Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676

Sun tracking system for productivity enhancement of solar still

S. Abdallaha, O.O. Badranb*

a
Applied Sciences University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Amman, Jordan
b
Al-Balqa Applied University, FET, Amman, Jordan
Tel. +962 6 5679773; email: O_badran@yahoo.com
Received 21 February 2007; accepted 25 February 2007

Abstract
A sun tracking system was deployed for enhancing the solar still productivity. A computerized sun tracking
device was used for rotating the solar still with the movement of the sun. A comparison between fixed and sun
tracked solar stills showed that the use of sun tracking increased the productivity for around 22%, due to the
increase of overall efficiency by 2%. It can be concluded that the sun tracking is more effective than fixed system
and it is capable of enhancing the productivity.
Keywords: Solar energy; Sun tracker; Solar still; Distillation; Desalination

1. Introduction environment, as other kinds of energy, like coal

Water is a basic necessity of man along with
food and air. Fresh water sources are considered
to be rivers, lakes, and underground water reser-
voirs. These sources were the only types that man
depended on for a long time. However, the use
of water from such sources is not always pos-
sible, especially because of the polluted environ-
ment (i.e. acid rain). So, search for other sources
becomes a must.
The sun is regarded as the source of energy
for its constant duration and hygienic state, and
its remarkable efficiency of not polluting the
*Corresponding author.
and the derivations of oil that cause the pollution
of atmosphere and environment. The arid zones
of the world, where insolation levels are high,
are mostly in the developing countries. From this
point, most scientists, because of the abundant
availability of sun shine that satisfies our needs
for the coming years ahead, emphasized the
importance of the solar energy. This requires from
us a detailed study to deeper our knowledge in its
different usage, especially in Jordan, which are
rich in the solar energy. The annual average
number of hours of the sun shines in Amman
reaches 9 h daily, in which the highest rate reached,
is in July, and the lowest rate is in January, the
annual rate of the number of the solar radiation

Presented at the conference on Desalination and the Environment. Sponsored by the European Desalination Society
and Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Sani Resort, Halkidiki, Greece, April 22–25, 2007.

