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SOLAR POWERED WATER PURIFICATION EQUIPMENT

SOLARSTILLBASICS
SOLAQUA, INC.
P.O. Box 4976
El Paso, Texas 79914 USA
Tel (915) 383-1485
WWW.SOLAQUA.COM
 SolAqua, Inc.

INTRODUCTION
The basic principles of solar water distillation are simple yet effective, as
distillation replicates the way nature purifies water. The sun's energy heats water to the
point of evaporation. As the water evaporates, purified water vapor rises, condensing on
the glass surface for collection. This process removes impurities such as salts and heavy
metals, as well as destroying microbiological organisms. The end result is water cleaner
than the purest rainwater. The SolAqua still is a passive solar distiller that only needs
sunshine to operate. There are no moving parts to wear out.
The distilled water from a SolAqua still does not acquire the "flat taste of
commercially distilled water since the water is not boiled (which lowers pH). Solar stills
use natural evaporation, which is the rainwater process. This allows for natural pH
buffering that produces excellent taste as compared to steam distillation.
Solar stills can easily provide enough water for family drinking and cooking
needs. Solar distillers can be used to effectively remove many impurities ranging from
salts to microorganisms and are even used to make drinking water from seawater.
SolAqua stills have been well received by many users, both rural and urban, from around
the globe. SolAqua solar distillers can be successfully used anywhere the sun shines.

SolAquasolarstillforaresidenceinsouthernNewMexico

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SOLAQUASOLARSTILL
Overflow Port

Fill Port

Tempered Glass
Glazing

Distilled Water
Output Collection Port

The SolAqua solar stills are simple and have no moving parts. They are made of
quality materials designed to stand-up to the harsh conditions produced by water and
sunlight. Operation is simple: water should be added (either manually or automatically)
once a day through the stills supply fill port. Excess water will drain out of the overflow
port and this will keep salts from building up in the basin. Purified drinking water is
collected from the output collection port.
Supply Fill Port: Water should be added to the still via this port. Water can be added
either manually or automatically. Normally water is added once a day (in the summer
it's normally best to fill in the late evening and in the winter in the early morning). Care
should be taken to add the water at a slow enough flowrate to prevent splashing onto the interior of
the still glazing or overflowing into the collection trough.
Overflow Port: Once the still basin has filled, excess water will flow out of this port.
SolAqua recommends three times daily distilled water production to be allowed to
overflow from the still on a daily basis to prevent salt build-up in the basin (e.g., if your
still produced 2 gallons of product water that you should add 6 gallons of fresh feedwater
through the fill port). If flushed on a daily basis, the overflow water can be used for other
uses as appropriate for your feedwater (e.g., landscape watering).
Distilled Output Collection Port: Purified drinking water is collected from this port,
typically with a glass collection container. Stills that are mounted on the roof can have
the distillate output piped directly to an interior collection container. For a newly
installed still, allow the collection trough to be self-cleaned by producing water for a
couple of days before using the distillate output.

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SOLARDISTILLATIONBACKGROUND

SolarStillBackground
Solar distillation is a tried and true technology. The first known use of stills dates
back to 1551 when it was used by Arab alchemists. Other scientists and naturalists used
stills over the coming centuries including Della Porta (1589), Lavoisier (1862), and
Mauchot (1869).
The first "conventional" solar still plant was built in 1872 by the Swedish engineer
Charles Wilson in the mining community of Las Salinas in what is now northern Chile
(Region II). This still was a large basin-type still used for supplying fresh water using
brackish feedwater to a nitrate mining community. The plant used wooden bays which
had blackened bottoms using logwood dye and alum. The total area of the distillation
plant was 4,700 square meters. On a typical summer day this plant produced 4.9 kg of
distilled water per square meter of still surface, or more than 23,000 liters per day. This
first stills plant was in operation for 40 years!
Over the past century, literally hundreds of solar still plants and thousands of
individual stills have been built around the world. SolAqua stills have built upon years
of still research and development and use only food grade materials and are the state of
the art for commercial solar still distillation.

