PASSIVE SOLAR WATER DISTILLATION: OPTIMIZATION THROUGH FIELD TESTING, NUMERICAL MODELLING, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Waste recovering

Passive solar distillation systems like the Panorano model offer a solution for producing sweet (desalinated) water in arid regions. This study optimizes solar still performance by modelling heat and water transfer with COMSOL Multiphysics software and validating these results with field experiments using a concrete solar still. Several design parameters were studied: inclination of the still (28° to 32°), thickness of the glass lid cover (2 to 6 mm), relative height between the water surface and lid (-2 cm to +2 cm), and Construction materials (wood, acrylic plastic, concrete, polyester resin). Statistical analysis using the Taguchi method and Principal Component Analysis were used to identify the key variables. The results show that wood is the best performing material thanks to its low thermal conductivity, followed by acrylic plastic. An inclination close to 30°, an intermediate glass thickness (2-5 mm) and a reduced relative height (-2 cm) optimize heat exchange and condensation in the solar still system. The numerical model proved reliable, with a low Mean Squared Error (0.010-0.160) and a high coefficient of determination (R²= 0.89). A wide range of evaporated water productivities were observed from 1935 to 5688 mL/m²/day with a high standard deviation (1189 mL/m²/day) indicating a strong influence of environmental conditions. Condensed water, on the other hand, showed less variability (standard deviation of 839 mL/m²/day) with values between 1280 and 3779 mL/m²/day. These results offer promising prospects for improving access to drinking water in various environmental contexts.

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