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solar distillation apparatus

From Appropedia
Diagram of a solar still.

Solar stills are a convenient technique that distills water using the power of the sun. There are three types:

  • the conical,
  • the box-shaped one, and
  • the pit.

The most sophisticated is the box-shaped and the simplest is the pit. All solar stills have the same layout: a reservoir that collects rainwater, covered with glass or transparent plastic that allows the sun's rays to pass through but does not let the water escape. The water evaporates and condenses on the reservoir. The process leads to the disposal of salt, heavy metals and microbiological organisms. The end result is fresh, clean water.

background

Solar stills have been used for over 100 years. The first example dates back to 1551 when Arab alchemists and aroliologists used and experimented with it. In 1882 the first still was invented by Carles Wilson. It was a massive solar still. It was used to supply fresh water for the quarrying of stone in northern Chile. Today there are hundreds of such solar stills and thousands of individual solar sills have been built all over the world.

Applications

Normal solar stills are used where it is impractical to run pipes and there is no reason to dig water wells, in isolated areas or where there is too much power outage. Solar stills can be an alternative to obtain clean water. Solar stills are very often used in countries where they are underdeveloped or not yet ready. The bad thing is that you can only produce small amounts of clean water. Single stills. Another side is solar stills for survival. Simple solar stills can be made from camping equipment and the environment. Stills for survival, you use the pit type moisture from the ground can be pulled out. But to strengthen it, water must be added to the middle or at the edge of the still. Where no water is available, urine or chopped up vegetation is used in the pit. Even homemade solar stills are not sufficient for long-term survival. But can help with dehydration for a short time.

External links

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AuthorsLxj5628 , Eleanor ter Horst
LicenseCC-BY-SA-3.0
Derivative ofSolar stills
LanguageGerman (de)
Related0 subpages , 5 pages link here
Impact258 page views ( more )
CreatedMarch 19, 2008 by Lxj5628
Last modifiedMarch 2, 2022 by Page script
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