Enhancing the stepped solar still performance using internal and external reflectors

• Stepped solar still with internal and external reflectors have been investigated.
• The productivity of the modified stepped solar still is higher than conventional by 103%.
• The productivity of stepped still with external mirror is higher than that for conventional still by 88%.

The performance of stepped solar still with internal and external reflectors have been investigated in the current study. The reflectors are used to enhance energy input to the stepped still. The influence of internal and external (top and bottom) reflectors on the performance of the stepped solar still is investigated. A comparison between modified stepped solar still and conventional solar still is carried out to evaluate the developed desalination system performance under the same climate conditions. The results indicated that, during experimentation the productivity of the modified stepped solar still with internal and external (top and bottom) reflectors is higher than that for conventional still approximately by 125%. In this case the estimated cost of 1 l of distillate for stepped still with reflectors and conventional solar stills is approximately 0.031$ and 0.049$, respectively.