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Amanullah Fatehmulla

Professor

Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy,

Sciences
Building 4, 2nd Floor, Office 2A 56,
publication
Journal Article
2025

Investigation on performance enhancement of a novel solar still using metallic fins: an experimental and 5E analysis

The world has a global issue in effectively utilizing and preserving fresh water owing to the significant rise in population and industrialization. Numerous strategies have been developed and put into practice to meet the world’s water needs by converting brackish water into fresh water by utilizing solar energy. To enrich the freshwater production rate, rectangular copper fins (as an extended surface) are fixed to the powder-coated copper basin of a novel fabricated twin-triangle-shaped solar still. The performance of a modified triangular solar still (MTSS) with fins was tested and compared against a conventional triangular solar still without fins in the hot region of Sathyamangalam location, Tamil Nadu, India. Energetic and exergetic aspects were applied to analyse the system's performance at various local ambient conditions. The acquired findings showed that fin implementation has a significant improvement of fresh water daily productivity by up to 5.51 kg/m2, which means an enhancement percentage of 24%. Further, the thermal and exergy efficiency of the MTSS varies in the ranges of 27.52–39.07% and 3.02–4.17%, respectively. On the other hand, the expenditure analysis played a vital role in measuring the economic feasibility of the proposed MTSS. Thus, the cost per litre of potable water, in the case of MTSS, has reduced to 0.019 $/l, where it is still high (i.e. 0.022 $/l) for unmodified one. Moreover, with better results, the payback period factor was lessened by 17.1%. Regarding the enviro-economic and exergy-economic estimates, MTSS had a lifetime carbon dioxide reduction of 16.34 tonnes and a $237 lifetime environmental and economic mitigation cost. Further, to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals and lowering carbon emissions, the study suggests employing fins in solar stills in hot regions for successful and economical water desalination applications. 

Volume Number
27
Issue Number
11
Magazine \ Newspaper
Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy
Pages
6167-6192
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ZnTe thin films of varying thicknesses (3000-6000 Å) were successfully prepared on glass substrates using the high vacuum evaporation (HVE) technique. Chlorine doping was performed by immersing…

by Fatehmulla, Amanullah, Mashael A. Alghamdi, and Abdullah A. Albassam
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