Experimental Study of the Effect of Al₂O₃ Nanoparticles on the Profitability of a Single-Slope Solar Still: Application in Southeast of Algeria

Transforming the salt brackish water into fresh water is a real global problem. To solve this problem, a simple and economical solution in the form of the solar distillation was used. Traditional methods of the solar distillation did not succeed, because the yield of the solar still is low. So a solution is suggested in the present work to increase the profitability of the fresh water. One of the best ways is to include materials for the storage of the thermal energy, i.e., the temperature elevation of a material allows for the storage of energy and that is exactly the purpose of the present work. An aluminum oxide nanoparticles were prepared, with dimensions which are in the range of 6 nm, and it was applied successfully for the first time in a single-slope solar still under outdoors of El Oued city (Southeast of Algeria) climatic conditions. Three solar basins exposed to the sun under the same weather conditions and each of them containing two liters of the salt water were utilized in the experiments. The first solar still is used as a reference for the purpose of the comparison and contains the water only. The second still contains in its basin (1 g/L Al₂O₃), while the third one contains in its basin (2 g/L Al₂O₃). The results of this simple and inexpensive technique were improved that the productivity of the (second and third) solar stills was increased, respectively, in high percentages (i.e., 127 and 174%). It can be concluded that the suggested technique can be used efficiently to solve the shortage of the fresh water problem in El Oued city (Southeast of Algeria) by mixing Al₂O₃ nanoparticles with the salt water inside the solar still.