Passive Survival Solar Desalinator - Capstone

Overview

For my undergraduate capstone project, myself and four others created a fully contained, passive solar desalination device. The project spanned two semesters, and it culminated in a capstone presentation day, where external judges analyzed each product and chose a winner. Our solar desalinator received the runner-up position out of over 25 different projects. Below, a gallery of different images pertaining to the project can be seen.

The project itself consisted of three main systems: the desalination stacks, the water collection, and the obvious structural/flotation.

Desalination Stacks

The desalination stacks act as a regular solar still, however they are “stacked” which allows for the latent heat to transfer through the stack itself and increase the efficiency of desalination. 3D printed shells house cotton wipes and aluminum plates, acting as capillary wicks and condensers for the salt and fresh water. The fresh water then moves through 3D printed channels and out into the water collection system.

 

Water Collection

The water collection system consisted of a series of tubes and two separate collection chambers. Additionally, there are two float switches in the bottom jug which control a pump that pumps water to the top jug. This allows the top jug to be removable, and it increases the capacity of the device. A custom designed logic circuit contains the brains for controlling the float switches and pumps, which greatly reduced cost and power requirements in contrast to a microcontroller, allowing the entire system to be powered with only a small solar panel.

Conclusions

This project was extremely involved, and it frankly felt like a work project when it came to requirements, schedule, and outcomes. I was personally responsible for the entire desalination stack system: CAD, construction, testing and implementation. Additionally, I was in charge of a lot of the physical construction of the structural frame and water collection device. I also aided in the development of the switch logic, report writing, presentations, and more. This project was instrumental in my learnings as an engineer, and it felt like a culmination of my first two co-ops and all of my undergraduate classes. Below is an image of the final presentation poster; please click on it to be brought to the website to learn even more. Final report is available on request.