Solar Still

Basics

• Typically refers to a direct, passive, solar thermal water distiller
• Can be as simple as a plastic sheet, collection cup, and input basin, or very complex
• PILE of research to sift through on this subject
• These are also different from grid scale Solar Desalination Plants, which use similar methods to fuel based systems (multi-phase flash distillation), but with solar thermal power

Geometries

• Slope
• Stepped
• Dome

Add-ons

• Fins (additional heated area below water surface)
• Pre-Heating of water (often via Parabolic Trough , or Thermosiphon
• Use of Heat Exhchangers (for cooling the air to condense vapor using the input water)
• Contactor Based Evaporation
• Evaporation Pond for disposal of brine, and production of salt
• ... (need to complete this, and sift through more papers)

Temporary Trashcan for Research Papers

• Had a good list of various methods in table 1 -still barely skimmed it
• A Study on Stepped Stills

See Also

• Saltwater Greenhouse a concept that uses Swamp Coolers to make humid, cool, greenhouses in dry areas using saltwater and power (often some form of solar)

Useful Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Solar Stills