Influence of basin water depth in the distillate yield of traditional and developed passive single basin double slope solar still

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of basin water depth towards the cumulative distillate yield of the traditional and developed single basin double slope solar still (DSSS). Design/methodology/approach Modified single basin DSSS integrated with solar operated vacuum fan and external water cooled condenser was fabricated using aluminium material. During sunny season, experimental investigations have been performed in both conventional and modified DSSS at a basin water depth of 3, 6, 9 and 12 cm. Production rate and cumulative distillate yield obtained in traditional and developed DSSS at different water depths were compared and best water depth to attain the maximum productivity and cumulative distillate yield was found out. Findings Results indicated that both traditional and modified double SS produced maximum yield at the minimum water depth of 3 cm. Cumulative distillate yield of the developed SS was 16.39%, 18.86%, 15.22% and 17.07% higher than traditional at water depths of 3, 6, 9 and 12 cm, respectively. Cumulative distillate yield of the developed SS at 3 cm water depth was 73.17% higher than that of the traditional SS at 12 cm depth. Originality/value Performance evaluation of DSSS at various water depths by integrating the combined solar operated Vacuum fan and external Condenser.