Improvement of basin type solar still performance: Use of various absorber materials and solar collector integration

Experimental measurements to determine conditions necessary for efficient solar desalination are given. The effects on performance of using various different absorber materials together with the integration of flat-plate collectors with storage systems in basin type solar stills are investigated. Correlations between daily yield (Y, in litres) and solar insolation (I, in MJ/m(2)day) are found to be, Y = 0.152I - 0.706 (for black-paint absorbers), Y = 0.180I - 0.987 (for charcoal absorbers), Y = 0.225I - 0.467 (for integrated solar collector and storage system, with black-paint absorbers). The calculated daily-average monthly yields for each case are also given.