type solar still: Experimental performance and economic study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 335-342.
    8. Sharshir, S.W. & Elsheikh, A.H. & Peng, Guilong & Yang, Nuo & El-Samadony, M.O.A. & Kabeel, A.E., 2017. "Thermal performance and exergy analysis of solar stills – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 521-544.
    9. Sharon, H. & Reddy, K.S., 2015. "A review of solar energy driven desalination technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1080-1118.
    10. Zanganeh, Peyman & Goharrizi, Ataallah Soltani & Ayatollahi, Shahab & Feilizadeh, Mehrzad & Dashti, Hossein, 2020. "Efficiency improvement of solar stills through wettability alteration of the condensation surface: An experimental study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    11. Elango, C. & Gunasekaran, N. & Sampathkumar, K., 2015. "Thermal models of solar still—A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 856-911.
    12. Xiao, Gang & Wang, Xihui & Ni, Mingjiang & Wang, Fei & Zhu, Weijun & Luo, Zhongyang & Cen, Kefa, 2013. "A review on solar stills for brine desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 642-652.
    13. Manju, S. & Sagar, Netramani, 2017. "Renewable energy integrated desalination: A sustainable solution to overcome future fresh-water scarcity in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 594-609.
    14. Bhardwaj, R. & ten Kortenaar, M.V. & Mudde, R.F., 2015. "Maximized production of water by increasing area of condensation surface for solar distillation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 480-490.
    15. Gorjian, Shiva & Ghobadian, Barat, 2015. "Solar desalination: A sustainable solution to water crisis in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 571-584.
    16. Obai Younis & Ahmed Kadhim Hussein & Mohammed El Hadi Attia & Hakim S. Sultan Aljibori & Lioua Kolsi & Hussein Togun & Bagh Ali & Aissa Abderrahmane & Khanyaluck Subkrajang & Anuwat Jirawattanapanit, 2022. "Comprehensive Review on Solar Stills—Latest Developments and Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-59, August.
    17. Kumar R, Reji & Pandey, A.K. & Samykano, M. & Aljafari, Belqasem & Ma, Zhenjun & Bhattacharyya, Suvanjan & Goel, Varun & Ali, Imtiaz & Kothari, Richa & Tyagi, V.V., 2022. "Phase change materials integrated solar desalination system: An innovative approach for sustainable and clean water production and storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    18. Gang, Wu & Qichang, Yang & Hongfei, Zheng & Yi, Zhang & Hui, Fang & Rihui, Jin, 2019. "Direct utilization of solar linear Fresnel reflector on multi-effect eccentric horizontal tubular still with falling film," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 170-184.
    19. Vishwanath Kumar, P. & Kumar, Anil & Prakash, Om & Kaviti, Ajay Kumar, 2015. "Solar stills system design: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 153-181.
    20. Sivakumar, V. & Ganapathy Sundaram, E., 2013. "Improvement techniques of solar still efficiency: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 246-264.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:184:y:2023:i:c:s136403212300429x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.