Factors affecting the performance of a solar still and productivity enhancement methods: A review

Good-quality drinking water is an essential requirement for a healthy and sustainable future. In the current scenario, people living in remote areas of the world are deficient of potable water, especially in developing nations. Desalination technologies available today are energy intensive and aggravate carbon emissions as most energy requirements are fulfilled by using fossil fuels. Solar still is a simple and direct solar desalination device used for water distillation. The major problem associated with a solar still is its low productivity. The main aim of this review paper is to discuss various modifications in a solar still which resulted in productivity enhancement. Different parameters affecting a passive solar still performance and their optimum values for maximum productivity are also thoroughly analysed in this paper. Water depth is an important operating parameter that influences still productivity, and various results showed that maximum productivity is achieved mostly at minimum water depths.