Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Effects of tray shape of a multi-stage solar still coupled to a parabolic

concentrating solar collector in Algeria
Amina Abdessemed a, *, Cherif Bougriou b, Djemaa Guerraiche b, Rabah Abachi b
a
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Hadj Lakhdar University, Batna 1, Algeria
b
Department of Mechanics, Faculty of Technology, Mostafa Benboulaid University, Batna 2, Algeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In our article we realized a solar distiller with four floors. The distiller tested is poly-energy, it can
Received 3 February 2018 operate by three different energy sources: electrical resistance (power grid or photovoltaic panel), photo
Received in revised form thermal solar collector or vegetable and animal waste. A cylindro-parabolic solar collector used to collect
28 July 2018
the heat necessary for the distillation is coupled to the four-stage still. The tested trays of the still have
Accepted 22 August 2018
Available online 27 August 2018
two different forms: “V” and “L”. The water desalination is done by many technologies such as the multi-
stage still which is tested experimentally in this work under the weather conditions of the city of Batna,
Algeria (35
450 North, 6
190 East). “V” shaped trays are the most efficient at producing distilled water
Keywords:
Distiller
because it is cheaper and more cost effective than the “L” floor that requires two collectors. The elec-
Stages tricity consumption of the distiller depends on the amount of heat lost by the distiller, and the cost of
Tray form electricity consumed by the distiller depends on the type of trays. The water produced by the trays of the
Water form Lcosts more than the trays of form V.
Solar © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cylindro-parabolic collector

1. Introduction Dutt et al. [1] tested the transient behaviour of a double-basin

Three-quarters of our planet's surface is covered with water, but
it is unfortunately salt. The lack of clean water and the scarcity of
natural resources, caused both by overpopulation, drought and
over-exploitation of groundwater, are becoming a major problem
that threatens the lives of people in many parts of the world.
In fact, desalinating the seawater so as to make it consumable, it
is possible. The most commonly used processes are Multi Flash,
Multiple Effect, Vapor Compression, Reverse Osmosis and Electro-
dialysis. Most of these processes are large-scale, they require a lot of
energy. It is therefore interesting to produce of fresh water on a
smaller scale using renewable energy.
Solar distillation can be considered not only as a cost-effective
solution for the environment, but also as a question of finding a
mode of operation allowing the distiller to obtain the best yield,
when the thermal energy is several times recovered. In this context,
we will cite some previous numerical and experimental works
which are very numerous and varied, as a result it is impossible to
cite them all.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: abdessemed.amina@yahoo.com (A. Abdessemed).
solar still with a dye present in the basin water. They observed
that the performance of the system is better when the dye is added
to the water. The addition of dye increases the daily productivity of
the double basin by almost 2 kg/m2 per day, which increases the
system efficiency of about 10%.
Le Goff et al. [2] realized a still that is a stack of six rectangular
cells forming a thermal series. In each cell of 4 cm thickness there is
a thin film of salt water which partially evaporates when it flows on
a heated vertical wall. The unit produces more than 20 litters of
distilled water per m2, on a standard day.
A five-stage solar still for agricultural use has been studied to
protect plants against strong radiation and to self-supply water
needed for irrigation by Hassan et al. [3]. This distiller produces 8
times the distillate required for the consumption of the initial
crops.
A new design of a passive distiller is proposed by Franco et al.
[4]. The metal surfaces of the distiller inclined and covered with a
cotton fabric are placed one on top of the other in a box. The
distiller produces 5 litters of distilled water per hour and per square
meter for a temperature difference of 60
C between the tray and
the cold-water tank.
Fernandez [5] built a solar still based on the principle of a group
of stacked trays for parallel distillation and heat recovery. He gave a

