Effect of cover materials on the performance of additively manufactured solar stills

The additive manufacturing (AM) process has revolutionized modern manufacturing by enabling the fabrication of complex geometries. Among the different AM technologies, fused filament fabrication (FFF) is widely used for its cost-effectiveness and simplicity. In this work, a FFF solar still (SS) desalination device was constructed to address the urgency of the global water crisis. As the cover serves as the primary gateway for solar radiation in a single slope solar still basin, the effect of different covers (glass and acrylic) was also studied. Surface analysis of glass and acrylic covers showed a larger contact angle (74°) and transmittance for acrylic covers. Similarly, several material characterizations were performed to analyze the crystallographic phases, thermal properties, surface morphology and chemical groups in the AM polylactic acid (PLA) basin. Finally, the AM solar stills with different covers were evaluated to determine the optimal cover. The results concluded that the acrylic cover maintained a higher yield after 1:00 PM due to its high absorptivity with a higher total water output (660.7 mL) than glass (600.5 mL). This research aims to contribute to the development of AM solar stills that promote scalable desalination technologies.