An active regenerative solar still, 1.03 m(2) in area, which can reuse the latent heat of condensation and the sensible heat of brine is constructed and tested under practical weather conditions. In this still, a considerable fraction of the latent and sensible heat is successfully recycled and utilized for preheating the feedstock and recycling air via a falling film evaporator-condenser. The thermal performance of the system is greatly improved because of the technology of the forced thin layer evaporation and film condensation used. As a result, the yield is about two to three times greater than that of a conventional single basin type solar still.