Comparative experimental investigation of conical solar still using almond shells at different sizes: Yield, energy, and exergy analysis

This manuscript studies the effect of almond shells (AS) at different sizes (4, 6, 8, and 10 mm) on the Conical Solar Stills (CoSS) performance. The AS of different sizes (10, 8, 6, and 4 mm), by a regular distribution in the bottom of a basin of CoSS its surface of 0.1 m 2 covered with a 3 mm thick plastic conical cover, filled with 1 L of salt water. On the first day: A CoSS, a CoSS containing AS at 10 mm (CoSS‐AS&10), and a CoSS containing AS at size 8 mm (CoSS‐AS&8) were experimented. On the second day: A CoSS containing AS at size 6 mm (CoSS‐AS&6) and a CoSS containing AS at size 4 mm (CoSS‐AS&4) were compared with the CoSS. In May 2024, experiments were carried out in El‐Oued, Algeria. Cumulative return results for CoSS, CoSS ‐AS&10 mm, CoSS ‐AS&8 mm, CoSS ‐AS&6 mm, and CoSS ‐AS&4 mm are 4.69, 5.44, 5.83, 6.3, and 6.86 L/m 2 /day, respectively. The rate of improvement in the cumulative yield was 16, 24.23, 34.37, and 46.3% for CoSS with using quantities of AS at different sizes 10, 8, 6 and 4 mm, respectively.