A comparative experimental study on hemispheric distillation system integrated with metamorphic fabric materials for efficient and low-cost solar desalination

This work presents a comparative experimental investigation of the potential of low-cost metamorphic fabric materials for augmenting the distilled yield of hemispheric solar distillation systems. The impacts of two various metamorphic layers; namely, a 20 mm thick cement layer and a 20 mm thick slate layer on the distiller thermo-economic performance are studied and compared with a conventional hemispheric solar distiller (CHSD). Three hemispheric solar stills are manufactured and tested under the same climate characteristics. Moreover, a thermo-economic analysis of the three involved hemispherical solar stills is carried out; including cumulative distilled product, daily thermal efficiency, and cost per unit kg of the distilled product. According to the findings, the incorporation of a 20 mm thick slate layer with a saltwater depth of 10 mm into the hemispheric absorber basin with the optimal modification yields the maximal distilled product and minimal production cost of the hemispheric distillers. The daily distilled product augmented and reached 8.35 and 7.60 kg/day⋅m² for the hemispheric distiller respectively with a layer of slate and cement, in comparison with that of the CHSD (5.65 kg/day⋅m²). The increase in the distilled product with the use of slate and cement metamorphic layers reached 47.80 % and 34.51 %, over the CHSD, respectively. Furthermore, the thermoeconomic findings revealed that the amelioration in the daily energetic efficiency for using the slate and cement metamorphic layers is evaluated as 46.90 % and 34.04 %, respectively, compared to CHSD. Additionally, the reduction in the freshwater cost is estimated as 31.73 %, and 25.24 % over the CHSD, respectively.