Solar Water Distiller

The Solar Still

Solar Stills operate on the same principles that produce rainfall. The
sun is allowed into and trapped in the Still. The high temperatures
produced destroy all pathogens. The water evaporates, and in this
process, only pure water vapor rises in the Still, only to condense on
the glass. The glass is sloped to the south, and the condensed water
runs down the glass and is collected in a trough. The water is allowed
out of the collector through silicone tubing, and is collected in 5 gallon
glass jugs. There are no moving parts in the solar still, and only the
sun's energy is required for operation.

The design of the our Solar Still began with many hours spent
researching previous designs, successes and failures. Our goal for
the Still project was to design and develop plans for a Still which could
be replicated using "off the shelf" materials.

We designed a still which is easy to replicate, using standard building

materials, of which 95% are available "off the shelf". The exterior
materials were chosen for their ability to withstand our desert climate
with minimal maintenance. The still produces an average of 3 gallons
per day in the summer months. Winter production is expected to be 1/2
that amount. The Solar Still can utilize a standard size patio glass
replacement, 34"X76". The material costs per still are approximately
$150.

Brackish water is carefully placed inside Solar Still via an inlet near the
base of the Still. As sunlight warms the black silicone bottom and heat
is transferred to the water, the top of the water evaporates on to the
inside of the glass cover, which is tilted toward the fresh water drain.
approximately 8 square feet (of glass cover) will distill around 1 gallon
of water per day, over five hours of full sunlight.

The most important elements of the design are the sealing of the base
with black, high temperature silicone rubber; (spread it on with a
Bondo squeegee) and creating a good seal between the glass cover
and the bottom of the box.
 The Solar Basin Still

The Still is filled each morning

or evening, and the day's
production is collected at that
time. The Still will continue to
produce after sundown as the
water is still very hot. The Still
is over filled each day to flush
out sediment. The over flow
water can be used for
irrigation. The only
maintenance is to clean the
glass occasionally.

A Large Solar
Distiller
Array!
Home Made Solar Water Distiller

A few years ago a storm flooded the local water treatment facility leaving me and all my
neighbors without water for several weeks. Partially motivated by this I designed a portable
solar powered water distiller. The idea is that a person adds water from any source (assumed
to be dirty, salty or otherwise unfit for drinking) in one side and over the course of the day
gets clean safe drinking water out the other side.

At the heart of this design is an innovative method for forming a medium size parabolic
mirror using a flexible aluminized mylar sheet (the shiny metallic foil commonly used to
make potato chip bags/decorative balloons). I built an aluminum frame, using 1 inch wide by
1/8 inch thick strips, that runs around the edge of the mirror and use a pair of wires at either
end to draw the frame up into a parabola. The mirror is actually sandwiched between an
upper frame and a lower frame. This mylar sheet, frame and wire construction makes a good
parabola, is inexpensive, lightweight, and can be easily assembled/disassembled.
The aluminum frame is much stronger than necessary (& more expensive) and could easily
be made out of a cheap local material like wood or plastic. The function of the frame is to 1)
hold/capture the mylar sheet, and 2) provide some stiffness so the wire stays taught. The wire
length determines how steep or shallow the parabola is, which in turn determines how
close/far the focus of the mirror is from the mirror surface. The mirror is cheap (a few
dollars) and ideally the frame should only cost a few more, altogether I’d guess it should cost
under $10 to make the mirrors in any serious volume (maybe $10-$15 in moderate volume). I
say should, because I’m still working with a prototype, and a custom job costs at least 10
times what I think the cost should be… Still I imagine a big cheap mirror can be useful in any
number of solar applications besides water purification.

The mirror is placed under an evaporation chamber where the water is purified. The
evaporation chamber has an aluminum pan (painted black to absorb the sunlight/heat) into
which I add a trickle of ‘dirty’ water which is heated until it evaporates. This pan has a clear
plastic cover which captures and condenses the water vapor as well as an interior lip that
channels this pure/condensed water out of the distiller. The two piece evaporation chamber
can be taken apart for cleaning or storage. At the moment the parabolic mirror needs to be
adjusted by hand each hour to keep the sunlight focused on the pan, although this ‘tracking’
could be automated fairly simply by adding a small motor.

In the interest of keeping the device portable, I’ve only used a 2 square meter mirror which
distills ~ 1 gallon of water/day. I’m working to boost the treated volume by a factor of two
with additional design improvements—in theory a mirror this size could distill 4 gallons/day.
I could also increase the distilled water production volume by using a larger mirror, doubling
the mirror would double the production, although it would be that much harder to transport.
The device weighs about 40 lbs, and the mirror can be rolled up like a poster.
In fact my big problem at this time is that I’m collecting too much sunlight/heat onto the pan
and the plastic cover gets so hot (60-70 degrees C) that the water vapor doesn’t condense as
well as it should. The little metal fins at the top of the distiller are designed to help remove
heat from the condensing cover. For scale, the mirror is 6 ft. x 4 ft. and the evaporation
chamber is roughly 3 feet off the ground.

This is a fairly simple device. I’ve spent a few years working and improving the design
almost entirely on my own. Last year I filed for a US patent on it, so the design is officially
patent pending. I’d be delighted if some person or group found a situation in a
developing/island country where this distiller would be useful (and I’d be happy to help in
any way I can—adapting the design for local construction with local materials etc.), but I
don’t want some major US corporation copying the idea, filing for a patent and potentially
preventing me from using my invention!