The objective of this investigation is to study the influence of application of phase
change material (PCM) in solar basin stills for improving its productivity.
The experimental results of this investigation showed that using phase change
materia
l (paraffin wax) in solar basin still improved its daily productivity, which increased
with increasing the mass of phase change material. The highest increase ratio of daily
productivity was 26.3[%] when using 3.5[kg] of phase change material in plastic case, and
it was 34.74[%] when using 4.5[kg] of phase change material (PCM) in metal case.
Also the experimental results of this investigation showed an increase in the period
of working basin still provided with phase change material compared with basin still
without phase change material. This is owing to the latent heat stored in phase change
material, which is emitted to water when solar radiation decreases. This results in longer
period of work for the basin still.
