Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Desalination
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/desal

Performance analysis on inclined solar still with different new wick

materials and wire mesh
R. Samuel Hansen a, C. Surya Narayanan b, K. Kalidasa Murugavel b,⁎
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Francis Xavier Engineering College, Tirunelveli, 627003 Tamil Nadu, India
b
Centre for Energy Studies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Engineering College, K. R. Nagar, 628503 Tamil Nadu, India

H I G H L I G H T S

• An inclined type solar still was experimentally tested with different new wick materials.
• The new materials are characterised for absorption, capillary rise, porosity, water repellence and heat transfer co-efficient.
• Wood pulp paper wick, wicking water coral fleece fabric and polystyrene sponge were chosen.
• Still with coral fleece and weir mesh–stepped absorber plate was more productive.

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

Article history: In this paper the performance of an inclined type solar still was experimentally investigated using different wick
Received 3 July 2014 materials on different absorber plate configurations. In this work, the new materials are characterised for absorp-
Received in revised form 6 December 2014 tion, capillary rise, porosity, water repellence and heat transfer co-efficient to select a suitable material for the
Accepted 8 December 2014
solar desalination application. Different wick materials are chosen for this analysis. Based on this analysis,
Available online xxxx
water coral fleece material with porosity (69.67%), absorbency (2 s), capillary rise (10 mm/h) and heat transfer
Keywords:
coefficient (34.21 W/m2 °C) is the most suitable wicking material for higher productive solar still. Performances
Wicking character of the still were compared with different wick materials (wood pulp paper wick, wicking water coral fleece fabric
Solar still and polystyrene sponge) on the various absorber plate configurations (flat absorber, stepped absorber and
Water coral fleece stepped absorber with wire mesh). Maximum distillate achieved in the still was 4.28 l/day by using water
Wire mesh coral fleece with weir mesh–stepped absorber plate.
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Water is essential to sustain human life and for socio-economic de-
velopment. Nevertheless, there is limited access to water that meets
standard limits of water quality. The quality of water can be improved
through desalination. Conventional techniques for desalination are
available but they require a large input of energy, mostly from fossil
fuels that contribute to environmental degradation. Consequently,
there is a need to use sustainable energy sources, with solar energy
being one of the most promising alternatives. Desalination technology
is gaining worldwide acceptance as a proven technology for fresh
water production. The review of desalination history can be found in lit-
erature [1]. Desalination is the process of removing high salt content,
minerals and organisms from a water source.
Desalination systems require energy for the separation of salt
and water. Solar desalination systems are systems that utilize the sun
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: kali_vel@rediffmail.com, kkmmech@nec.edu.in (K.K. Murugavel).
energy (solar radiation) for the separation of water and salt. Classifica-
tion of solar desalination varies depending on techniques and energy
supply. The most common type of solar desalination system is the
solar still.
A solar still is a simple device which can be used to convert saline,
brackish water into drinking water. Solar still can be broadly divided
into passive and active types. Passive stills are further divided into
basin and inclined types. Extensive research was made to improve the
productivity of these stills. In an inclined still, water flows from the
top to the bottom of the absorber surface. To maintain the uniform
thickness of water, a wick, which draws water through capillary effect,
is used. Stills with inclined absorber surfaces are reported to have signif-
icantly higher productivity than basin type stills [2]. There are several
works presented in literature, to improve the performance of an in-
clined wick type solar still. Ho-Ming Yeh et al. [3] studied the effects of
climatic, design, and operational parameters on the productivity of the
wick-type solar distillers. Minasian et al. [4] studied the performance
of a new type of still formed by connecting a small conventional
basin-type (installed in shadow and having an opaque cover) with a

