A portable single-basin solar still with an external reflecting booster and an outside condenser

In this paper, a new design of a portable thermal-electrical solar still with an external reflecting booster and an outside condenser is proposed. The still minimises the loss of latent heat of condensation to the environment. The latent heat is accumulated in a condenser and can be used to preheat saline water for domestic purposes or to operate the still during night times. Preliminary results show that the efficiency of such still could be up to 77% if the preheated saline water is used for domestic purposes, and it could be up to 85% if preheated saline water is used to operate the still during night times and to recharge the still by the next batch of preheated water. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.