Environmental Science and Pollution Research

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14080-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Energy and exergy efficiency analysis of solar still incorporated

with copper plate and phosphate pellets as energy storage material
Arani Rajendra Prasad 1 & Mohammed El Hadi Attia 2 & Wael Al-Kouz 3 & Asif Afzal 4 & Muthu Manokar Athikesavan 5 &
Ravishankar Sathyamurthy 6

Received: 18 February 2021 / Accepted: 20 April 2021

# The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021, corrected publication 2021

Abstract
In this work, a new attempt was made to study the behavior of the conventional solar still (CSS) by adding a black-painted copper
plate and phosphate pellets. Therefore, the performance of the three solar stills has been studied and compared. The first is the
CSS, and the second is the modified solar still (MSS). The MSS performance was tested using black-coated copper plate
(measuring 49 × 49 cm and 0.2 cm thick) with and without phosphate pellets and compared to the CSS in the similar climatic
conditions. The results showed that the combination of black coated copper plate and the inclusion of phosphate pellets improved
the evaporation rate and daily productivity. During the experiments, yields using black coated copper plate without and with
phosphate pellets were 14.96% and 29.53% greater than the CSS. The effectiveness of the CSS, MSS with copper metal plate
(MSS-CP), and MSS with copper metal plate with phosphate pellets (MSS-CP and PP) are around 30.23, 35.3, and 41.44%,
respectively.

Keywords Solar still: Desalination . Copper metal plate . Phosphate pellets . Distilled water . Energy . Exergy

Introduction

Water is the basic element in life. A universe without water

The original online version of this article was revised: The correct does not have life. Although water covers three-fourths of
Country of affiliation 1 is India.
the Earth’s area, just 2.5% of clean water is available and
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues the rest of water is not fit for drinking due to its salinity and
contamination (Essa et al. 2020a, b, Abdullah et al. 2019).
* Muthu Manokar Athikesavan Therefore, water treatment has become an essential thing,
a.muthumanokar@gmail.com
and it can be done by solar still distillation (Essa et al.
2021, Rashidi and Esfahani 2018). One of the approaches
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Sairam Engineering that have been used to desalinate non-potable water is re-
College, Chennai 600044, India verse osmosis, but it takes a lot of energy. Therefore, solar
2
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of El Oued, energy–based water desalination is the most effective and
39000 El Oued, Algeria cost-effective solution One of the most effective water de-
3
Mechanical and Maintenance Engineering Department, German salination methods is the exploitation of solar energy,
Jordanian University, 11180 Amman, Jordan which contributes greatly to solve the trouble of drinking
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, P. A. College of water scarcity (Rashidi et al. 2018a, b). Okeke et al. (1990)
Engineering (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University reported the impact of different materials (charcoal fine
Belagavi), Mangaluru 574153, India
5
particles and charcoal pieces) on the CSS output.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Abdur Rahman According to the results, charcoal fine particles and
Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil
Nadu 600 048, India charcoal pieces had a better output as compared to the
6 CSS. Rajvanshi (1981) published the outcome of various
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of
Engineering and Technology, Arasur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, dyes on the CSS and reported that when compared to red
India carmoisine and dark green dyes, the researchers discovered