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.12.006
0011-9164/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8

wick-type solar still. Badran et al. [5] studied the performance of an

inverted trickle solar still. Radhwan et al. [6] studied the performance
of stepped solar still with built-in latent heat thermal energy storage.
Sadineni et al. [7] studied the theoretical and experimental performance
of a weir-type inclined solar still. Mahdi et al. [8] studied the perfor-
mance of a wick type solar still, where charcoal cloth is used as an
absorber/evaporator material and for saline water transport. Sodha
et al. [9] studied the performance of multiple wick solar still, where
blackened jute cloth formed the liquid surface. Janarthan et al. [10]
studied the effect of floating cum tilted wick type solar still with the ef-
fect of water flowing over glass cover. Anburaj et al. [11] studied the ex-
perimental performance of a new type inclined solar still with
rectangular grooves and ridges in absorber plate. Tanaka et al. [12] stud-
ied the improvement of the tilted wick solar still by using a flat plate
reflector.
Based on the literature review there is no work available related to
the characters of wick materials used in an inclined solar still. In this
context, new testing procedures are developed for analysing the impor-
Fig. 2. Water repellent tester.
tant wicking characters of wick materials. Here few important wicking
characters such as absorption, capillary rise, porosity, water repellence
2.1.1. Bulk volume (Vb)
and heat transfer coefficient, are taken into account to select a suitable
Bulk volume may be determined by linear measurement value
material for the solar desalination application [13–16]. Based on this
(dimension of materials)
analysis, the best wick material is chosen and used with wire mesh &
stepped absorber plate to enhance the productivity of the inclined Vb ¼ l  b  t:
solar still.

2. Characterization of wicking materials 2.1.2. Pore volume (Vp)

Pore volume may be determined by the fluid saturation method
From the literature review [13–16], it is clear that, among all (material immersed in water)
the wicking characters of the material, porosity, water absorbency,
water repellence, capillary rise and heat transfer coefficient are signifi- Wwtr ¼ Wsat –Wdry
cant and important characters of an efficient wick material. Wicking Vp ¼ Wwtr =ρwtr :
properties of the material may be determined by the following proce-
dures. The characterization of different wick materials were carried
out at South India Textile Research Association, Coimbatore, Tamil 2.2. Heat transfer co-efficient
Nadu, India.
The evaporation of water within the still is dependent on the evapo-
2.1. Porosity rative heat transfer coefficient, which is a function of heat transfer coef-
ficient between the wet wick absorber surface and the glass cover. The
Porosity is a measure of the void (i.e., “empty”) spaces in a material, heat transfer coefficient depends upon the difference between the ab-
and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, as a per- sorber temperature and glass cover temperature and the difference in
centage between 0 and 100%. The porosity follows straight forwardly by partial pressure of water vapour between the wick absorber and the
its proper definition [17]. glass cover.
The heat transfer between the wet wick absorber and the glass cover
K ¼ Vp =Vb  100: can be given as,
 
2
h ¼ q=ΔT W=m C
ΔT ¼ Tg–Ta:

Table 1
Wicking characteristics of different wick materials.

Wick materials Wicking characters

Porosity Absorbency Repellent Capillary rise Heat transfer

% (seconds) (mm/h) coefficient
(W/m2 °C)

Cotton 28.5 1 0 120 36.0

Wool 27 150 0 110 45.8
Nylon 14.5 1 0 160 28.0
Waste cotton 28.23 10 0 90 41.04
Jute cloth 16.7 128 0 10 15.4
Coir mate 34.26 2 0 60 18.2
Charcoal cloth 16.2 2 0 180 58.4
Wood pulp paper 17 2 0 65 37.3
Polystyrene 52.06 300 0 0 29.05
sponge
Water coral fleece 69.67 2 0 10 34.21
Fig. 1. Test method for water absorbency.
 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8 3

Fig. 3. Schematic drawing of inclined type solar still.

Feed Water Tank

Glass cover

Hot Water Storage Tank

Thermocol insulaon Inclined Solar Sll

Disllate Water Output

Fig. 4. Photographic view of inclined type solar still.

