Date of Completion

4-26-2023

Degree Type

Honors Thesis - Campus Access

Discipline

Mechanical Engineering (MECH)

First Advisor

Dr. Mahsa Ebrahim

Abstract

With water being one of the most abundant resources on earth, and safe drinking water being an increasingly scarce one, much research has been conducted on creating efficient, sustainable, and economical water desalination systems. Our project tackled this goal, with the added objectives of designing something portable and solar-powered. The method chosen was solar thermal desalination – the process of using heat from solar energy to evaporate the salt water, before condensing the vapor and collecting the distillate water. To maximize the productivity, we focused on reusing the latent heat through multiple stages. Based on current desalination systems’ performances, we hoped to produce an average of 3 L / m2h to provide clean drinking water for a small family when 100 of these devices are placed in a 10 by 10 grid (1 m x 1 m in area). After several tests, however, we were only able to produce three large droplets. Estimating the volume of these, we had a final result of about 0.01 L / m2h.

Download

Share

COinS