This page needs tied in with Understanding_Solar_Stills and solar distillation in detail.
I've tried to develop a variation of the solar still over at http://imagina-canarias.blospot.com with 2 plastic bottles and some tube between them, to be used massively in emergencies. I found my initial setup didn't work, but I think a new iteration might prove to be better. http://imagina-canarias.blogspot.com/2008/08/desarrollando-vacaciones-en-arinaga.html
The whole idea is "forced evaporation" (in one bottle) + "forced condensation" (in the other). I'm guessing I could dump my design and data in a page here, and let people who are better informed, or who can continue where I left off, tell us. Maybe it just can't work, or it's very easy. LucasG 6 October 2008 (UTC)
Usable commercial solar stills ?
Usable is the WaterPyramid solar still (Aqua-Aero WaterSystems BV). However there are shortcomings on 2 planes;
- The method of solar destillation; the current waterpyramid doesn't separate the cooling (on the edge of the plastic) not from the heating (solar radiation). This reduces efficiency.
- The use of a fan (which needs electricity) to continuously blown into the pyramid. Beyond the need for electricity, there is also the use of a PV-panel, which increases the price even further.
- The use of plastics for the solar distillation chamber
The Dutch company Solar Water (see http://www.zonnewater.net/) may have some answers. Their solar distillation system uses a PV-panel (already in the WaterPyramid) and uses this to seperate heating and cooling, increasing efficiency.
I'm also wondering whether the use of mirrors outside of a glass structure (pyramid, ...) not standing in the sun would solve this (partly ?) The water coming into the shaded pyramid using a trench. The rays are concentrated on the trench from the outside mirrors, immediatly heating the water (and little else) and having it condense at the glass pyramid; heat & cooling are then probably quite seperated.
KVDP 09:39, 10 May 2010 (UTC)