4 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8
2.3. Water absorbency
Water absorbency is the rate at which water is taken into, and
morphed into another object or phase. Water can be absorbed into the
atmosphere, and change into another state, such as gas, or it can be
absorbed into an object, like a sponge.
2.3.1. Procedure for absorbency
Measure the water absorbency of textiles by measuring the time it
takes a drop of water placed on the fabric surface to be completely
absorbed into the fabric (Fig. 1).
a. Sample is placed over the top of a beaker so that the centre is unsup-
ported.
b. A measured drop of water is placed on the fabric 1 cm from the
surface.
c. Time is recorded until the water drop is absorbed completely.
2.4. Water repellence
Water repellence is the character of wick/fabric material to resist the
entire penetration or absorption of water.
2.4.1. Water repellent tester
Water repellent tester measures the resistance of fabrics to wetting
by water. It is used to check the water repellent of the fabric by spray
test in textile testing laboratory. It is suitable for testing table cloth,
flooring material, fabric manufacturer or processors.
Fig. 5. Photographic view of wick and absorber materials.
Test procedure
a. First of all fasten the test specimens securely on the metal hoop of
the water repellence tester so that it represents a smooth wrinkle
free surface and place it face up on the tester as shown in Fig. 2.
b. Adjust the metal hoop so that the centre of the spray coincides with
the centre of the metal hoop. Later pour 250 ml of distilled water at
normal temperature into the funnel and spray the whole quantity on
the test specimen for a period of 25–30 s.
c. Now detach the metal hoop from the stand. Confirm whether water
had penetrated to the back of the test specimen. With the face side of
the test specimen down, hold the metal hoop by one edge and tap
the opposite edge lightly once against the table.
d. Then rotate it 180 °C and similarly tap once again on the point previ-
ously held to remove any excess water drop.
e. The final step is to compare the wetting of the test specimen with a
photographic rating standard and grade it accordingly.
2.5. Capillary rise
Capillary rise is the rise in a liquid above the level of zero pressure
due to a net upward force produced by the attraction of the water mol-
ecules to a solid surface, e.g. glass, fabric, and soil.
The capillarity of wick materials may be determined by standard
vertical wicking test method. Here charcoal cloth (180 mm/h) has
high capillary rise but sponge has zero capillarity. Table 1 shows the
wicking characteristics of different wick materials obtained from the
 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8 5

Table 2
Dates of the experiments for basin conditions with wick materials.

S. no Basin conditions with wick materials used in the Dates of the

solar still experiments

1 Polystyrene sponge wick material with flat 14 March 2014

absorber
2 Wood pulp paper wick material with flat absorber 17 March 2014
3 Water coral fleece wick material with flat absorber 20 March 2014
4 Polystyrene sponge wick material with stepped 21 March 2014
absorber
5 Wood pulp paper wick material with stepped 23 March 2014
absorber
6 Water coral fleece wick material with stepped 25 March 2014
absorber
7 Polystyrene sponge wick material with wire 26 March 2014
mesh–stepped absorber
8 Wood pulp paper wick material with wire 29 March 2014
mesh–stepped absorber
9 Water coral fleece wick material with wire 20 April 2014
Fig. 6. Variation of wind velocity with global radiation. mesh–stepped absorber