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.08.074
0960-1481/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140
simple and calibrated mathematical model with field data to adapt
it adequately using experimental results collected over some 14
months of continuous operation.
A transient model was developed by Reddy et al. [6] for a multi-
stage solar still coupled with a flat plate solar collector to determine
optimal system design performance. They found that the distillate
decreases with increasing salinity of the water. It due to an increase
in ion activity and the reduction of the thermodynamically spon-
taneous modification of the liquid to vapor.
A technical-economic analysis of a multistage solar still (stacked
trays) coupled to a solar collector through a heat exchanger was
developed by Adhikari et al. [7]. They discussed the sensitivity of
the cost of distilled water with reference to the life of the distiller,
the cost of the solar collector and other associated parameters.
Schwarzer et al. [8] tested a system of two components: a
desalination tower with multiple stages and one or more solar
collectors. The drinking water production of this system is
approximately 15e18 l/day/m2 compared to the single-stage solar
distiller (3e6 l/day/m2).
Feilizadeh et al. [9] studied the effects of the amount of distilled
water and the input energy mode on the performance of a multi-
stage solar still. The used a PLC to control the input energy.
Bait et al. [10] simulated a multi-stage still to verify the feasi-
bility of this device in their semi-arid region (city of Batna), to
promote an academic prototype. They have realized a mathemat-
ical model adapted to the dimension (0D) based on mass and en-
ergetic balance as first step, then a three-dimensional studies (3D)
using CFD ANSYS-FLUENT. They have also developed a computer
program in FORTRAN language to treat the effect of thermal radi-
ation on the temperature and productivity of distilled water.
Elashmawy [11] coupled a tubular solar distiller to a cylindro-
parabolic solar concentrator of the city of Hail in Saudi Arabia.
Their system produced for a tubular distiller surface of 0.059 m2
(4.71 and 3.6 l/m2/day) for the two experiments having a daily ef-
ficiency of 36.5%, 30.5% respectively.
The purpose of this work is based on the study and design of a
four-stage solar still with heat recovery to obtain distilled water
that will alleviate the need for drinking water in everyday life. In
this work, the effect of the shape of the trays has been studied
experimentally. The effect of the energy cost of the distillate water
has also been studied.
2. Experimental setup
The distillation system presented in this work consists of two
different units: the heat source (cylindro-parabolic solar collector)
and the distillation unit. The still consists of four floors whose trays
have two different shapes “V” and “L”, Figs. 1e4.
The basin contains a tubular water-water heat exchanger and
also an electrical resistance that operates on a normal electricity
grid or photovoltaic solar panel. Trays of “V” or “L” forms are the
most important elements for the still, they form a dam for water
vapor to condense in contact with their cold water-cooled wall
contained in each stage. The floors are in galvanized iron.
In the distillation unit, each V-shaped tray was fitted with a
drainage mechanism mounted longitudinally and inclined at a
certain angle to allow the flow of distilled water to the depressions.
Each stage of the form 'L0 recovers the heat of condensation from
the steam produced in the stage directly below, in this case we have
two recuperators for each plate.
3. Experimental procedure
The climate of Batna is semi-arid, with four distinct seasons.
Average temperatures range from 4
C in January to 36
C in July. In
1135
Cover
Stages « V »
Thermocouples
Distillate collectors
Plexiglass
Fig. 1. “V” shape four-stage still and its components.
winter, the temperature drops below zero at night, with frequent
frosts, the snow only appears for a few days. In summer, the tem-
perature can reach 45
C in the shade. The total annual precipita-
tion is 210 mm, the average rate of humidity is 45%. The various
tests were carried out in the basement of the new block of the
Faculty of Technology of the University Batna 2 (Department of
Mechanics). The tests were carried out on trays of “V” shape and
"L" shape.
The experiments were performed with tap water. The volume of
water in the tank is 17 l and the amount of water carried by each
floor is 6 l. The first series of tests is performed on the “V” shaped
trays and the second series on the “L” shaped trays. The distiller is
closed with a Plexiglas plate and then placed on the latter a layer of
polystyrene as thermal insulation to prevent heat loss. After the
distillation unit is coupled to a parabolic solar collector by an
insulated tube to reduce heat loss. Finally, we note the temperature
variations in a table for every 15 min. The different temperatures
are measured using by thermocouples of type K. The amount of
distilled water is measured by a graduated cylinder.
The physical phenomenon concerns the condensation of the
water vapor produced in the tank in contact with the lower surface
of the stage which has a temperature lower than the dew point
temperature of the water vapor. The latent heat released by
condensing water vapor is used to heat and evaporate the water in
each tray. The condensation of the steam is generally in the form of
water droplets.
4. Results and discussions
The solar irradiation for the given location was provided. The
data shown in Fig. 5 have been calculated for June 15, 2017.
After commissioning the still, the temperature of the first stage
gradually increases until reaching 53.7
C corresponding to the
steady state, Fig. 6-1. The maximum water temperatures of the 1st,
2nd, 3rd and 4th stages reach in steady state 53.7
C, 50.9
C,
45.3
C and 43
C respectively. The maximum temperature differ-
ence between two successive stages is 2.8
C, 5.6
C and 2.3
C,
respectively, during the distillation operation. The temperature of
the other stages is lower than the first stage's temperature because
the heat was transferred from one stage to another by evaporation,
condensation, conduction, convection and radiation decreases
progressively because of the heat losses by conduction, convection
1136 A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140
Fig. 2-1. “V” shape four-stage still coupled to a cylindro-parabolic collector.
Fig. 2-2. “V” shape distiller.
Distillate
recovers
Fig. 3. “L” shape four-stage still.
and by thermal radiation through the walls and leaks of water
vapor.
Khedim et al. [12,13], studied a multi-stage solar distiller with
heat recovery. They showed that the system offers a good perfor-
mance when the lower stage reaches a temperature varying be-
tween 96 and 98
C and the difference in temperature varies
between 6 and 10 K, but in our system the temperature gives a good
yield reaches 53,7
C, and better the work of Mahmoud et al. [14]
which experimentally studied the performance of a multi-stage
still coupled to a vacuum tube solar collector. Their test results
show that the system produces about 9 kg of fresh water a day with
a solar collector efficiency of about 68%.
The production of the distilled water produced by each stage of
the solar still is shown in Fig. 6-2. The first stage initially produces
the greatest amount of distilled water because of its high temper-
ature. Gradually, the accumulated amount of water leaving the
second floor becomes considerably larger. The third floor produces
most of the distilled water and finally, the fourth floor produces the
least amount of water during the day because of its low tempera-
ture. According to the same figure, the quantity of condensate
produced from the first stage is 310 ml/day that of the second stage
is 235 ml/day, this quantity drops to 145 ml/day for the third stage
and to 110 ml/day for the top stage. It can therefore be concluded
that the increase or decrease of the temperature of each stage has
an influence on the yield of the distillation of the latter.
The temperature of the water contained in the trays increases
gradually from the first stage until reaching the steady state at
50.2
C, Fig. 7-1. The temperature of the stages decreases from the
first to the fourth stage because the heat comes from the lower
basin. This is also due to the thermal losses by conduction in the
walls of the still and the convection and thermal radiation between
the walls of the still and the external environment.
Estahbanati et al., [15] experimentally studied the effect of the
 A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140 1137

