Comparison of plastic and stainless-steel as solar still material

The purpose of this study was to select the most suitable material to be used as solar still material. Materials compared in this study were plastic and stainless-steel because of their resistance to corrosion. The tested material was utilized as a container to accommodate sea water to be evaporated. The experiment carried out in Jakarta, Indonesia. Material temperature profile similar with the ambient temperature profile. When the sun is shining brightly, the material temperature is higher than the ambient temperature but in the afternoon and night the material temperature falls to ambient temperature. Therefore, it can be said that plastic and stainless-steel materials do not store heat. As a material for solar still, stainless-steel has higher evaporation rate than plastic, which is 7.66 ml/h for stainless-steel and 7.09 ml/h for plastics. So, based on this research, it can be concluded that stainless-steel is better to be used as a solar still material. (paper)