Experimental investigation of a solar still combined with phase change material (RT58) in southern India climatic conditions

Water is a vital component of human survival. Drinking water is scarce in several large provinces around the world. Only saline water, which may be demineralised and utilised for drinking, is available in this situation. For extended journeys, normal water is required in boats and submarines. Self–demineralised equipment is usually installed in vehicles, but it consumes more conventional gasoline and is, therefore, more expensive. To address this problem, solar still can be used, which has the primary aim of converting seawater into consumable desalinated water. In this work, a solar still with phase change material (PCM) – RT58 which have better thermo-physical properties has been incorporated and investigated for thermo-economic performance. It is observed from the results that the RT-58 PCM achieved a greater yield compared to conventional solar still (CSS) without any PCM as an energy storage material. The productivity of solar still with PCM is increased by 46% relative to CSS. Also, the economic analysis revealed that the solar still with PCM is more economically viable than CSS in terms of cost per litre production of freshwater and payback period.