that black napthylamine had a higher rate of production
Sodha et al. (1980) also published the effect of various
dyes (red, violet, and black) in CSS output and reported
that black and violet dyes are found to be most suitable than
the red dye. Akash et al. (1998) published the effect of black
ink, black rubber matt, and black dyes in CSS and found that
black dyes are found to be most effective than others. El-
Sebaii et al. (2000) reported the effect of mica, copper,
aluminum, and stainless steel plates in CSS and reported that
the mica plates are found to be most suitable to improve the
CSS performance. Nafey et al. (2001) placed black rubber and
black gravel in the CSS, and results reported that use of black
rubber (1-cm thickness) and black gravel (2–3 cm size) en-
hanced the output as compared to the CSS. In a solar still,
Murugavel and Srithar (2011) used aluminum rectangular fins
wrapped in cotton and jute fabric. The outcome showed that
daily accumulation when using aluminum rectangular fins
covered with cotton cloth was higher than aluminum
rectangular fins covered with jute cloth. Srivastava and
Agrawal (2013) reported the porous absorbers (prepared by
blacked jute cloth) in CSS. The authors concluded that the
output was improved by approximately 68% using this meth-
od compared to the CSS. Shanmugan (2013) used different
storage materials in CSS. Arjunan et al. (2014) tested the
efficiency of the CSS with various energy storage materials
(paraffin wax, blue metal stones, black granite gravels, and
pebbles). According to the writers, black granite gravels pro-
vided a higher yield than other materials and had a 10.06%
higher performance than the CSS. Dumka et al. (2019) used
sand-filled cotton bags in CSS, and it was reported that CSS
with sand-filled cotton bags improved the yield by about
28.56% with 30 kg of salt water and 31% with 40 kg of salt
water. Parsa et al. (2019) and Parsa et al. (2020a) reported the
outcome of the CSS installation height on the yield of solar
still. Parsa et al. (2020b) have done the comparative investi-
gation on active and CSS in Tochal and Tehran. Parsa et al.
(Parsa et al. 2020c) used nanofluids to boost the CSS efficien-
cy. Rashidi et al. (2016) and Rashidi et al. (2017) have done
the partitioning of the CSS. Nanofluids/particles were used for
yield improvement of the CSS (Rahbar et al. 2017; Rashidi
et al. 2018c, d; Rashidi et al. 2019; Rashidi et al. 2020)
Many researchers have used different materials to fabricat-
ed the solar still experimental set-up including plastic
(Phadatare and Verma 2007, Bhardwaj et al. 2016), fiber-
reinforced plastic (FRP) (Yadav and Tiwari 1989, Tiwari
and Somwanshi 2018), glass (Elango and Murugavel 2015,
Nasri et al. 2019), acrylic (Manokar and Winston 2017a, b,
Manokar et al. 2020, Shmroukh and Ookawara 2020), copper
(Abujazar et al. 2017), zinc (Khechekhouche et al. 2021), and
PV panel (Manokar et al. 2019; Manokar 2020; Sasikumar
et al. 2020; Thalib et al. 2021; Taamneh et al. 2020).
Researchers used novel and low-cost materials in the solar still
to enhance the evening time yield enhancement. The sensible
Environ Sci Pollut Res
heat storage materials such as metallic wiry sponges
(Abdallah et al. 2009), bricks (Kabeel et al. 2019;
Murugavel et al. 2010), composite energy storage material
(Kabeel et al. 2021, Elashmawy and Ahmed 2021), quartzite
rock (Nagaraj et al. 2021), Kanchey marbles (Saravanan et al.
2020), pumice stones (Bilal et al. 2019), sand (Madhu et al.
2018, Khechekhouche et al. 2020), fins (Rabhi et al. 2017,
Alaian et al. 2016, El-Sebaii et al. 2015, El-Sebaii and El-
Naggar 2017), waste as a source of energy storage
(Balachandran et al. 2020a, b), paraffin wax (Khalilmoghadam
et al. 2021, Dawood et al. 2020, Mousa et al. 2019), nano doped
paraffin wax (Chamkha et al. 2020; Kabeel et al. 2020; Thalib
et al. 2020; Abdullah et al. 2020), and nano coated basin
(Sathyamurthy et al. 2020, Thakur et al. 2021a, b, Arani et al.
2021) have been reported in the literature.
The aim of this research is to use copper plates and phos-
phate pellets to increase the yield of solar distillation. The
bottom of the distillation basin fitted with a metal plate of
copper (dimension 49.5 × 49.5 cm and the thickness 0.2
cm). The presence of the copper metal plate under the sink
enhances the heat storage capacity, because it has good ther-
mal conductivity, making it a good energy storage material.
The first distiller is a CSS, the second is the modified solar still