StillOperation
A solar still operates on the same principle as rainwater: evaporation. The water
from the oceans evaporates, only to cool, condense and return to earth as rain. When the
water evaporates, it removes only pure water and leaves all contaminants behind. Solar
stills mimick this natural evaporation effect.
A SolAqua single basin solar still has a top cover made of glass, with an interior
surface made of a waterproof silicone membrane. This interior surface uses blackened
silicone to improve absorption of the sun's rays. Water to be cleaned is poured into the
still to partially fill the basin. The glass cover allows the solar radiation (short-wave) to
pass into the still, which is mostly absorbed by the blackened base. The water begins to
heat up and the moisture content of the air trapped between the water surface and the
glass cover increases. The base also radiates energy in the infra-red region (long
wavelength) which is reflected back into the still by the glass cover, thus the glass cover
traps the solar energy inside the still (the "greenhouse" effect). The heated water vapor
evaporates from the basin and condenses on the inside of the glass cover. In this process
the salts and microbes that were in the original water are left behind. The condensed
water trickles down the inclined glass cover to an interior collection trough and is
delivered to a storage bottle.
The still is filled each morning or evening, and the total water production for the
day is collected at that time. The still will continue to produce distillate after sundown
until the water temperature cools down. Feedwater should be added each day that
roughly exceeds the distillate production to provide proper flushing of the basin water
and to clean out excess salts left behind during the evaporation process.

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Solar
Energy

glass
ing Water
Condens
Distillate Collection

Rising Vapor
Brine

still insulation

Inclinedglasssolarstillbasicoperation

The intensity of solar energy falling on the still is the single most important
parameter affecting production. The daily distilled water output (Me in kg/m2 day) is
the amount of energy utilized in vaporizing water in the still (Qe in J/ m2 day) over the
latent heat of vaporization of water (L in J/kg). Solar still efficiency (n) is amount of
energy utilized in vaporizing water in the still over the amount of incident solar energy
on the still (Qt in J/m2 day). These can be expressed as:

Solar still production: Me = Qe / L

Solar Still Efficiency: n = Qe / Qt

Typical efficiencies for single basin solar stills approach 60 percent. The silicone
lining is used to form a membrane in the pan that should last well over ten years.
General operation is very simple and requires facing the still towards solar noon, putting
water in the still every morning to fill and flush the basin, and recovering distillate from
the collection reservoir (e.g., glass bottles) Stills are modular and for greater water
production requirements, several stills can be connected together in series and parallel as
desired.
As water evaporates from the solar still basin, salts and other contaminants are left
behind. Over time, these salts can build to the point of saturation if the still is not
properly maintained and basin flushed on a regular basis. Properly operating a still
requires adding about three times as much make-up water as the distillate water
produced each day (e.g., if the still produced 3 gallons of water, 9 gallons of make-up
water should be added, of which 6 gallons leaves the still as excess). The excess water
flushes the still basin through the overflow to prevent salt buildup. If this is done on a
daily basis, the flushed water is of approximately the same quality as the original
feedwater that was added to the still. The excess water is of suitable quality that it can be
used to water landscaping, wash pots and pans, etc. No sediments or sludge will buildup

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if the still is properly operated and flushed daily at about three times daily distillate
production.
80

70

60 Still Air
Still Water
Temp. Deg. Celsius

Ambient
50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Sample Hour

Still water Still

andAir,air temperatures
Still versus
Water, and Ambient ambient temperature over a two day period
Temperature
Day 147-148 Source: New Mexico State University, 2000

STILLWATERPRODUCTION
Solar still production is a function of solar energy (insolation) and ambient
temperature. Production rates in the Southwest U.S. can average about 6 liters per day in
the winter to over 15 liters per day during the summer. Measured daily solar still
performance for a year in liters per square meter of still per day are shown in the figure
below:

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8 Observed
Fitted Curve
7

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Julian Day 1998
Measured basin solar still annual performance in Las Cruces, New Mexico on a square
Fig. 4.1 Daily Still Water Production For Still #2 Source: New Mexico State University, 2000
meter basis

If you know the amount of solar energy in your region (1 sun-hours is defined as
1 kWh/m2/day), you can use the following graph to calculate expected performance in
your area based on the number of average sun-hours per day (1 sun-hour = 1
kWh/m2). Note that in a temperate climate, typically there are from 3 to 4 sun hours in
the winter, and 5 to 8 in the summer. Tropical climates have less variation in sun-hours
across the year and more consistently and often have 5 to 6 sun-hours over the year.

