EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A SOLAR STILL COUPLED WITH A FLAT-PLATE COLLECTOR

The objective of the present study was to investigate the possibility of developing and improving a basin-type solar still under local conditions. Basin-type solar still was connected with flat-plate collector to rise the temperature of saline  water and tested with four modes of operation: (1) underground water feed, 2500 ppm,    with the still operating alone, (2) underground water feed of the same salinity, with the still connected to the collector during daylight hours from 7 am to 6 pm, (3) saline water feed, 35000 ppm, with the still operating alone and (4) saline water feed of the same salinity, with the still connected to the collector during daylight hours from 7 am to 6 pm. Intensity of solar radiation, temperatures and distilled water  productions were measured for several days at various operating conditions. The obtained   results showed that the mass of distilled water production using augmentation was increased by 32 % in the case of underground water feed and by 29 % in the case of salt water feed. It was concluded that the solar still which connected with a flat-plate collector could be an effective approach for solar  distillation process with high productivity under Egyptian conditions.