Performance enhancement of solar still desalination using sound agitation and condensation: A comparative study

This research work focuses on the assessment of the CSS and the newly developed Sound Agitation with Condenser Solar Still (SACSS) for water desalination. Field studies were carried out in Coimbatore city in the southern part of India in the month of March 2024. The SACSS incorporated a 40 W speaker for water agitation at 110 Hz, a fan and a condenser unit. The values of the solar radiation, temperature distributions, heat transfer coefficients, energy fractions, yield, efficiency, and cost per liter were recorded and evaluated. Findings show that the SACSS performs much better than the CSS. The SACSS reached a maximum water temperature of 66 °C, a maximum yield of 0.38 kg/m²·h, a peak efficiency of 82 %, and a cost per liter of 1.16 Rs/L, compared to 64 °C, 0.26 kg/m²·h, 62 %, and 1.44 Rs/L for the CSS. The changes in SACSS enhanced thermal control and distillation effectiveness, particularly during high solar intensity.