Fig. 4-1. “L” shape water distiller.

Fig. 4-2. Four-stage still of “L” shape coupled to a cylindro-parabolic solar collector.

55
1000

50
800
solar irradiation (W/m )
2

45
Temperature (°C)

600
40

400 35
Te1 tray 'V'
30 Te2 tray 'V'
200
Te3 tray 'V'
25 Te4 tray 'V'
0
20
8h00 11h00 14h00 17h00
12:15 13:00 13:45 14:30 15:15 16:00 16:45 17:30
Time (h)
Time (mn)
Fig. 5. The solar irradiation vs the time.
Fig. 6-1. Variation of the temperature of trays “V” vs the time.

number of "L" shaped stages on the productivity of an active multi- our system the temperature which gives a good performance in the
effect solar distiller. They showed that the system of four trays of- case of “L” shape distiller reaches 50.2
C.
fers a good performance when the lower stage reaches a temper- Mansoor Feilizadeh et al. [16] improved the Estahbanati et al.
ature of about 98
C in continuous and non-continuous mode. In [12] system by continuous coupling with one, two or three flat plate
1138 A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140

350 250

300 V1 tray 'V' V1 hat tray

V2 tray 'V' 200 V2 hat tray
Volume of distilled water (ml)

Volume of distilled water (ml)

V3 tray 'V' V3 hat tray
250
V4 tray 'V' V4 hat tray
150
200

150
100

100

50
50

0 0
12:15 13:00 13:45 14:30 15:15 16:00 16:45 17:30 12:00 12:45 13:30 14:15 15:00 15:45 16:30 17:15
Time (mn) Time (mn)

Fig. 6-2. Production of distilled water from the “V” stages. Fig. 7-2. Distilled water production of “L” trays vs time.

55 900

Te1 hat Tray 800

50 Hat tray
Te2 hat Tray
700 "V" tray
Te3 hat Tray
Volume of distilled water (ml)

45 Te4 hat Tray

600
Temperature (°C)

40 500

400
35
300
30
200

25 100

0
20
12:00 12:45 13:30 14:15 15:00 15:45 16:30 17:15
12:00 12:45 13:30 14:15 15:00 15:45 16:30 17:15
Time (min)
Time (mn)
Fig. 8. Distilled water accumulated by the two forms of trays vs time.
Fig. 7-1. Variation of the temperature of stages “L” vs the time.

