Making a Prototype Solar Still

Solar stills may be the way forward in emerging nations like India to provide fresh water to the billion-plus populations.

This is the first phase of a working prototype for distilling brackish or unclean water. If this works well we will build a bigger better model. Under normal conditions of daylong sunlight in the summer (90-100 Fahrenheit) I should be able to collect 1 gallon of pure water for every 8 gallons of brackish water

Components: Rectangular Plastic Box, Clear Plastic Wrap, Aluminum Foil, Cardboard strips to slant the plastic top,

Begin with the plastic box as the base of the module

Align cardboard strips on the side, cut it to create a sloping roof

Cover the interior of the module with aluminum foil, fill up the module with water

Cover the top of the module with clear plastic wrap; make sure it sticks out a bit at the end to create a catchment area for the pure water





Position the catchment vessel in the catchment area