Simulation and experimental study for an inverted trickle solar still Original Research Article

An experimental study for an inverted trickle solar still was performed. The still was basically composed of an inclined absorber plate painted black on the top. Saline water flowed at the backside of the plate and was kept attached to the plate. The water flow rate was kept low so that its temperature was raised to produce vapor. Condensation took place in another compartment where a heat exchanger was placed to provide heat recovery. The still was tested using brackish water of 6000 ppm salinity during the month of November at 47° and 32° tilt angles. The condensate obtained was 2.8 and 2 L/d at the above angles, respectively. This represents an 18% increase in this kind of output over previous work, which is due to reduction in the salinity of feed water. However, the intermediate header production, which is saline water of reduced salinity (3600 ppm), was also reduced by 13%. A computer simulation program was developed to predict the performance of the still.