Don’t we always have a question whether the water we use is pure? Of course, we do because our life depends on it. Water purification is a major concern in most of the regions.
Thus, in order to purify the water, researchers have developed “Solar Stills”, a device that absorbs solar energy to evaporate the water in a separate container leaving behind contaminants. The new device uses carbon-coated paper which is cost effective as well as very well efficient in terms of workability.
Water is life; hence, the use of solar stills can be a life-saving method. The researchers at the University of Buffalo, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Fudan University are working on developing efficient solar stills. Requirement of lenses or optical operators to concentrate energy and the heat loss due to bulk water heating are the problems the conventional solar stills are facing.
Therefore, the researchers have come up with a new device called the “Solar Vapor Generator,” which is almost the size of a small fridge. It is made up of porous, carbon black-coated hydrophilic paper, and expanded polystyrene foam. This device floats on the water surface which absorbs the heat and evaporates the water absorbed by the device. The device heats the water only on the surface at 44°C rather than the bulk of water, which saves heat energy loss. The device proved 88% thermal efficient and produced about 3–10 Liters of pure water per day.
The low-cost materials for development and minimal heat loss during the process are what the solar still provides. The cost-effective solar device can prove to be a life-saving device for the smaller communities.
So let’s get the sun working.
