Enhancement in Exergoeconomic and Enviroeconomic Parameters for Single Slope Solar Still by Incorporating N Identical Partially Covered Photovoltaic Collectors

This paper deals with the enhancement in exergoeconomic and enviroeconomic parameters for single-slope solar still by incorporating N identical partially covered photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors. Three cases: (a) single slope solar still incorporating N identical partially covered PVT flat plate collectors (FPC) (N-PVT-FPC-SS), (b) single slope solar still incorporating N identical partially covered PVT compound parabolic concentrator collectors (N-PVT-CPC-SS), and (c) conventional single slope solar still (CSSSS) have been taken to assess the improvement in various parameters. The various parameters have been computed at 0.14 m water depth, selected values of mass flow rate, and number of collectors considering four climatic conditions of New Delhi for each month of year. It has been concluded that N-PVT-FPC-SS performs best followed by N-PVT-CPC-SS and CSSSS on the basis of exergoeconomic and enviroeconomic parameters; however, CSSSS performs better than N-PVT-FPC-SS and N-PVT-CPC-SS on the basis of productivity measured in terms of ratio of monetary value of output and input. The kWh per unit cost based on exergoeconomic parameter is higher by 45.11% and 47.37%; environmental cost is higher by 65.74% and 90.02%; however, the output per unit input based on productivity is higher by 12.09% and lower by 26.83% for N-PVT-FPC-SS than N-PVT-CPC-SS and CSSSS, respectively.