Experimental investigation of a novel single-slope tilted wick solar still with an affordable channeled absorber sheet, an external condenser, and a reflector

Nowadays, the application of solar desalination system is widely regarded due to population growth, climate change, and diminution of non-renewable resources. These systems produce fresh water by absorbing solar energy that can be used in various cases. In this study, the performance of a single-slope tilted wick solar still with an affordable channeled absorber sheet, an external condenser, and a reflector has been investigated. As an innovation, a black-colored channeled twin wall plastic sheet was used as an absorber in this system to decrease the costs significantly. Further, the impact of using a reflector on the performance of this system was investi-gated, and ultimately, the daily efficiency and economic analysis of the system with and without the reflector was studied. According to the results, the average daily efficiency of this system with and without the reflector was noticed 46.13% and 30.10%, respectively. Furthermore, the average produced fresh water during the experi-ments without and with the reflector was 1095 ml and 1710 ml, respectively. Cost per liter of the produced fresh water with and without reflector was reported 0.041 $/l and 0.047 $/l, respectively.