Experimental investigation on the performance of solar still augmented with pin-finned wick

•Performance of solar still with pin finned wick is investigated.•Experiments are carried out at different weather conditions.•Enhancement of system productivity up to 23% could be reached.•System productivity is affected by weather fluctuation.

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance of solar still augmented with pin-finned wick evaporation surface. The experimental system involves two identical solar stills, one of the stills is conventional and the other has an evaporation pin-finned wick surface. The fins are supported vertically on the basin of the still using steel wires. Outdoor experimental tests are conducted to investigate the effect of using pin-finned wick on the still productivity. Tests are carried out at wide range of ambient temperatures and solar radiation. Temperatures at different locations (glass surface, water in the still, wick surface and air–vapor mixture) as well as ambient temperature are recorded with time. Solar radiation as well as collected distillate are recorded during the experiments at different operating days. Experimental measurements indicate that the increase in distillate varies with ambient conditions. Enhancing the still productivity is proved when pin-finned wick is applied in the still. System efficiency of about 55% is recorded when pin-finned wick is used. An enhancement in the still productivity of more than 23% is recorded during this set of experiments.