0011-9164/08/$– See front matter © 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2007.02.047
670 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676
per annum (9 × 365 = 3285 h/year). Also the
percentage ratio of the number of solar radiation
of the same period is (83%), therefore, the annual
rate of the sunshine radiations days (365 ×
0.83 = 303 days) in the year [1]. Ten months in
the year are regarded a very high economic value
to be used in solar energy in Jordan, in which
there should be an extraordinary care in this
energy, to convert it into other shapes of energy-
thermal, mechanical and electrical [2].
In principle, solar energy can be used to sepa-
rate pure water from most of the natural contami-
nants, such as dissolved solids (salts) and particles
(dirt and algae). Solar distillation represents one
of the important applications of solar energy.
Solar distillation is most economically effective
when sunlight is allowed to pass through a trans-
parent cover and into a black evaporating pan
with little or no concentration of the sun’s rays.
Distillation process was made to obtain
hygienic potable/fresh water (that has less than
or about 500 parts per million of salt). Moreover,
solar distillation is already being used to supply
pure water to areas with special needs where
suitable water otherwise have to be purchased at
a higher price, e.g. providing distilled water for
automobile services stations in isolated areas,
supplying drinking water to tourist facilities on
otherwise waterless islands.
In the last century the use of solar concentrates
in solar distillation was reported by Pasteur [3],
who used a concentrator to focus sun rays onto a
copper boiler containing water. The steam gen-
erated from the boiler was piped to a conventional
water-cooled condenser in which distilled water
was accumulated.
Solar stills are used to convert saline water in
order to produce fresh water. The high cost of
oil made solar desalination processes is the most
prominent, because of the advantage of low
energy consumption. Moreover, it is one of eco-
nomical methods. It requires simple technology
and easy maintenance; hence it can be used at
any place without much problem. Probably, they
are considered one of the cheapest solutions for
fresh water production. Many researchers were
interested on experimental studies on solar stills.
A team at MIT led by Maria Telkes had already
begun experiments with solar stills. At the same
time the US National Research Defense Commi-
ttee (NRDC), sponsored solar research to develop
solar desalters for military needs at sea. Many
patents were granted as practical individual
small plastic solar distillation apparatuses were
developed to be adaptable to lifeboats or rafts. The
US Navy used these extensively during the war.
They were designed to float on seawater when
inflated, saving many lives. Telkes continued to
investigate various configurations of solar stills,
glass covered and multiple-effect solar stills [4].
An excellent review on the use of various types
of distillation systems can be found in Kalogirou
and Samee et al. [3–5]. Many experimental and
theoretical works have been conducted on single
basin solar stills for testing the thermal perfor-
mance of different enhancement parameters
[3–7]. Different absorbing materials were used to
study their effect in a solar still, and thus enhance
the productivity of distilled water, using a single-
basin solar still with single and double slopes
[7–13].
The performance of a single basin solar still
with the entering brine flowing between double-
glass glazings were investigated by Abu-Arabi
et al. [14]. The function of their arrangement was
to lower the glass temperature and thus increase
the water to glass temperature difference. This
results in improved performance because of a
faster rate of evaporation from the basin.
Al-Hayek and Badran [15] considered utiliza-
tion of solar energy in two different types of solar
stills, and factors that influence the productivity
of solar stills. They found that the productivity of
asymmetric greenhouse type still (ASGHT)
having mirrors on its inside walls was higher
than that of the symmetric greenhouse type still
(SGHT) and more efficient. It was found that
the distilled water output of the asymmetrical
 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676
greenhouse type was 20% higher than that of
symmetric greenhouse type. Performance charac-
teristics of the two stills showed that the temper-
ature at the water surface is closely related to the
incident solar radiation and the productivity of
the stills can be increased with decreasing water
depth, and by the addition of dye.
Sodha et al. [16] used a multi-wick solar still to
maximize temperature difference between the
condensing cover and water surface which can
be achieved by reducing the heat capacity of the
water mass in the basin. In other words, a water
film is maintained on the absorber for fast heating
and quick evaporation. The water film is achieved
by using a porous multi-wick (jute cloth). Each
jute cloth layer is separated from others by pro-
viding a black polythene sheet between them so
that each jute cloth can act independently.
Nafey et al. [17] investigated the main para-
meters affecting solar still performance using four
different still design parameters operated under
the same weather conditions. A general equation
is developed to predict the daily productivity of a
single sloped solar still. Whereas, Nafey et al.
[18] studied experimentally the use of black
rubber or black gravel materials within a single
sloped solar still as a storage medium to improve
the still productivity.
Thermal modeling and characterization of solar
still were presented in several research materials
[6,11–13,19,20]. Badran and Abu-Khader [6],
conducted an experimental work on a single slope
solar still, and evaluated its thermal performance
under Jordanian climate. Srivastava et al. [19] in
their numerical computations showed that there
is a significant effect in the plant, water temper-
atures and distilled output due to change in the
fraction of the solar radiation incident on the
north wall, depth of water, absorptivity of basin
and the inclination of the roof whereas the heat
capacity of the plant has a marginal effect on
these temperatures and distilled output.
Fath et al. [20] presented analytical, thermal
and economic comparisons between pyramid and
671
single slope solar stills. They found that the single
slope gave higher daily yield (30%) in winter and
3% higher in summer; they attributed this due to
the larger radiation losses from the cover surface
of the pyramid.
Sun tracking systems were used by some
researchers to enhance the distillation yield or
power production. Ibrahim [21] conducted exper-
imental investigation on a collector consisting of
