Impact of jute covered hemispherical cups on the performance augmentation of a single slope solar still; An experimental investigation

In this article, an experimental endeavour has been reported to enhance the performance of single slope solar still by placing jute-covered hemispherical plastic cups in the water. The logic behind the augmentation is that the jute causes capillary action, due to which a thin film of water forms on the surface of the jute. The plastic cups will act as heat insulation, which will try to block the heat from going to the basin water, hence resulting in heat localization and quick evaporation of thin water film. It has been observed that this adaptation has increased overall distillate output of the single slope solar still by 36.2%. The modified still performs best till 14:00 h due to high solar insolation. In the afternoon hours, the reduction of solar radiation adversely impacts its performance in comparison to the conventional single slope solar still. The overall cost of the distillate due to the augmentation of the jute-covered hemispherical plastic cups has been reduced by 24.34% in comparison to the conventional solar still.