Enhancing Pyramid Solar Still Performance through Varied Heat Storage Materials and Water Depths: A Comprehensive Experimental Study

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a concerning decrease in the accessibility of purified water, accompanied by a notable rise in demand. Seawater desalination can help address the issue of insufficient drinking water. An experiment was conducted using different energy storage materials incorporated into the water basin of a pyramid solar still (PSS) to examine its efficiency. This study determined the optimal water depth for the basin, ranging from 4 to 8 cm. Based on the findings, a water depth of 4 cm significantly increased productivity compared to depths of 5, 6, 7, and 8 cm, showing respective increases of 15%, 24.2%, 32.4%, and 40%. Moreover, studies were carried out to improve PSS output at a water depth of 4 cm using paraffin wax, basalt stone, blue metal stone, and glass marbles. The experimental results demonstrated that using paraffin wax increased productivity by 10%, 21.1%, and 34.3% compared to using blue metal stone, basalt stone, and kanche marbles, respectively.