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10
Recorded
9 Fitted Line

7
Production, Liters/m2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Insolation kWh/m2
Average measured solar still water production per square meter based on daily solar
insolation Source: New Mexico State University, 2000
Fig. 4.4 Expected Daily Production With Given Insolation
Note that a Sol-2 still has a surface area of 1.77 square meters. Typical
production for a Sol-2 unit can be expected as follows:

Solar Energy SOL-2 Still

Daily Sun-Hours Approx. Output
(kWh/m2/day) (liters/day)
3 4.0
4 5.6
5 7.1
6 8.9
7 10.4
8 12.0

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DISTILLATIONPURIFICATIONCAPABILITIES

Solar stills have proven to be highly effective in cleaning up water supplies to

provide safe drinking water. The effectiveness of distillation for producing safe
drinking water is well established and recognized. Most commercial stills and water
purification systems require electrical or other fossil-fueled power sources. Solar
distillation technology produces the same safe quality drinking water as other
distillation technologies; only the energy source is different (solar) for producing clean
drinking water.

Solarstillsremove:

Saltsandminerals(e.g.,Iron,Manganese)
Heavymetals(e.g.,Lead,Arsenic,Cadmium,Nickel)
Chlorine
GiardiaandCryptosporidium
E.Coliandotherbacteria

Distillation is the only stand alone point-of-use (POU) technology with NSF
(National Sanitation Foundation) international certification for arsenic removal, under
Standard 62. Solar distillation removes all salts, as well as biological contaminants (e.g.,
cryptosporidium, e. coli, etc.). There are many studies in the literature, such as tests
conducted on solar stills at New Mexico State University and Sandia National
Laboratories, which clearly verify that solar stills are highly effective in eliminating
microbial contamination and salts.
If you have any questions about what a solar still can effectively clean, please
contact SolAqua for additional information. Following are test results conducted on
single basin solar stills by New Mexico State University and Sandia National
Laboratories.

NewMexicoStateUniversityStillTests
The table below provides the results of the NMSU tests which show the
effectiveness of solar stills in eliminating microbial contamination. After the
introduction of more than 10,000 viable bacteria per liter in the feed water, 4 and 25
viable cells per liter were found in the distillate (reductions of 99.96 and 99.65% were
achieved). Introduction of a billion or more Escherichia coli viable cells, each day over a
period of five days, did not change the number of viable cell numbers recovered in the
distillate, nor was E. coli recovered in the distillate. These tests conclusively show the
effectiveness of solar stills in removing microbes.

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NMSU Still Microbial Test Results

Sample Volume Tested Total Organisms per
liter
Supply 50 16,000
Distillate 1,000 4
E. coli Seed -- 2,900,000,000
Distillate 750 11 (No E. coli)
E. coli Seed -- 7,500,000,000
Distillate 1,000 18 (No E. coli)
Supply 10 24,000
Distillate 1,000 13
Supply 1 12,000
Distillate 1,000 6
Source: New Mexico State University, 1992

Water Quality Tests on Selected Solar Stills in Columbus, New Mexico

Field Still Conductivity, Hardness, Fluoride,
Ref. No. S/cm mg/L CaCO3 mg/L pH
#20 input 1190 260 6.2 7.9
#20 output 4.8 4 0.1 9.2
#22 input 1180 250 8.2 7.4
#22 output 1.8 0 0.10 9.1
#29 input 1200 250 6.0 8.1
#29 output 5.8 8 0 8.8
#30 input 2390 480 n/a 6.8
#30 output 4 4 n/a 9.4

Source: New Mexico State University, 2000

SandiaNationalLaboratoriesStillTests
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has conducted tests on single basin solar stills
to test water quality. The SNL tests were conducted with supply water concentrations of
13 and 16% (standard saltwater). The stills effectively removed salts and the Total
Dissolved Salts (TDS) concentration of the water fell from 36,000 and 48,000 TDS to less
than 1 TDS. The SNL report also concluded that solar stills are effective in producing
microbial free water. The table below shows results from the SNL tests.

