Solar still with latent heat energy storage: A review

- Thermal energy storage can enhance the productivity of solar stills.
- Phase change materials have very high energy storage density.
- Passive and active type of solar still with latent heat storage are very high potential in industrial applications.

The requirement of fresh water is growing exponentially in industrial as well as domestic sector, resulting in more pollution of natural water resources and creating a scarcity of drinking water. Additionally, the number of arid and desert regions on the world map which already face the shortage of rainfalls and ground water. The problem is substantially increased as most of the water bodies like rivers, lakes are saline and brackish which are not suitable for drinking purpose. In recent past, solar desalination has been found to be a sustainable and economical way of generating the fresh water to cater the need of drinking water at large. Much technological advancement in the field of solar stills has been made which can ably produce a large quantity of fresh water depending on the availability of solar radiation. Various desalination schemes have been utilized to utilise water from such available resources to convert the available water in to the drinkable water. Additionally, attention has also been put on developing efficient solar still with latent heat based thermal energy storage systems which can work in the absence of sunlight as well. In the present paper, a short review on solar stills utilizing latent heat storage has been presented. The present study covers the design specifications, efficiency, along with the comparative analysis of solar stills with latent heat storage system, investigated in the last decade. A discussion on the future research outlook in the area of solar stills with latent heat storage has also been given, so as to make it more economically viable for generating sustainable potable water.