six parabolic troughs with trackers. Whereas,
Kalogirou [22] described a tracking system which
can be used with single-axis solar concentrating
systems as an enhancer. Khalifa and Al-Mutwalli
[23] performed an experimental study to investi-
gate the effect of using two axes sun tracking
system on the thermal performance of compound
parabolic concentrators CPC. The tracking of
CPC collector showed a better performance with
an increase in the collected energy of up to 75%
compared with an identical fixed collector.
Hession and Bonwick [24] introduced a sun
tracking system for use with various collectors
and platforms. Abdallah and Nijmeh [25] used
two axes sun tracking system with PLC control
to evaluate the performance of photovoltaic
panels (PV). They found that the sun tracking
systems increased the power output by 50%.
The main drawback of a traditional solar still
is that the amount of distilled water produced per
unit area is somewhat low which makes the single-
basin solar still un-preferable in some instances.
Therefore there is great scope for improvements
to increase the efficiency of such type of solar
stills. The key objective is to improve the perfor-
mance of a traditional single slope solar still
through the combined functioning of the solar still
with a sun tracking system to increase the solar
still capability to capture more solar radiations.
2. Experimental set up
The experimental setup shown in Fig. 1, is one
of the simplest types of solar stills; it is called the
asymmetric greenhouse type still (ASGHT). It
672 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676
has an effective area of 1 m2. The frame is made
of iron. It has a top cover of transparent glass, and
the interior surface of its basin is blackened to
enable absorption of solar energy to the maximum
possible extent. The body is made of wood,
16 mm thick; and shaped as an inclined box
placed on a vertical tracking system. While the
identical fixed solar still is faced due south. The
whole assembly was air tight made with help of
rubber gasket and clips.
Different parts of the still will be explained in
the following:
2.1. Basin liner
This is the major part of the solar still. It
absorbs the incident radiation that is transmitted
through the glass cover. The basin liner should
be resistant to hot saline water, have a high
absorbance to solar radiation and to resistance to
accidental puncturing and in the case of damage,
(the shape of drawer, for maintenance and clean-
ing purposes); it should be easily repaired. A very
large part of the solar radiation, direct and dif-
fused, falling in the still is absorbed in the black
base. Small reflection losses occur at the glass
surface, the water surface and to a very small
extent at the base. The energy absorbed at the
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the single slope solar still
(dimensions are in cm).
base is largely transferred to the water in the still
and a small fraction of it lost to the ambient by
conduction through the base. The water enters
the basin through an inlet hose. A trough is fixed
inside the still, and is tilted so that condensed
water can be accumulated in the glass beaker
outside the still through a plastic pipe.
2.2. Transparent cover
The cover of the solar still must transmit
solar radiation with minimum amount of absorp-
tion and reflection in the solar spectrum. As also
acts as resistance to thermal radiation heat transfer
from the basin to the atmosphere. It was fixed at
32 degree with the horizontal on the top of the
inclined still.
2.3. Insulating material
The insulating material is used to reduce the
heat losses from the bottom and the sides of the
solar still. In this work, the insulating material is
rock wool of 5 cm thickness and 0.045 W/m2 °C
thermal conductivity.
2.4. Measuring instruments
Various types of measurement were used
such as:
(1) Pyranometer: To measure the total radiation.
(2) Glass beaker: To collect the distillate water.
(3) Temperature thermometer: to measure tem-
perature at various points in the still by ther-
mocouples (type-k). The accuracy of this
device is in the range of 0.3°C for the tem-
perature measurements between 1 and 99°C.
2.5. Sun tracking system
In this study the programming method of con-
trol works efficiently in all weather conditions
regardless of the presence of clouds. The calculated
values of the surface positions as a function of
time were fed to the PLC program to control the
 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676
Fig. 2. The division of daylight time into four intervals.
actuator of the sun position tracker. Single axis
tracking systems are considerably cheaper and
easier to construct.
The surface position is defined by one angle
g [26]. g is the surface azimuth angle, Fig. 2. For
one axis tracking, surface positions are deter-
mined as follows: g = gs where gs is the sun
azimuth angle. Vertical sun tracking motor is
used for the joint rotating about the vertical
axis to control g.
2.5.1. The electromechanical system
The electromechanical system consists of
one driver rotating about the vertical axis as shown
in Fig. 3, it can be seen from Fig. 3 that the sys-
tem has two bridge rectifiers. The first one, PS1,
converts the 220 VAC of supply network into
24 VDC to power the PLCI. The second rectifier,
PS2, converts 220 VAC into 24 VAC to supply the
electrical motor M1. PLCI system chosen was
of the LOGO 24 RC type [27,28], because it suits
this application. Also, it is fairly simple and cheap
in cost. The present stepwise tracking simplifies
the work of the system without great loss in
power. The estimated consumed power by the
electrical motor and control system is less than 3%
of the collected energy by the tracking system.
2.5.2. Control system programming
Computer software has been developed to
determine the different solar angles for Amman,
673
Fig. 3. The electromechanical circuit for vertical
control.
to calculate the optimal positions of the tracking
surface during the day light hours [29]. Day
light hours were divided into 4 identical time
intervals T1, T2, T3 and T4, as shown in Fig. 2,
during which the motors speeds (deg./second)
were determined. Then, the PLC programming
was done based on the solar angles analysis
and motor speed calculations. The motor of
vertical tracking will be idle for 15 to 35 min
and works for a few seconds. As well, the
LOGO 24 RC PLC system uses the functional
diagram language of programming described in
[27,28]. Two types of motions were specified
by the developed program: forward motion and
backward motion. From the theoretically calcu-
lated values the forward motion covers the
intervals of time T1 and T2 in Fig. 2. While the
backward motion will cover the intervals T3
and T4 which begin from noon till sunset where
b is maximum.
674 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676

