Solar Still

A solar still distills water containing dissolved substances by using the heat of the sun to evaporate the water so that it may be cooled and collected, thereby purifying it. Solar stills are used in areas where drinking water is otherwise unavailable, allowing clean water to be obtained from dirty water, or even drawn from plants, simply by exposing the source to sunlight. Types include large-scale concentrated solar stills and condensation traps: impure water sits outside the collector, is evaporated by sunlight shining through a transparent cover, and the resulting pure water vapor condenses on the collector's cool inside surface and drips into a collection tank. The process replicates the way nature makes rain, leaving behind impurities such as salts and heavy metals and eliminating microbiological organisms to yield potable water.