Abstract
The performance of the rotating wick solar still is investigated under different operating and designable conditions. A black jute cloth belt is rotated vertically and horizontally inside the distiller. The wick belt is rotated under constant ON time of 5 min and different OFF times (zero, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min). A DC motor (6 W) powered by a small photovoltaic (PV) system is used to rotate the belt. Besides, the effect of using nanofluid on the performance of the rotating wick still is also studied. Results showed that the best performance of the rotating wick still is obtained at 30 min OFF time either with or without nanofluid. In addition, the total accumulated productivity of the rotating wick solar still was greater than that of the conventional distiller by 315 and 300% with and without nanofluid, respectively. The efficiency of the rotating wick distiller is 84 and 82% under 30 min OFF time with and without nanofluid, respectively. The costs of one distillate liter for conventional and rotating wick solar stills without nanofluid are 0.05 and 0.027$, respectively.