Capstone Project of Solar Water Desalination
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
Five NorthÂeastern UniÂverÂsity student-researchers have worked to address the worldÂwide water crisis, designing a solar-powered desaliÂnaÂtion system that proÂduces potable ocean water
They creÂated the device for their senior capÂstone project, which was superÂvised bymechanÂical and indusÂtrial engiÂneeringproÂfessor Mohammad Taslim. Team memÂbers comÂprised Eric Anderson, Jon Moll, Dave Rapp, Murphy RutÂledge, and Ryan Wasserman, allE'15.
In their project report, the stuÂdents pointed to the urgent need to solve the global water shortage: Some 750 milÂlion people lack access to clean water, according to water.org, and approxÂiÂmately 840,000 people die each year from a water related disÂease. Indeed,the water crisis repÂreÂsents the greatest risk facing the world today.
"We wanted to work on this project preÂcisely because of the world's water problem," said Wasserman, who recently gradÂuÂated with his BachÂelor of SciÂence in MechanÂical EngiÂneering. "DevelÂoping nations like Haiti need a cost-effective method for obtaining usable water without powerinput."
The team's desaliÂnaÂtion system conÂsists of a parÂaÂbolic mirror, a copper heating pipe, and two tanks—a storage tank and a conÂdenser tanked filled with cold water. Here's how it works: A user pours a small jug of salt water into the pipe. The mirror reflects sunÂlight onto the pipe, causing the water to evapÂoÂrate. This process creÂates water vapor, which in turn flows through a conÂdenser coil located inside the conÂdenser tank. The resulting potable water drips from the bottom of the conÂdenser tank into the storage tank, leaving the salt behind in thepipe
Source: NorthEastern
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