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Sandia National Laboratories Still Water Quality Test Results

Sample Type 13% salinity Distilled 16% salinity Distilled
feedwater water (13% case) feedwater water (16% case)
Calcium (total) 340 1.5 371 <0.10
Iron (total) 0.27 <0.05 0.48 <0.06
Magnesium (total) 2.1 2.1 <0.005 <0.005
Manganese (total) 0.04 <0.02 0.07 <0.02
Ammonia as N <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Chloride 19000 <1.0 25000 2.6
Fixed Solids 32000 <1.0 41000 31
Nitrate as NO3 34 0.1 26 <0.1
Nitrate as NO2 0.013 <0.01 0.02 <0.01
TDS 36000 <1.0 48000 <1.0
Volatiles & Organics 4200 <1.0 6000 13
Source: SAND92-0100

Note that actual results can vary. If you are cleaning water contaminated with
pesticides or other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), than you should place an
activated carbon filter (silver impregnated) on the water supply inlet. This will prevent
any VOCs from entering the still, as these may vaporize before the water does. Solar
stills have yet to be proven effective in eliminating VOCs (NMSU tests are promising
but have been inconclusive to date).

ContentedkitbuiltsolarstilluserinColumbus,NewMexico.

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EconomicsofSolarDistillation
Compared to purchasing comparable quantities of bottled water, the average
return on investment on a SolAqua solar still for a family is typically only a couple of
years. Good quality bottled water often costs more than gasoline and many American
families often spend over US$500 per year on bottled water. Factoring in the health costs
of contaminated water, payback for a solar still can be immediate. Solar distillation is the
cheapest way to clean water for a household and is quite economical as compared to
reverse osmosis and electric distillation. The cost of solar distilled water is under eleven
cents per gallon based on a 10 year lifetime as shown in a study conducted by New
Mexico State University (see table below).

Comparison of Cost Per Gallon of Various Water Treatments Using a 10-Year

Amortization (7%) based on price quotes from different technology vendors.
Replacement
Method(s) Initial Cost Initial Cost Parts Power Cost Total Cost
per month per gallon per gallon Per gallon
($) ($) per gallon ($) ($) ($)
R.O.-4 stgs. 9.23 0.123 0.110 0.23
R.O.-3 stgs. 6.44 0.086 0.044 0.13
R.O.-3 stgs. 10.16 0.135 0.061 0.20
Dist.-Electric 3.82 0.051 0 0.35 0.40
Dist.-Electric 16.22 0.216 0 0.35 0.57
Dist.-Electric 20.89 0.279 0 0.35 0.63
Solar Dist. (one) 8.24 0.110 0 0.11
Solar Dist.
(many) 5.54 0.074 0 0.07
Bottled Water 0.00 0.000 0 0 0.25
Source: New Mexico State University, 2000

DISTILLEDWATER
The distilled water from a SolAqua solar distiller does not acquire the "flat taste
of commercially distilled water since the water is not boiled. Solar stills use natural
evaporation, which is the rainwater process. This allows for natural pH buffering that
produces excellent taste as compared to steam distillation. Solar distilled water has a
pleasant taste due to a slightly higher pH.
There exists a misconception in some circles that drinking distilled water might
be detrimental to one's health. In fact, distilled water is quite beneficial as related by a
famous medical expert below:

"I meet people who object to drinking distilled and purified water because it has been
"robbed" of its mineral content. We get trace minerals from foods, especially fruits and
vegetables, not from water, and the benefits of purifying drinking water are myriad. It
is your best protection against ingesting a host of toxins and pollutants that are serious
threats to health."

Andrew Weil, M. D.
University of Arizona
Eating Well for Optimum Health, p. 136

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REFERENCES
Foster, R.E. and M. Cormier, Solar Still Construction and Operation Manual, El Paso Solar Energy
Association, El Paso, Texas, Summer, 1999.

McCarthy, C. M., "Solar Still Analysis Letter," Department of Biology, New Mexico State
University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, August 25, 1992.

Weil, A., Eating Well for Optimum Health: The Essential Guide to Food, Diet, and Nutrition,
ISBN 0-375-40754-5, Random House, New York City, New York, 2000.

Zachritz, W. H., L. Mimbela, R. Polka, K. Stevens, L. Cisneros, H. Floyd, A. Hanson, "Application

of Solar Stills for Drinking Water in Border Colonias" Southwest Technology Development
Institute, New Mexico State University, EDA Project No. 08-39-03086, Austin, Texas, April,
2000.

Zirzow, Jeffrey A., Solar Stills Complement Photovoltaic Systems, Sandia National Laboratories,
SAND92-0100, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February, 1992.

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