Solar Stills for Sustainable Water Purification: Innovations, Policies, and Applications explores recent developments in solar distillation technology, highlighting the use of solar energy in the efficient production of clean water, combining renewable energy and water purifying methods to address water scarcity and related challenges in a sustainable way. The book begins by introducing the basic principles and connections between solar stills, solar energy, and water purification. Subsequent chapters offer in-depth coverage and analysis of design, mechanics, and maintenance, strategies for enhanced productivity, heat storage, thermal modeling and analysis, economic viability, machine learning for optimization, environmental impact, policy, legal, and regulatory aspects, social and community impact, and innovative applications and materials. Finally, emerging technologies, potential future enhancements, and research gaps are discussed. Within several chapters, case studies are used to practically illustrate applications and impacts of solar still technology, providing real-world context for the theoretical and technical content. This is a useful resource for all those with an interest in solar still technology, solar energy applications, water resource management, green technology, and environmental engineering, including researchers, advanced students, faculty, engineers, R&D, industry practitioners, and policy makers.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Solar Stills2. Solar Energy Basics and Water Purification
3. Design and Mechanics of Solar Stills
4. High Productivity Solar Stills
5. Heat Storage in Solar Stills
6. Thermal Modeling and Analysis of Solar Stills
7. Economic Viability of Solar Stills
8. Machine Learning in Solar Still Optimization
9. Analysis of Embodied Energy and Environmental Impacts of Solar Stills
10. Policy and Regulatory Frameworks and the Adoption and Operation of Solar Stills
11. Social and Community Impacts of Solar Stills with Case Studies
12. Global Applications and Innovations in Materials for Solar Stills
13. Solar Stills: Future Trends, Research Directions, and Conclusion
Authors
Zafar Said Distinguished Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Dr. Zafar Said is currently working as a Distinguished Associate Professor in theDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the United Arab Emirates
University, UAE. He received his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from
the University of Malaya, Malaysia, and completed his postdoctoral research at
Khalifa University, UAE. Dr. Said is a recognized leader in energy technology,
nanofluids, and sustainable energy. His major areas of interest include heat
transfer, solar energy systems, and advanced thermofluids. His research focuses on
battery thermal management, enhancement of solar collectors using nanofluids
and turbulators, and the development of stable nanorefrigerants and
nanolubricants. He also applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to
predict thermophysical properties and optimize energy systems. He is the recipient
of several prestigious awards, including the Khalifa Award for Education as
Distinguished University Professor (2025), the Future Pioneer Award in
Sustainability (2025), and Best Academic Research at the 13th Dubai Award for
Sustainable Transport (2024). He has also received the Research and Innovation
Award from the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (2022) and First Place in
Scientific Research at the Excellence and Creative Engineering Award (2023) by the
Society of Engineers, UAE. In recognition of his contributions, he has been
consistently ranked among the world's top 2% of scientists in the field of energy by
Elsevier BV and Stanford University. In addition to his academic duties, he actively
serves in editorial roles for several international journals and is a frequent keynote
speaker at global conferences. Deepak Kumar Murugan Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Velammal Engineering College, Chennai, India.
Dr. Deepak Kumar Murugan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Velammal Engineering College, Chennai, India, where he has been a faculty member since 2012 and is also currently serving as Innovation Coordinator. Dr. Kumar is the recipient of the prestigious "Young Researcher Award - 2021� from ISIE, India, and is an active member in various professional societies such as ASME and ENFUSE. His current research interests are in solar desalination, battery thermal management system, drone technology, and machine learning model development. Dr. Kumar has published his research work in reputed SCI journals, has co-authored one book, and has published one patent, as well as serving as a reviewer for several leading open access, peer reviewed journals.