with the copper metal plate basin (MSS-CP), and the third is
the modified solar still using copper metal plate basin with
phosphate pellets (MSS-CP and PP) as energy storage mate-
rials. In August 2020, these experiments were carried out in
the Algerian city of El Oued.
Experimental setup
Figure 1 illustrates the two-dimensional drawing of a CSS
used in the present experiments. It features a square base
with a dimension of 500 mm. The 3-mm-thick glass was
inclined at an angle of 10° from the horizon. About 25 cm
of thickness of wood was used to manufacture the still
side walls. In addition, a PVC pipe was attached to accu-
mulate the distilled water that flows over the surface of
the glass. Phosphates are found in natural rocks, and it
can be easily converted into dark grey pellets, and it can
be used for energy storage materials. In this experiment,
300 g/m2 of phosphate pellets with dimensions of 1.5–
2 mm has been used. Phosphate pellets are taken from
the Algerian phosphate rocks (Jasinski 2012; Syers et al.
1986). Table 1 shows the properties of the copper plate
and phosphate pellets.
Experimental procedure
Research was conducted at the Faculty of Sciences, El Oued
University, Algeria (latitude 33° 30′ N and longitude 06° 47′
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Fig. 1 Schematic of solar distillers
E), for 3 days from morning to evening (12 h) during August
2020. Schematic and photo of the experimental set-up are
shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. The performances of
the solar sills are experimentally studied under three cases:
CSS, modified still with the copper metal plate, and modified
still with the copper metal plate and 300 g/m2 phosphate pel-
lets. The performance of the MSS with water depth of 1 cm
was studied and compared with the CSS, which has a constant
water depth of 1 cm. Copper plate has a length of 49.5 cm and
thick of 0.2 cm and phosphate pellets with dimensions of 1.5–
2 mm.
System performance evaluation needs to measure sev-
eral parameters during experiments. These parameters are
solar radiation, volume of distilled water obtained, and
temperatures of brine inside the basin, outer and inner
glass cover, and air. Thermocouples were used to measure
all temperatures, a solar energy meter was used to mea-
sure insolation every hour on the same level from fixed
glass lids, and a beaker was used to measure output per
hour. Table 2 shows the error values for the measuring
devices.
Table 1 Properties of copper metal plate and phosphate pellets
Properties Copper
Melting point (K) 1356.6
Thermal conductivity W/(m·K) 401
Specific heat capacity (J/g K) 0.385
Density (kg/m3) 8940
Dimensions - 1.5–2 mm
Results and discussion
Variations of solar intensity (I(t)), ambient (Ta), salty
water (Tw), and glass (Tg) temperatures
The variations of I(t), Ta, Tw, and Tg, for the CSS, MSS-CP,
and MSS-CP and PP are shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5,. Graph 5
elucidated that the I(t) increases in the sunrise period; maxi-
mum I(t) of 1008 W/m2 at 12 p.m. is recorded on 10-8-2020.
Moreover, Ta increases in the sunrise period with a maximum
of 42 °C at 2 p.m. on the same date. It can be seen from the
figures that the variations of Ta, Tw, and Tg follow similar
trends of I(t). This can be attributed to the fact that the solar
intensity is the main cause of such variations. The mean value
of I(t) and Ta are 624.38 W/m2, and 41 °C, respectively.
Figure 4 depicts that the maximum Tw of the CSS is 72 °C
at 1 p.m., MSS-CP is 75 °C at 1 p.m., and MSS-CP and PP is
79 °C at 1 p.m.. Furthermore, the maximum Tw of the MSS-
CP and MSS-CP and PP is 3 and 7 °C greater than the CSS.
Additionally, it is found that the daily average Tw of the CSS is
56.69 °C, MSS-CP is 58.77 °C, and MSS-CP and PP is 60.31
°C. Based on these values, the daily average Tw of the MSS-
CP and PP and MSS-CP is 3.66% and 6.38% higher than the
CSS. In addition, it is found that the daily average Tw of the
MSS-CP and PP is 2.62% higher than the MSS-CP. Due to
Phosphate higher thermal conductivity materials in the MSS-CP and
1670 °C
MSS-CP and PP, maximum and daily average Tw are higher
than those found for the CSS.
0.236
Figure 5 shows that the maximum recorded Tg of 55, 56,
0.77
and 56 °C for the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP, re-
1740
spectively. The average values of Tg are 44.69, 45.77, and
46.46°C for the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP,
 Environ Sci Pollut Res

