Effect of fin configuration parameters on single basin solar still performance

Fresh water productivity of single basin solar stills is very low. In this work to enhance the rate of heat transfer from the basin liner to the basin water, fins were integrated at the basin liner of the still. Experiments were performed on a finned plate solar still during June and August 2014 under Tanta (lat. 30° 47′ N, Egypt) weather conditions. For the first time, the dependence of the still efficiency and productivity on the fin configuration parameters such as the number nf, height Hf and thickness xf was studied. Furthermore, the effect of the shadow area of the fins (by changing the fin number nf) on the amount of solar radiation available for water evaporation and hence, its effect on productivity was also investigated. It was found that, the productivity of the finned plate solar still (FBLS) increases with increasing the fin height; however, it decreases with increasing the fin thickness and fin number. A daily productivity of 5.377 (kg/m2 day) was obtained when nf, Hf and xf equal 7, 0.04 m and 0.001 m, respectively.