Water distiller

1 . A water distiller for distilling contaminated water, the water distiller comprising:

a) a first container for containing contaminated water, the first container comprising a first base and a first wall upwardly extending from the first base;

b) an outer cover;

c) a water collection unit; and

d) an inner cover for enclosing a volume in the first container, the inner cover comprising at least one aperture and being positioned below the outer cover,

wherein the inner cover and the outer cover are designed for transporting condensed water to the water collection unit,

wherein the outer cover is transparent for heating the contaminated water in the first container by sun radiation,

wherein the water collection unit comprises an outer container for collecting distilled water, the outer container comprising an outer base and an outer wall upwardly extending from the outer base,

wherein the first container is covered by the inner cover and is positioned inside the outer container,

wherein the inner cover is opaque or in-transparent,

wherein the outer container is covered and closed by the outer cover,

wherein the inner cover is made of a water-impermeable material; and

wherein the at least one aperture (i) is provided at an elevation relative to an adjacent portion of a surface of the inner cover, and/or (ii) is at least partially surround by a ridge.

2 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein at least a part of a surface area of the outer cover is slanted at an angle relative to a horizontal plane perpendicular to gravity, and at an angle relative to a horizontal plane of the first base of the first container or the outer base of the outer container, wherein the angle relative to the horizontal plane perpendicular to gravity is at least 10° and lower than 80°.

3 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the outer cover comprises an outer corrugated surface comprising a plurality of outer corrugations, each of the outer corrugations comprising an upper portion and a bottom portion connected by a wall portion, said wall portions being disposed at angles between 20° and 70° relative to adjacent ones of the wall portions.

4 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the inner cover comprises an upper surface and the outer cover comprises an inner surface, wherein at least part of the upper surface of the inner cover and/or at least part of the inner surface of the outer cover are water repellent by being made from a hydrophobic material or by being modified with a hydrophobic coating or a lotus leaf surface structure or combinations thereof.

5 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall and the first wall are spaced apart by a wall spacing of 0.5 to 6 cm and wherein at least a part of the first base of the first container and the outer base of the outer container are spaced apart by a base spacing of at least 0.5 cm and less than 10 cm, wherein the spacings are set by spacers provided on the first container and/or on the outer container.

6 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the first container comprises capillary means having a capillary function positioned inside the first container partially below and partially above an envisaged water level.

7 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall of the outer container extends lower than the first wall of the first container by at least about 1 cm and/or wherein at least a top portion of the outer wall is transparent or wherein alternatively the entire outer container is transparent.

8 . The water distiller of claim 1 , having a circular or rectangular circumferential shape in horizontal cross-section, and having:

a central opening configured to surround and protect a plant positioned therein, wherein the central opening is formed by an upwardly extending central first wall of the first container, or

a recess in at least one side or corner wherein said recess forms part of an opening such that, in an assembly of two or more adjacent separate water distillers, the recesses cooperatively form an opening configured to surround and protect a plant positioned therein, wherein two or more adjacent water distillers in the assembly of two or more adjacent separate water distillers are connected by a coupling member.

9 . The water distiller of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of features a) to f), wherein features a) to f) are as follows:

a) a closable drainage opening in the water collection unit for draining collected distilled water,

b) an irrigation opening in the water collection unit,

c) a filling opening extending through the outer cover and the inner cover into the first container and means to close the filling opening, said filling opening being positioned in the outer cover,

d) an overflow duct or opening between the water collection unit and the first container,

e) the outer cover is prepared from a transparent polymer material that is transparent for UV light, and

f) an electrical heater for heating the contaminated water in the first container.

10 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the inner cover has a thermal emissivity measured according to ASTM C1371-15 of at least about 0.50.

11 . The water distiller of claim 6 , wherein the capillary means are capillary cords, cloth or felt and are suspended from the inner cover into the first container.

12 . The water distiller of claim 9 , comprising an electrical heating means for heating the contaminated water in the first container, wherein the electrical heating means is a resistance heating element integrated in the first wall or first base of the first container or an immersion heater having an electrical resistance heating element encased in a tube positioned in the first container in the contaminated water to be heated.

13 . The water distiller of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the inner cover is a slanted surface, wherein the at least one aperture is positioned in an elevated region of the slanted surface of the inner cover.

14 . A method of distilling water, comprising:

providing the water distiller of claim 1 ;

filling the first container with contaminated water;

exposing the water distiller to sunlight; and

collecting distilled water from the water collection unit.

15 . A water distiller for distilling contaminated water, the water distiller comprising:

a) a first container for containing contaminated water, the first container comprising a first base and a first wall upwardly extending from the first base;

b) an outer cover;

c) a water collection unit; and

d) an inner cover for enclosing a volume in the first container, the inner cover comprising at least one aperture and being positioned below the outer cover,

wherein the inner cover and the outer cover are designed for transporting condensed water to the water collection unit,

wherein the outer cover is transparent for heating the contaminated water in the first container by sun radiation,

wherein the water collection unit comprises an outer container for collecting distilled water, the outer container comprising an outer base and an outer wall upwardly extending from the outer base,

wherein the first container is covered by the inner cover and is positioned inside the outer container,

wherein the inner cover is opaque or in-transparent,

wherein the outer container is covered and closed by the outer cover, and

wherein the inner cover comprises an inner corrugated surface comprising a plurality of inner corrugations, each of the inner corrugations comprising an upper portion and a bottom portion connected by a wall portion, wherein the bottom portions of the inner corrugations are designed to channel condensed water towards the water collection unit, said wall portions being disposed at angles between 20° and 70° relative to adjacent ones of the wall portions.

16 . The water distiller of claim 15 , wherein the outer corrugations in the outer cover and the corrugations in the inner cover, have a triangular cross-sectional shape.

17 . The water distiller of claim 15 , wherein the at least one aperture is positioned on the upper portion of at least one of the inner corrugations.

18 . A water distiller for distilling contaminated water, the water distiller comprising:

a) a first container for containing contaminated water, the first container comprising a first base and a first wall upwardly extending from the first base;

b) an outer cover;

c) a water collection unit; and

d) an inner cover for enclosing a volume in the first container, the inner cover comprising at least one aperture and being positioned below the outer cover,

wherein the inner cover and the outer cover are designed for transporting condensed water to the water collection unit,

wherein the outer cover is transparent for heating the contaminated water in the first container by sun radiation,

wherein the water collection unit comprises an outer container for collecting distilled water, the outer container comprising an outer base and an outer wall upwardly extending from the outer base,

wherein the first container is covered by the inner cover and is positioned inside the outer container,

wherein the inner cover is opaque or in-transparent, and

wherein the outer container is covered and closed by the outer cover, and

wherein the outer cover comprises a corrugated surface comprising a plurality of outer corrugations, each of the outer corrugations comprising an upper portion and a bottom portion connected by a wall portion, said wall portions being disposed at angles between 20° and 70° relative to adjacent ones of the wall portions, and

the inner cover comprises a corrugated surface comprising a plurality of inner corrugations aligned with the outer corrugations of the outer cover such that the bottom portions of the outer corrugations of the outer cover align with bottom portions of the inner corrugations of the inner cover such that condensed water droplets falling from the bottom portions of the outer corrugations of the outer cover fall into the bottom portions of the inner corrugations of the inner cover.