Solar-thermal desalination system performance enhancement using recycled aluminium beverage cans-based particles

• Particles are fabricated by recycling coated and decoated aluminium beverage cans. • Outer coating chemistry differs by manufacturer and contains organic and metals. • Dispersing these particles raises fluid thermal conductivity by up to 76%. • Coated-based particles improve solar desalination performance by up to 369%. • Distilled quality compiles with international drinkable water standards. This study investigates the enhancement of solar still desalination performance through the incorporation of aluminium-based particles fabricated from recycled beverage cans. Coated and decoated cans waste were processed into particles that were used as feed in the desalination system. Subsequently, they were treated, cut, melted, casted, and milled down to nanoscale particles. As-produced particles were characterized for their morphology and elemental content. The elemental analysis revealed that the aluminium content ranged between 92.68% and 97.04%, alongside other trace elements. Afterwards, suspensions were prepared by dispersing 0.1-1.0 vol.% of these feeds in beach well water. Thermophysical property assessments indicated that the 1.0 vol.% load can increase the thermal conductivity up to 76.13% but can also increase the viscosity up to 112% over the basefluid. Critical temperatures were identified where the suspension's viscosity fell below that of the basefluid. Suspension solar absorptance and thermal effectiveness were able to reach 99.5% and 38.7% higher than the basefluid. Stability tests demonstrated initial dispersion stability, though sedimentation occurred by day 30. Outdoor solar system evaluation revealed that the dispersed particles can improve the performance by 369.1% compared to pure basefluid. Distilled quality analyses confirmed compliance with international standards, except for a 0.5 pH deviation in the water produced using the decoated feedstock. Potential risks that are associated with the current approach were highlighted along with their mitigation strategies. These findings suggest that particles derived from recycled beverage cans can significantly improve solar desalination efficiency, offering a sustainable approach to augmenting freshwater production in arid regions.