analysis. Among all wick materials, water coral fleece material (69.67%)
has high porosity.
3. Experimental setup and procedure
In this work, an inclined basin solar still has been fabricated and test-
ed at 30° inclination. To retain the water in the basin, black painted
stepped absorber plate has been used. To wet the entire surface of the
basin, different wick materials have been used. Variation of different
temperatures, production rate, and total production of the still for dif-
ferent basin conditions have been compared and studied to improve
(a)
(b) 90
Basin water temperature
80
Glass temperature
the productivity of still. Fig. 3 shows the schematic diagram of the in-
clined type solar still used in this study.
The total dimensions of the still basin were 1 × 0.75 × 0.157 m made
up of mild steel. The system consists of a flat absorber plate made up of
3 mm mild steel plate, a rectangular stepped absorber plate made up of
2 mm thick aluminium sheet, a weir absorber material made up of 1 mm
thick aluminium, 4 mm glass cover, condensate channel, distribution
pipe, and insulated water tanks with thermocol. The optimum inclina-
tion of the basin can be fixed with 30° facing south direction [13]. The
feed water is distributed using a distribution pipe with 20 holes drilled
with equal intervals on it. The water then falls through those holes onto
the black absorber plate or onto the wicks, creating a layer of water all
over the absorber plate. Solar radiation heats the water inside the still.
The water evaporates and condenses when touches the glass cover.
The condensate flows into a condensate channel and collected in a mea-
suring jar. The photograph of the complete experimental system is
shown in Fig. 4.
Multichannel K-type thermocouples with digital display was used to
find the temperatures of air–vapour mixture, glass cover, absorber
plate, inlet water, condensate water, unevaporated water and wick sur-
face. Atmospheric temperature and wind velocity were measured using
calibrated mercury type thermometer and digital type anemometer.
The global solar radiation was measured by a PV type sun metre.
The experiments were conducted at Energy Park, Centre for Energy
Studies, National Engineering College, K. R. Nagar, Kovilpatti (9°11′N,
77°52′E), Tamil Nadu, India during the months of March–April 2014.
The readings have been taken from morning 6 a.m. to next day 6 a.m.,
for every 30 minute interval. For an optimum inclination of 30°, exper-
iments were conducted for different wick materials (wood pulp paper
400
350
Hourly Productivity, ml/hr

70 Vapour temperature 300

Temperature, oC

Hourly Productivity
60
250
50
200
40
150
30
20 100
10 50
0 0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 2 4 6
Time, Hrs

Fig. 7. a. Variation of basin water temperature with productivity. b. Variation of different

temperatures with productivity for optimum condition. Fig. 8. Hourly productivity of different absorber materials and wick materials.
6 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8

Fig. 9. Cumulative productivity of inclined type solar still for different basin conditions.

wick, wicking water coral fleece fabric and polystyrene sponge) and dif-
ferent absorber plate configurations (flat absorber, stepped absorber
and wire mesh–stepped absorber). The photographic view of the differ-
ent wick materials and absorber plates used in the basin is shown in
Fig. 5.
radiation reaches the maximum at 1.30 p.m. and wind velocity is low
in morning hours and increases in evening hours. Experimental results
of the days with uniform atmospheric conditions have been considered
for analysis.

4. Results and discussions 4.2. Variation of temperature difference with productivity

4.1. Variation of wind velocity with global radiation To improve the productivity of the still, various absorber plates like
flat absorber plate, rectangular stepped absorber plate and wire mesh
Fig. 6 shows the variation of wind velocity with global radiation with were used in the still. Using wire mesh absorber material inside the
respect to local time during the experimental period. Here the solar still will enhance more heat absorption.

Fig. 10. Total productivity of the inclined type solar still for different basin conditions.
 R.S. Hansen et al. / Desalination 358 (2015) 1–8 7

Table 3
Comparison in productivity for the inclined type still at different basin conditions.

