The Sun Can Make Water Safe To Drink

9 April 2009 | Solar Power | 4 Comments

It wasn’t too long ago that people took their drinking water for granted. They just went into the kitchen, turned on the tap, and there it was(clean,safe tasty water to drink).But one look at the shelves of supermarkets and hardware stores today, with the many water purifiers, cartridge systems, bottled water dispensers, and other similar products, and you can see dramatically the growing concern with water quality and the pressing need to do something about it.

The headlines in today’s newspapers tell the story behind the concerns.We read about chemical wastes in the ground possibly seeping into underground aquifers. We know of the potential hazard of chlorine, a chemical often added to water treatment systems.

We read about the growth demands in the Sun Belt states and other fast-growing parts of the country, putting a burden on all utilities including the water supply. Other problems including many natural occurrences, have prompted stories of contamination of drinking water throught the U.S.

One excellent alternative is a solar distilation system.It’s possible to easly build or fairly inexpensively purchase a solar still which will provide distilled water for your needs. The biggest advantage of a solar distiller is that the sunlight to heat water for distillation has absolutely zero fuel costs. While these systems do require some equipment, they will pay for themselves fairly quickly and provide pure, safe water for many years.

A basic solar still is a verysimple device. If salty or contamined water is left in an open container, the fresh water will evaporate into the air, separating itself from the salt, dirt, algae, or other organic pollutants in the water. A solar still uses solar energy to speed up the avaporation rate and captures the evaporated water by condensing it onto a cool surface. A solar still, then, is essentially an insulated, dark-colored container or shallow pan, covered by a sheet of clear glass or plastic that is tilted slightly to let the fresh water that condense on it trickle down into a collection through.

Tags: solar distillation, Solar Energy, Solar Power, solar still, solar water distiller, water distillation, water distiller

4 Comments

  1. New Portable Water Purification Device | My Green Treasure said on 30 Apr 2009 at 11:48 am:

    [...] In a previous post I presented one of the inexpensive ways to purify water, using solar energy(http://www.mygreentreasure.com/2009/04/the-sun-can-make-water-safe-to-drink-and-ice-for-many-uses/) .But for few days ago, this invention is competed by a new portable water purification system [...]

  2. Most Efficient Non-Electric Portable Water Purification System AquaIris | My Green Treasure said on 27 Jul 2009 at 12:34 pm:

    [...] “A basic solar still is a verysimple device.If salty or contamined water is left in an open container, the fresh water will evaporate into the air, separating itself from the salt, dirt, algae, or other organic pollutants in the water.A solar still uses solar energy to speed up the avaporation rate and captures the evaporated water by condensing it onto a cool surface.A solar still, then, is essentially an insulated, dark-colored container or shallow pan, covered by a sheet of clear glass or plastic that is tilted slightly to let the fresh water that condense on it trickle down into a collection through.” -  The Sun Can Make Water Safe To Drink and Ice For Many Uses [...]

  3. MarkSpizer said on 3 May 2010 at 2:30 am:

    great post as usual!

  4. AquaIris Non-Electric Portable Water Purification System | Pollution said on 13 Jul 2010 at 3:17 am:

    [...] slightly to let the fresh water that condense on it trickle down into a collection through. -  Solar Water Distiller Tags: AquaIris, aquairis distillation, aquairis portble Non-electric water purifier, best [...]

Leave a Reply