Energy, Exergy Analysis, and Optimizations of Collector Cover Thickness of a Solar Still in El Oued Climate, Algeria

Researches in many laboratories on solar still desalination are concerned with increasing efficiency using only solar energy. One of the techniques is the difference in the thickness of the glass cover of the distiller. In order to see the influence of this parameter on efficiency, three similar stills with three different glass coverings were investigated. The flow of heat goes through the cover, and higher glass temperature leads to solar still productivity becoming lower. This paper presents an optimization of glass thickness (G(t)) of a conventional solar still (CSS) in El Oued climate, Algeria. Based on the experimental results, the distilled water production rate, energy, and energy efficiency of the CSS have been discussed. The results showed that the suitable G(t) of the CSS was 3 mm. The distilled water of around 3.15, 2.02, and 1.13 kg was produced by the CSS at energy efficiency of 30.71, 19.02, and 11.44% with the G(t) of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively. The daily average exergy efficiency of 2.46, 1.38, and 0.84% was calculated for the CSS at G(t) of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively.