Performance study on single basin single slope solar still with different water nanofluids

•Water nanofluids of Al2O3, ZnO, Fe2O3 and SnO2 were prepared and characterized.•Performance of the stills with water and these nanofluids was studied.•Still with nanofluids has higher production.•The still with Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) nanofluid has 29.95% higher production.

This paper compares the performance of single basin single slope solar still with and without water nanofluid. Water nanofluids of Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3), Zinc Oxide (ZnO), Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) and Tin Oxide (SnO2) of different concentrations were characterized for thermal and physical properties and suitable nanofluids were selected for performance testing in solar still. Two experimental stills of the same basin area have been fabricated and tested with water and different nanofluids simultaneously. The still with Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) nanofluid has 29.95% higher production and the still with Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Tin Oxide (SnO2) nanofluids has 12.67% and 18.63% more production respectively than the still with water.