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This study presents an experimental comparison of three solar stills operating under identical weather conditions. The first still, designated as the control conventional solar still (CSS), was compared to two modified versions: one featuring plant Cladium mariscus in its green state modified solar still (MSS1) and the other with the same quantity of plant in its dry state. The primary objective was to assess how the presence of plant Cladium mariscus, available abundantly and free of cost in the region, influences the performance of the solar still. The underlying hypothesis was that such integration could enhance water production. The results of the experiments revealed notable improvement rates; with MSS1 achieving a 17.33% enhancement and MSS2 was demonstrating a remarkable 33.27% improvement. In terms of thermal efficiency, MSS1 achieved 28.25%, MSS2 reached 32.65%, while CSS recorded 25.37%. These findings offer valuable insights for the development of more effective strategies to address the challenges associated with drinking water scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the biggest issues that humanity faces is access to drinking water particularly in isolated and desert regions like southern Algeria. This region is characterized by high salinity water and high solar radiation as well; so, here, solar desalination is the most appropriate solution to obtain pure water. To contribute to solving the problem, five similar solar stills were installed in aim to increase their performance by using four different types of carbon namely: activated carbon, graphite, coal and wood charcoal which they are added separately within each absorber with the same weight 100g (i.e., 0.4167 kg carbon/m2 of absorber area). The results obtained during experiments at Ouargla University show that the various types of carbon enhance water absorption to solar irradiation. Moreover, placing carbon powder inside the fixed black cloth led to the stability of the carbon particles on the base of absorber avoiding them to float above the water, which contributed to the increase of the daily yield. Activated carbon, graphite, coal and wood charcoal improved the output by 79.39%, 57.58%, 50.30% and 18.18%, respectively relative to the baseline case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches in many laboratories on solar still desalination are concerned with increasing efficiency using only solar energy. One of the techniques is the difference in the thickness of the glass cover of the distiller. In order to see the influence of this parameter on efficiency, three similar stills with three different glass coverings were investigated. The flow of heat goes through the cover, and higher glass temperature leads to solar still productivity becoming lower. This paper presents an optimization of glass thickness ( G t ) of a conventional solar still (CSS) in El Oued climate, Algeria. Based on the experimental results, the distilled water production rate, energy, and energy efficiency of the CSS have been discussed. The results showed that the suitable G t of the CSS was 3 mm. The distilled water of around 3.15, 2.02, and 1.13 kg was produced by the CSS at energy efficiency of 30.71, 19.02, and 11.44% with the G t of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively. The daily average exergy efficiency of 2.46, 1.38, and 0.84% was calculated for the CSS at G t of 3, 5, and 6 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to drinking water in many parts of the globe is shrinking over the years and much of the water resources are polluted or unpurified. North Africa is facing a huge water shortage due to drought and climate change. Water desalination has become very popular and serves as solar distillation which is proving to be an economical, simple and ecological technique, especially in rural and remote areas. Significant efforts have been made by many researchers in various laboratories to increase and improve the productivity of solar greenhouse distillation. In the present work, emphasis has been placed on the study of a single slope solar distiller having as dimension 50 × 50 cm, in the thickness of the impure water is 1 cm. Natural sand dunes from the El Oued South region of Algeria have been tested as a factor of efficiency improvement. A layer of this sand was deposited on the bottom of the distiller covering the whole surface on which the submit water is emerged. The results show that the productivity of distilled water has unfortunately decreased by 1.46 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is the investigation of the annual performance of a solar power plant with linear Fresnel reflectors in the El-Oued region at Algeria. The solar collectors produce water steam that feeds a turbine to produce electricity. The System Advisor Model (SAM) tool is used for simulation. The mean net daily electricity production rate from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm is 48 MWe, and the respective annual production is 210,336 MWh/year. The mean daily optical efficiency of the solar field was close to 52%, while the mean thermal efficiency was about 39%. The net daily cycle efficiency is found to be 24%. The net capital cost of the examined system is $393 million, and the developer net present value is $47 million; the investor net present value is $15 million, the entire period of capital recovery is 11 years, and the levelized cost of electricity is 0.0382 $/kWh. The solar power plant leads to the yearly avoidance of 420,672 tons carbon dioxide emissions (operational cost savings of $6.1 million). Based on the obtained results, linear Fresnel reflectors can be used to achieve satisfying, energetic, financial, and environmental performance that can lead to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]