S. no Basin conditions Wick materials used in the basin

Wood pulp paper Polystyrene sponge Water coral fleece

ml/day % increase ml/day % increase ml/day % increase

1 Flat plate absorber 2500 Reference 3140 25.6 3635 45.4

2 Stepped absorber 2875 15 3550 42 3930 57.2
3 Stepped absorber & wire mesh 3230 29.2 3950 58 4280 71.2

Fig. 7a shows the variation of basin water temperature for different
basin conditions of the still with productivity. The sky was clear and
there was no freeze during the experimental days. From the figure, it
is clear that the maximum basin water temperature value of 69 °C
was obtained for wire mesh absorber with water coral fleece wick ma-
terial at 2.30 p.m. Since the basin water temperature is optimum in the
wire mesh with water coral fleece condition, it gives the maximum pro-
ductivity. Also, the minimum basin water temperature value of 48 °C
was observed for flat absorber with wood pulp paper wick material at
2.30 p.m., which in turn gives the least productivity in the still. The
dates of experiments for the basin conditions with different wick mate-
rials are mentioned in Table 2.
Fig. 7b shows the variation of different temperatures inside the still
for maximum productivity condition. Here, the vapour was observed
to have the maximum value of temperature (80 °C) inside the still at
2.30 p.m. The glass temperature and basin water temperature obtained
for maximum productivity condition were 71 °C and 69 °C respectively
at 2.30 p.m. For all other basin conditions, the productivity varies with
respect to the temperature difference inside the still.
4.3. Hourly productivity of inclined type solar still
Use of wick materials and porous materials helps in enhancing the
production. Different wick materials enhance the surface area of the
water in different proportions. Also these materials diffuse the water
into tiny particles and make the water more susceptible for evaporation.
In this experimentation, the various wick materials like polystyrene
sponge, water coral fleece and wood pulp paper have been used to
check for the maximum productivity.
Fig. 8 shows the variations in hourly production rate for different
wick materials on different absorber plate configurations in the inclined
type still. The flat absorber plate is the basic material for the inclined
type solar still. In flat absorber, a maximum production rate of 320 ml
distilled water was achieved at 2.30 p.m., for water coral fleece wick ma-
terial. The productivity was further increased by using stepped absorber
plate, which retains the water inside the basin and reduces the mass
flow rate. In stepped absorber, a maximum production rate of 345 ml
distilled water was achieved at 2.30 p.m., for water coral fleece wick ma-
terial. The highest productivity was obtained for the wire mesh–stepped
absorber plate, since the wire mesh inside the still easily absorbs the
solar radiation and efficiently transfers the heat from the upper part of
the still to the water. In wire mesh–stepped absorber, a maximum pro-
duction rate of 360 ml distilled water was achieved at 2.30 p.m., for
water coral fleece wick material.
Among all wick materials, water coral fleece material was observed
to achieve maximum production rate at different basin conditions due
to its higher porous wicking character. Polystyrene sponge wick materi-
al was observed to yield the next higher distillate output, whereas wood
pulp paper wick material yields the least output in the still.
Fig. 9 shows the cumulative productivity of all wick materials with
different basin conditions. From the figure it is clear that, the maximum
productivity was achieved in wire mesh–stepped absorber with water
coral fleece wick material. Here, the least productivity was achieved in
flat absorber with wood pulp paper wick material.
4.4. Overall productivity of inclined type solar still for different basin
conditions
In the inclined type solar still, the provision of wick with wire mesh
absorber will help to increase the productivity. Due to its capillary effect,
maximum distillate was obtained in the still. Fig. 10 shows the total pro-
ductivity for various basin conditions. Here, the production rate was in-
creased by 45.4%, 57.2% and 71.2%, when water coral fleece wick
material was used on the flat, stepped and wire–mesh absorber plates
respectively.
Compared to all wick materials and absorbers, water coral fleece
with wire mesh–stepped absorber brings the maximum distillate out-
put, 4.28 l/day. For flat and stepped absorbers, the productivity was
3.63 l/day and 3.93 l/day respectively. Table 3 summarizes the overall
outcome of this investigation.
5. Conclusion
In this work, a wicking characteristic study was made on different
wick materials. Based on this study, water coral fleece material with po-
rosity (69.67%), was found to be the best wick material. Also, the perfor-
mance of an inclined type solar still was experimentally investigated
with various wick materials (polystyrene sponge, water coral fleece
and wood pulp paper) on different absorber plates (flat absorber, rect-
angular stepped absorber and wire mesh absorber). A comparative
study was made for different basin conditions used in the still. The result
indicates that the total production rate was increased by 71.2% and
48.9%, when water coral fleece with stepped wire mesh absorber was
used instead of flat absorber and stepped absorber respectively.
Nomenclature
Vp pore volume (m3)
Vb bulk volume (m3)
Ø porosity (%)
l length of materials (m)
B breadth of materials (m)
t thickness of materials (m)
Wwtr weight of water in pore space (kg)
ρwtr density of water (kg/m3)
Wsat saturated weight (kg)
Wdry dry weight (kg)
q heat transfer rate of solar radiation (W/m2)
ΔT temperature difference between wick absorber and glass
cover (°C)
h heat transfer co-efficient (W/m2 °C)
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