Augmenting the clean water generation rate of solar desalination unit through novel absorber under Indian climatic conditions: Thermal performance, energy and carbon credit analysis

This item is part of: Boarin, P., Haarhoff, E., Manfredini, M., Mohammadzadeh, M., Premier, A., (2021). Rethinking Sustainable Pacific Rim Territories. Proceedings of the 2020 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub PhD Symposium, Future Cities Research Hub, School of Architecture and Planning of the University of Auckland. ISBN: 978-0-473-53616-9

ABSTRACT

This work aimed to explore a novel method for augmenting the fresh water production rate of solar stills (SSs) through utilizing nanoparticles of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and copper oxide (CuO) mixed black paint coating on absorber to increase the solar absorption and evaporation rate. The three types of SS with absorber plate only coated with black paint (CSS), absorber coated with rGO doped in black paint and absorber coated with CuO doped in black paint (SS-CuO) were fabricated, and investigated under Indian climatic conditions. The obtained results showed that the daily water productivity was enhanced by 11.8 % and 6.3 % for SS-rGO and SS-CuO, respectively in comparison to that of CSS. Moreover, the efficiency of the SS reached about 39.9 % for SS-rGO; while, it reached about 38.1 % and 35.7 % for the SS-CuO and CSS. Moreover, it is perceived that the proposed SS with rGO coated absorber has reduced 13.19 tons of CO₂ emissions for 0.01 m water depth during its life cycle. In addition, quality of water samples achieved from experimental investigation is suitable for drinking purposes and also meets the requirements of the Indian Council of Medical Research.