The Efficiency of a Trapezoid-shaped Solar Still

Maldonado, Rafael; Davidson, Paul; Bhattarai, Rabin

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/65510 Copy

Description

Title

The Efficiency of a Trapezoid-shaped Solar Still

Author(s)

• Maldonado, Rafael
• Davidson, Paul
• Bhattarai, Rabin

Issue Date

2014

Keyword(s)

desalination, environment, water

Abstract

Drinking water is scarce in developing countries and is becoming a limiting resource for the entire world. This experiment focuses on the enhancement of a solar purification model known as a solar still. The improvement of the solar still will make purifying water a viable option in poor areas of the world and the solar still will reduce the amount of water purified using petroleum-based energy sources and help temper the ongoing water crisis. A solar still model with a polyethylene top and a mirror inside was tested for three hours on three different days and the purified water measured. The model barely yielded results, with only one of the three days producing a measurable amount of water. While the tests yielded very little purified water, the model did evaporate a significant amount of water, which could mean that by fixing a small design flaw, this system could be a solution to water scarcity on islands and other areas with limited access to fresh, clean drinking water.

Publisher

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/65510

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2014 Rafael Maldonado, Paul Davidson, Rabin Bhattarai

Owning Collections