SOLAR-STILL WATER PRODUCTION UNDER MALAYSIAN CONDITIONS

In many parts of the world, fresh water is unavailable to people. The worldwide rapid growth in industry has greatly increased the demand for fresh water. Early advancements in providing such solutions have come up with desalination plants to convert sea water into drinking water through distillation system. However, the operational and maintenance costs are high and energy demanding which is a practical option only in rich countries. Solar distillation is an expanding alternative to desalination, that is distilling water using solar energy. Solar distillation is environmentally safe and uses solar radiation to evaporate saline water into potable water. This project aims to discuss solar-still water production under Malaysian conditions in terms of ambient temperature, solar radiation and wind effects. The first method involved using three solar still basins - with black paint, sand layer, and conventional to compare solar capture with water production. The second method emphasizes on increasing the effects of evaporation by using a Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) connected to a solar still basin. The present investigation showed the black paint basin has productivity up to 2.36 kg/m2/d which is 70% more than conventional stainless steel basin. PTC system produced up to 439 ml/m2/d with much areas to improve on. It is projected that the finding of this research can widen the research field of solar distillation especially in areas where fresh water is scarce.