Mapping the Research Landscape: Energy Storage of Bio-Nanoparticle-Enhanced Phase Change Materials for Solar Desalination – A Scientometric Framework

Balusu Sathwika¹A Kavitha²Abdulaziz Alasiri³Soubraylu Sivakumar⁴Laxmikant Jathar⁵M.C. Rao⁶K Koteswara Rao⁷J Nagaraj⁸P Selvaraju⁹Zakaria Omara¹⁰S SHANMUGAN^11*

• ¹Department of Integrated Research and Discovery-Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vijayawada, India
• ²Department of Chemistry, Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai, India
• ³Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• ⁴Department of Computing Technologies, SRM Institute of Science and Technology Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kattankulathur, India
• ⁵Department of Mechanical Engineering, Army Institute of Technology, Pune, India
• ⁶Department of Physics, Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, India
• ⁷Department of Physics (S&H), Swarnandhra College of Engineering and Technology, Narsapur, India
• ⁸Department of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai, India
• ⁹Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Chennai, India
• ¹⁰Mechanical Power Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University Faculty of Engineering, Kafr El-Shaikh, Egypt
• ¹¹Department of Integrated Research and Discovery; Physics, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Vijayawada, India

Solar desalination is an economical and eco-friendly approach to producing potable water, particularly in remote areas. Nevertheless, the limited efficiency of traditional solar panels restricts their ability to fulfill the growing demand for clean water. This study focuses on improving the performance of Single Basin Solar Stills (SBS) by incorporating paraffin wax as a phase change material (PCM) with copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) and agro-based materials in a stepped design. A scientometric analysis framework was applied to map the research landscape, followed by an experimental evaluation in which SBS units were fabricated and tested under controlled solar exposure with varying combinations of PCM, Cu NPs, and concentrators. The research is tailored to accommodate diverse climatic and operational conditions. Results reveal that the combination of PCM and Cu NPs significantly enhances freshwater output compared to traditional setups. The modified SBS demonstrated a productivity improvement of 67.18% for single-effect and 125% for double-effect configurations. The use of PCM alone resulted in a 21.5% boost in productivity, while the SBS design excluding CuO-based nanofluids achieved approximately 32% higher freshwater generation by utilizing solar energy. Moreover, combining a concentrator with PCM led to an additional 26% increase in efficiency. These results highlight the potential of integrating PCM and nanoparticles as an effective strategy to optimize SBS performance for sustainable water desalination.