Progress on suspended nanostructured engineering materials powered solar distillation : a review

Sustainable solar energy powered desalination is a high priority research area, nowadays. Fresh potable water is one of humanity?s fundamental needs for living and flourishing. Efficient techniques for producing pure water from saline water and industrial wastewater with less conventional energy use or using renewable energy are urgently needed. Solar stills are one of such alternatives to produce pure water using solar energy. Novelty of this write up is discussion of basic concepts such as working principle of nanofluid, heat transfer in nanofluid and different preparation methods. These areas are discussed to bring the readers closer to the present scenario of suspended nanostructured engineering materials for solar distillation. Cost analysis with and without suspended nanoparticles are also summarized. Authors have also thrown light on effects of NPs (nanoparticles) on environment and health of living beings as a means to promote this technology. An important result is that nanofluids thermal conductivity is proportional to nanoparticles concentration to a certain limit. So, each nanoparticle has its optimum concentration where thermal conductivity is maximum in order to give maximum yield of pure water