Fig. 2 Solar distillers

correspondingly. The copper plate used in the MSS-CP and was augmented by about 17.13% when utilizing MSS-CP
MSS-CP and PP were used to improve the Tw during the and PP when compared to MSS-CP. In the MSS-CP and PP,
evening time. So the incorporation of copper plate and phos- due to the material properties, it stores the heat energy in the
phate pellets is to store heat energy and to improve the Tw by plate surface and in the PP, and it reduces the heat losses from
adding heat energy to the basin water. the basin to the atmosphere so potable water production from
the MSS-CP and PP is greater than the CSS and MSS-CP.
Variation of evaporative heat transfer coefficient
(EHTC) and hourly potable water production Variation of thermal and exergy efficiency
Figures 6 and 7 depict the variations of EHTC and output from
The time-wise differences of thermal and exergy efficiency of
the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP. The maximum cal-
the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP are shown in Figs. 8
culated EHTC of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP are
and 9. The thermal efficiency of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-
39.93, 45.22, and 53.03 W/m2K, respectively. The daily av-
CP and PP are increasing during the sunrise period and
erage EHTC of 22.29, 24.6, and 26.8 W/m2K is calculated for
reached a peak at 1 or 2 p.m. and then it decreases up to 3 or
the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP, respectively. The
4 p.m., and again, it starts to increase. The thermal efficiency
daily mean EHTC of the MSS-CP and PP is higher than the
of the CSS starts with 2.84% at 7 a.m., having an increasing
CSS, MSS-CP due to the higher thermal conductivity copper
trend and reached 42.57% at 2 p.m., and then, it has a decreas-
plate and the energy stored in the phosphate pellets. The daily
ing trend up to 4 p.m. (33.2%), and after 4 p.m., it was in-
average EHTC value of the MSS-CP and MSS-CP and PP is
creasing and reached maximum efficiency of 66.8% on 7
10.37% and 20.22% higher than the daily average EHTC of
p.m.. Also, thermal efficiency of the MSS-CP starts at
the CSS. Furthermore, the average daily EHTC value of the
4.49% at 7 a.m., having an increasing trend and reached
MSS-CP and PP is 8.92% higher than the MSS-CP. In MSS-
48.61% at 1 p.m., and then, it has a decreasing trend up to 3
CP and PP, the copper plate along with the phosphate pellets
p.m. (37.98%), and after 3 p.m., it was increased and reached
augments the Tw and so it has higher hourly and daily EHTC
maximum efficiency of 73.54% at 7 p.m.. Similarly, the ther-
than the CSS and MSS-CP.
mal efficiency of the MSS-CP and PP starts at 2.99% at 7 a.m.,
Figure 7 elucidates that yield production from the CSS,
having an increasing trend and reached 69% at 1 p.m., and
MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP increases for the duration of
then, it has a decreasing trend up to 3 p.m. (43.93%), and after
the morning period and decreases for the duration of evening
3 p.m., it was increased and reached maximum efficiency of
periods. The highest potable water of 0.6, 0.76, and 1.08 kg
were produced from the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP,
respectively. The daily output from the CSS is 3.58 kg, from
the MSS-CP is 4.21 kg, and from the MSS-CP and PP is 5.08
kg. When using the copper plate in the MSS-CP, potable
water production was augmented by about 14.96% when
compared to the CSS. Moreover, potable water production