3. Results and discussions 80

Results of the experiments are presented in

60
the form of graphs, to show the effect of using dif-

Water temp. (°C)

ferent solar still systems on the still output, and
to highlight the effect of using tracking system 40

on the received solar intensity, external glass

temperature, basin water temperature and the dis-
tillation accumulation. All the experiments were
taken in same day during the month of August
(21/8/2005) at clear sky weather conditions.
Fig. 4 shows the solar intensity (i.e. electrical
power) versus time of the day. The intensity of
solar radiation reaching the earth surface varies
from zero during the night to about 940 W/m2,
on a clear noon for both systems. Hence, the
radiation intensity depends on the hour of the
day. It can be seen that the solar intensity for
the tracking system where higher than that of the
identical fixed system for most of the time. The
highest differences were in the morning till mid
day with an average increase of 40%, while in
the evening the average increase is about 22%.
This is due to the sun tracking system which
makes the solar radiation striking a horizontal
surface is greatest. As the sun’s rays will be
vertical on the surface most of the time.
Fig. 5 shows the effects of solar intensity on
basin water temperature for two different sys-
tems. It can be seen that the water temperature
increases for both systems as the solar intensity
20
Fixed
Tracking
0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Local time (h)
Fig. 5. Temperature variation of the water basin for
both fixed still and still with tracking system.
increases till noon, then decreases as the solar
intensity decrease. It was found that the water tem-
perature for the tracking system is higher than
fixed still due to the increase of the radiation
concentrations on the absorbency basin, especially
in the morning hours, that decreases the heat
capacity in the basin.
Fig. 6 shows the increases in the temperature
of the external glass as the solar radiation inci-
dent on glass increases. But the temperatures are
lower than the basin water temperature (Fig. 5),
due to the effect of air cooling on glass. Energy
is transferred from the water to the glass cover
principally by the water vapor evaporating from
the water surface and then loosing its heat of
vaporization to the glass cover.

1000 60
Fixed
Tracking
External glass temp. (°C)
Electrical power (W/m2)

800
40
600

400
20

200 Fixed
Tracking
0 0
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Local time (h) Local time (h)

Fig. 4. Power intensity dropped on the external glass Fig. 6. Temperature variation of the external glass for
for both fixed still and still with tracking system. both fixed still and still with tracking system.
 S. Abdallah, O.O. Badran / Desalination 220 (2008) 669–676
200
160
Collected water (mL)
120
80
40
0
6 8 10 12 14
Local time (h)
Fig. 7. Collected distilled water for both fixed still and
still with tracking system.
It can be seen that tracking system has
increased the external cover temperature due to
the increase of the temperature of the vapor
inside the still, and attributed to the high con-
centration of incident sun’s rays passed through
a transparent cover to a black evaporating pan.
Fig. 7 presents the relationship between the
rate of distilled water volume and the local stan-
dard time (6 am–18 pm) for the tracking and
identical fixed system. It shows that the highest
production was at 14 pm, because the sun rays
angle at this period is nearly vertical with the
still and coincident with the highest solar radia-
tion intensities. It can be seen that the distilled
water production increased by 22% when the
sun tracking system coupled with the still. The
tracking solar still will be able to follow the sun
during the day, as this method will increase the
concentration of solar radiation; reduce the ther-
mal capacity of the water in the basin, and
increase the productivity.
It can be concluded from the results that the
use of tracking system is predictable and effi-
cient for solar stills applications. This finding is
supported by previous studies which proved that
the tracking system can increase the power
output of PV systems, while the present study
showed that the tracking system is also applicable
for enhancing the distillation output.
675
4. Cost estimation
In designing a solar still for principally rural
communities, the prime objective was to keep
the cost as low as possible. Cost estimation for
various components was about JD 170. The
cost of fabrication was about JD 30. The total
cost of fabricated still comes out to be JD 200
Fixed (US $282). It is expected that cost would sub-
Tracking
stantially decrease if a large number of stills are
16 18 20 fabricated. The still was constructed from a large
variety of local materials which were selected
based on acknowledge of material cost assessment
and ease of construction.
5. Conclusion
Introducing the sun tracking system to a fixed
solar still has improved the performance of the
traditional fixed single slope solar system by
22%. This means that there is a scope to improve
the poor performance of this traditional solar still
system. Also from the results of this work, the
following conclusion may be made:
• By using the sun tracker the water tempera-
ture increases, and the thermal capacity of the
water decreases, by which the evaporation
rate increases, hence the production will be
increased.
• The conventional single basin solar still is
the simplest and most practical design for
an installation and less complexity than the
other types.
Solar distillation may be considered as one of
the alternatives for fresh water production in
remote arid zones where no fresh water is avail-
able, in the quantity where it is needed for specific
purposes. Consequently, solar distillation seems
to be specifically relevant to Jordan now, and
even more so in the future.
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