The public defense of the doctoral student Tabark Abd Hussein from the Department of Mechanical Engineering – College of Engineering / University of Baghdad was held for her dissertation entitled:
“Tubular Solar Still with Various Inserted Materials”
The defense took place in Dr. Ihsan Yahya Hall on Sunday, September 14, 2025.
The examination committee consisted of:
- Prof. Dr. Najwa Saber Majeed – Chairman
- Prof. Dr. Zainab Hasson Hassan – Member
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Nibal Fadel Farman – Member
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Essam Hassan Attia – Member
- Asst. Prof. Dr. Wael Sami Wadie – Member
- Prof. Dr. Karima Ismail Amori – Supervisor
This dissertation focused on the development of a tubular solar still that uses solar energy to evaporate and purify saline water. The design features an innovative hexagonal glass cover, integrated with a heat pipe and a dual parabolic concentrator to enhance thermal efficiency. The system’s performance was evaluated using various absorbing materials (hydrogel, copper mesh, and charcoal) with different tilt angles and quantities.
The results demonstrated a significant improvement in freshwater productivity, with a maximum increase of 264.38% achieved using 6000 hydrogel beads at a 15° tilt angle. The system also achieved a competitive production cost of $0.052/L, along with notable environmental benefits, including the mitigation of 15.8 tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
Key Recommendations:
- Adoption of the hexagonal glass cover design for its positive impact on thermal efficiency.
- Use of hydrogel as one of the most effective absorbing materials to improve system productivity.
- Preference for a 15° tilt angle with optimized absorber quantities for ideal performance.
- Potential application of the developed system in remote areas suffering from water scarcity.
- Expansion of the proposed model to include other types of distillation systems or related thermal applications.
After the scientific discussion by the esteemed members of the examination committee, the researcher Tabark Abd Hussein was awarded the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Thermo-Fluids) with a grade of Excellent.