Table 2 Standard uncertainties

Apparatus Accuracy Range Standard uncertainty

Solar meter ± 10 W/m2 0–1999 W/m2 5.70 W/m2

Thermocouple ± 0.1 °C −100–500 °C 0.07 °C
Beaker ± 1 ml 0–250 ml 0.6 ml
Fig. 3 Time-wise variation of I(t) and Ta
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Fig. 4 Time-wise variation of Tw for the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP
and PP
82.72% at 7 p.m. The average daily recorded energy efficien-
cy of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP is 30.23, 35.3,
and 41.44%. The energy efficiency of the MSS-CP and PP is
37.08 and 16.78% higher than CSS and MSS-CP, respective-
ly. The presence of the copper plate and the phosphate pellets
in the MSS-CP and PP enhances the water temperature,
EHTC, and potable water production, and hence, it produced
higher thermal effectiveness than the CSS and MSS-CP.
The exergy effectiveness of the CSS, MSS-CP, and
MSS-CP and PP is increasing during the sunrise period
and reached a peak at 1 p.m., and then, it decreases up to
4 p.m., and again, it starts increasing. The exergy effec-
tiveness of the CSS starts at 0.01% at 7 a.m., having an
increasing trend and reached 3.12% at 1 p.m., and then, it
has a decrease trend up to 4 p.m. (1.92%), and after 4
p.m., it was increased and reached maximum exergy effi-
ciency of 2.85% at 7 p.m. Moreover, exergy efficiency of
Fig. 5 Variation of Tg for the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP
Fig. 6 Variations of EHTC from the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP
the MSS-CP starts with 0.05% at 7 a.m., having increas-
ing trend and reached 4.36% at 1 p.m., and then, it has a
decreasing trend up to 4 p.m. (2.5%), and after 4 p.m., it
was increasing and reached an efficiency of 4.09% at 7
p.m. Similarly, the exergy effectiveness of the MSS-CP
and PP starts with 0.02% at 7 a.m., having an increasing
trend and reached 6.96% at 1 p.m., and then, it has a
decreasing trend up to 4 p.m. (3.2%), and after 4 p.m.,
it was increasing and reached an efficiency of 5.67% at 7
p.m. The average daily exergy efficiency of the CSS,
MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP are 1.47, 1.88, and
2.47%, respectively. The exergy effectiveness of the
MSS-CP and PP is 68.19% and 28.02% higher than
CSS and MSS-CP, respectively. The exergy effectiveness
of the stills is maximum in the case of MSS-CP and PP
because exergy effectiveness is proportional to the output
and available I(t). For the duration of the evening time,
Fig. 7 Time-wise variation of the hourly output produced from the CSS,
MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP
 Environ Sci Pollut Res

Table 3 Comparison of the cumulative yield of previous published

work and the present experimental work

Authors and reference Types of solar still Productivity

(kg/m2/day)

Khechekhouche et al. (2021) Zinc solar still 3.894

Cappelletti (2002) Plastic solar still 1.8
Tiwari and selim (1984) FRP solar still 4.5
Rajaseenivasan et al. (2016) Glass solar still 3.61
Muthu and Winston (2017a) Acrylic solar still 2.64
Abujazar et al. (2018) Copper solar still 4.383
Present experimental work CSS 3.58
CSS With CP 4.21
CSS With CP and PP 5.08
Fig. 8 Variation of energy efficiency of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP
and PP

the difference between Tw and Tg is higher, so at the time Economic evaluation

of evening, it is higher as compared to the morning.
Comparison of similar studies
Table 3 summarizes the comparison of present results with the
cumulative daily output of works using different basin mate-
rials. It was observed that the yield of the CSS with copper
metal plate increased by 14.96% compared to the CSS and
output increased by 29.53% when using the copper metal
plate with phosphate pellets. Thus, the copper metal plates
greatly augment the yield. From Table 4, the output of solar
distillation made by plastic (Cappelletti 2002) produced a
minimum yield (1.8 kg/m2/day) and solar still made by copper
(Abujazar et al. 2018) is produced a maximum yield (4383 kg/
m2/day). The present study produced highest yields of 4.21
and 5.08 kg/m2/day using copper plate without and with phos-
phate pellets, respectively.
Table 4 shows the fabrication cost of the CSS, MSS-CP, and
MSS-CP and PP. From these results, it becomes clear that the
daily production price of water is equal to 218.4, 307.2, and
378 DZD for the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP,
respectively.
Conclusions
Modification of the solar still was made by the addition of
metal plates of copper without and with phosphate pellets. A
comparison was made between copper metal plates without
and with phosphate pellets (300 g/m2). The following conclu-
sions are obtained:
& Copper metal plates enhance the efficiency of solar still as
a result of its high thermal conductivity.

