MROSupply Supporting Students and Engineering Projects
The Solar Desalination Project by Chris, Jekabs, and Peter Stahl, of TCNJ
When we decided to work in this solar desalination project, our minds were disturbed by one fact: although saltwater is present on the surface of the earth, many are the people who lack a clean, safe and reliable source of drinking water. The cases in underdeveloped villages and disaster relief scenarios are the direst. So, we decided to come up with a solution: designing a portable, self-contained and solar-powered seawater desalination system.
Since the funding of our proof of concept 1 design (P.O.C.) was secured from the School of Engineering office back in mid-December, the team of Chris, Peter and I have been working hard at work realizing the project. ‘Realizing the project’ has meant something different for everyone:
- Chris: Constructing the mobile platform on which most equipment will sit, and finalizing the mounting locations and configuration for key hardware components.
- Peter: Determining the perfect tubing lengths and adjusting for project discontinuations.
- Jekabs: Wiring and testing components, troubleshooting, and improving the overall design of the electrical system.
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In addition to individual subsystem responsibilities, every member of the team has spent time finding project supporters. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive with families, friends, and businesses (both local and international) have contributed to realizing our project through the donation of integral hardware components or other useful project materials. Special appreciation goes to MROsupply, whose understanding and support, especially with the Leeson electric motor. Whether you donated a length of wiring you had sitting in your shed or multiple brand-new electrical components, know that we are incredibly grateful. We cannot thank you all enough for taking an interest in our project and believing in our team. It is only thanks to all of you that we will be able to construct our proof of concept 2 (P.O.C.2) design!
As it stood in December, going into our final budget meeting, P.O.C.1 featured only a reverse osmosis membrane, which would have enabled us to desalinate pre-mixed saltwater only. This made the design less complex and, therefore, also less costly than our other designs, which is why it was funded. To put things into perspective, the TCNJ School of Engineering had to spread funding over 36 senior projects this year.
Our P.O.C.2 differs from P.O.C.1 in that it has pre-treatment elements that make the output water safe to drink, as well as improve the function and useful life (anti-fouling) of the critical component: the reverse osmosis membrane. Supporting hardware for these items includes a separate low-pressure intake suction pump, numerous pipe fittings and regulators, and various electrical components.
The process of acquisition has been lengthy, but at this point, we have in our design most of the components needed to build the system. As you can see in the photos below, everything is taking shape. We are still waiting for some items, including high-pressure tubing and electrical components. So, once they arrive, the system will be ready for testing in a couple of days.
Now, we are researching on the different water tests that need to be done during validation. We plan to test the water for TDS (total dissolved solids), salinity, bacteria, chlorine/ chloramine, and boron before and after treatment to establish the effectiveness of our system.
In this project, we do not intend to create a full-scale system at this moment of the project cycle, but a scaled-down model for concept validation purposes.
See the photos showing our project progress below:
Sincerely, Jakobs