on the lower surface of each stage which shows the considerable

solar collectors. They found that by adding several collectors the
distillate production is rising. The volume of distilled water pro-
duced by each stage as a function of time is given in Fig. 7-2. It is
noted that the quantity of distilled water of the first stage is higher
than the above stages.
Fig. 8 represents the difference between the first and the second
form of the trays. It is clearly observed that the “V” shaped stages
are more efficient than the “L” shaped trays. The collected quantity
of water is almost double: about 800 ml and 400 ml respectively.
This difference is mainly due to the geometry of the stages:
- The water contained in the “L” shaped trays is adjacent to the
surfaces of the outer wall of the still, which causes a tempera-
ture drop due to the heat conduction phenomenon through the
wall thickness of the distiller. In addition, each tray is equipped
with two collectors of distilled water which increases the losses
of condensed water droplets, which demonstrates the low
amount of distilled water
- The water of the “V” shaped trays is concentrated in the middle
of the still, where the temperature is maximum, then the heat
coming from the lower stage is absorbed directly by the stage
above which reduces the loss of heat and condenses the steam
amount of distillate in this type of trays. In this case, there is only
one collector, that mean, there is less loss of droplets returning
to the tank.
5. Techno-economic analysis
The payback period of device realized depends on the overall
cost of manufacture, maintenance, operating costs, distilled water
cost and the cost of feed water. In our case, the multi-stage solar
still realized is poly-energy because it operates by three different
energies: the electrical resistance, the photo thermal solar collector
and the vegetable or animal waste.
In the case where the energy used for the distillation of the
water is of vegetal origin or animal waste, their cost is almost
negligible, the costs of the distiller and distilled water are about 250
V and 0.1 V/l respectively. By neglecting the costs of maintenance,
labor, interest rates, discounting of prices, etc., the payback period
of the investment is given by the following relationship, Fig. 9:
250 ¼ 0,1  dwp (1)
 A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140 1139

3000

2500

2000

1500
Cost (€)
1000
Dis er + Solar Panel
500 Dis er + Animal Waste
0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000
-500

-1000
Liters

Fig. 9. Payback period of the distiller.

Therefore, the amount of distilled water production required for

1400
the payback period of the investment is:
The volume of total distilled water (ml)

1200
dwp ¼ 250/0,1 ¼ 2500 L (2)

1000
In the case where the distiller produces 0.4 l/h, the payback
period is:
800

t ¼ 2500/(0,4  24  365) ¼ 0,7 years (3)

600

If the distiller works by solar energy, the cost of the cylindro-

400
parabolic solar collector is 250V, whose operates on average 12 h/
day payback period of the installation is:
200

500 ¼ 0,1  dwp (4)

0
0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0
Therefore, the amount of distilled water productivity required
for the payback period of the setup is: electricity consumption (kWh)

Fig. 10. Volume of distilled water vs electricity consumption.

dwp ¼ 5000 L (5)

so, the damping time is (Fig. 9):
t ¼ 5000/(0,4  12  365) ¼ 2.85 years
It notes in this case that the payback period of the investment is
4 times higher, it is concluded that the use of solar energy in Algeria
is not very interesting from an economic point of view. Figs. 10 and
11 show the variation in the amount of distilled water as a function
of grid electricity consumption in the case of “V” and “L” trays
respectively. The amount of distilled water productivity is above
1370 ml for the shape “V” trays for electricity consumption of about
3.1 kWh. In Algeria the average cost of grid electricity is 0,025
V/kWh so the cost of produced water is 0,057V/l.
In these tests, one liter of distilled water is produced for about
3.65 h. In the case where the cost of distiller is 250 V and neglecting
the other expenses: maintenance, labour, interest rate, discounting
prices, etc., the payback period corresponds to 2.4 years.
Concerning the "L" tray form, the amount of distilled water
productivity is 1020 ml, the electricity consumption is about
(6) 3.4 kWh which implies the cost of produced water which is 0.083V/
l. In this case, one liter of distilled water is produced for about
5.64 h, so we need 9.7 years to depreciate it.
In the case where the distiller works by solar energy, the cost of
the cylindro-parabolic solar collector is 250 V, the damping time of
the installation of the form “V” is 2 years. For the “L” form, the
depreciation time of the installation is approximately 2.39 years.
6. Conclusion
In this study it was possible to realize a four-stage solar still and
a cylindro-parabolic solar collector, so we can say that we could
make a transfer of technology very useful for our country with
derisory means. The active solar distiller works well because
1140
1200
The volume of total distilled water (ml)
1000
800
600
400
200
0 [7] R.S. Adhikari, A. Kumar, H.P. Garg, Techno-economic analysis of a multi-stage
0,5 1,0
electricity consumption (kWh)
Fig. 11. Volume of distilled water vs electricity consumption “L” form.
distilled water was produced using solar energy captured by the
CPC. In this experimental study, we tested for the first time and in
active mode two types of stages of shapes “V” and “L”.
It is concluded that:
 “V” shaped trays are the most efficient at producing distilled
water.
 A “V” shaped trays are cheaper and more cost effective than the
“L” floor that requires two collectors.
 The temperature and water production decreases from the
bottom to the top of the distiller, i.e. away from the energy
source.
 The electricity consumption of the distiller depends on the
amount of heat lost by the distiller, and the cost of electricity
consumed by the distiller depends on the type of trays. The
water produced by the trays of form L costs more than the trays
of form V.
 Thus, according to the results obtained, V-shaped trays must be
used and solar energy must not be used because the current
solar collectors are very expensive and the necessary amorti-
zation time is very long compared to the power grid.
A. Abdessemed et al. / Renewable Energy 132 (2019) 1134e1140
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