Table 4 Fabrication cost of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS-CP and PP

(1$=128.30 DZD, 1€=151.94 DZD)

CSS MSS- MSS-CP and

CP PP

Total cost of manufacture (DZD) 8000 8000 8000

The price of metal plate - 200 200
The price of phosphate pellets (300 - - 20
g)
Maintenance cost (DZD) 50 50 50
Total cost (DZD) 8050 8250 8270
The water output (kg/m2/day) 3.58 4.21 5.08
The cost per liter of distilled water 60 60 60
on the market (DZD)
The price of daily production (DZD) 214.8 252.6 304.8
Fig. 9 Variation of exergy effectiveness of the CSS, MSS-CP, and MSS- Recovery period (days) 37 33 27
CP and PP
Environ Sci Pollut Res

& Adding phosphate pellets as a thermal storage material to The hourly exergy output and input of the CSS, MSS-CP,
copper metal plate is much better than using copper metal and MSS-CP and PP is estimated as follows:
plates alone.  
& me Ta
The production of the distilled water is equal to 3.58 kg/ E out ¼ Eevaporation ¼  Aw  hfg  1− ð7Þ
m2, by the conventional solar still. 3600 Tw
"     #
& By using the metal plate copper, the production of the 4 Ta 1 Ta 4
distilled water is equal to 4.21 kg/m2. E in ¼ E sun ¼ Aw  I ðt Þ  1− þ ð8Þ
3 T sun 3 T sun
& By using the metal plate copper and phosphate pellets, the
production of the distilled water is equal to 5.08 kg/m2. Nomenclature CSS, conventional solar still; MSS-CP, modified solar
& The daily output of the CSS was enhanced by 14.96% and still with a copper metal plate; MSS-CP and PP, modified solar still with a
29.53% by using metal plate copper without and with copper metal plate and phosphate pellets; I(t), solar intensity (W/m2); Ta,
phosphate pellets, respectively. air temperature (°C); Tw, salty water temperature (°C); Tg, glass temper-
ature (°C); Pw, partial vapor pressure of water (N/m2); Pg, partial vapor
pressure of glass (N/m2); h, heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)
The solar still manufactures with copper metal plates great-
ly augment the output of the solar distillation and augment the Subscript a, ambient; d, daily; e, evaporation; g, glass; s, Sun; w, water
efficiency. Therefore, copper metal plates and phosphate pel-
Author contribution Arani Rajendra Prasad—Investigation, Project ad-
lets are good energy storage materials and are suggested in
ministration, Writing
such applications. In addition, combining copper sheets and Mohammed El Hadi Attia—Project administration, Writing—review
phosphate pellets is a simple, convenient, and effective way to and editing
enhance solar distillate productions. Wael Al-Kouz—Writing, Formal analysis
Asif Afzal—Review and editing
Athikesavan Muthu Manokar—Review and editing
Ravishankar Sathyamurthy—Data curation, Software, review and
editing
Appendix (Manokar et al. 2018)
Data Availability All data are given in the manuscript.
The EHTC from Tw to Tg is calculated by

 Declarations
−3 Pw −Pg
he;w−g ¼ 16:273  10  hc;w−g ð1Þ
T w −T g Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable

Convective HTC from Tw to Tg is given by Consent for publication Not applicable

(   )1 =
  Pw −Pg ðT w þ 273:15Þ 3 Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests.
hc ¼ 0:884 T w −T g þ   ð2Þ
268:9  10−3 −Pw

Partial vapor pressure at the Tw and Tg is given by

  
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