Effect of different absorbing materials on the performance of basin solar still under Libyan climate conditions

Abstract EN

This experimental study deals with a single-basin solar still using various absorbing materials with and without black painting.

Different types of absorbing materials with and without black painting were used to enhance the solar still productivity through improvement in absorptivity.

Those materials are steel and aluminum with and without black painting and rubber.

Two identical solar stills were manufactured using locally available materials.

All the results were compared together to reach the best absorbing materials with and without painting that can be used for solar still.

It was found that the rubber absorber has the highest water collection during the daytime, followed by the black painted steel absorber, then by black-painted aluminum absorber and steel without painting absorber.

The average enhancement in the daily productivity was about 50% for the rubber absorber compared with the black painted aluminum absorber and about 43% for the rubber absorber compared with the black painted steel absorber.