SOLAR WATER

TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Santoshi Agrawal

Guided by- Dr. S. P. Shingare

 AIM & OBJECTIVE

 To study different solar energy based water treatement systems

 Analyse its need and challenges in the developing countries

 To find ways to improvise the solar stills and its productivity

 Current progress and future scope of solar water treatment systems

INTRODUCTION
 Drinking water remains inaccessible to 1.1 million people globally.
 Safe and readily available drinking water is important for public health.
 Drinking water can be used for many purposes including cooking, drinking, washing,
personal hygiene, irrigation, recreational and industrial use.
 The sources of drinking water in developing countries can range from surface water,
groundwater, spring water, saline water, bottled water and harvested rainwater.
 Microbiology and chemical contaminants in drinking water cause acute and chronic
health effects and also affect the aesthetic properties of water systems which
include:
• Pathogens -disease-causing organisms
• Harmful chemicals from human activities and industrial wastes
• Chemicals and minerals from the natural environment, such as arsenic, common
salts and fluorides.
• Some non-harmful contaminants may influence the taste, smell, colour and
turbidity of water and make it unacceptable to the consumer
WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM
 It is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants,
suspended solids and gases from contaminated water.

 The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose. Most water is purified for
human consumption (drinking water), but water purification may also be designed
for a variety of other purposes, including meeting the requirements of medical,
pharmacological, chemical and industrial applications.

 In general the methods used include physical processes such as filtration,

sedimentation, and distillation, biological processes such as slow sand filters or
biologically active carbon, chemical processes as flocculation and chlorination and
the use such of electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light.
WHY USE SOLAR ENERGY ?
 Solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible source of energy.

 The power from the sun intercepted by the earth is approximately 1.8x10"MW., which is
many thousands times larger than the present all commercial energy consumption rate
on the earth.

 Thus in principle, solar energy could supply all the present and future energy needs of
the world on a continuous basis. This makes it one of the most promising of all the
unconventional energy sources.

 In addition to its size, solar energy has two other factors in its favor. Firstly, unlike fossil
fuels and nuclear power, it is an environmentally clean source of energy. Secondly, it is
free and available in adequate quantity
WHY THIS TOPIC?

Challenges to the drinking water supply in developing countries:

 Natural scarcity of water source.

 Floods create more siltation problems in river systems as well as the contamination
of rivers and large dams.
 Stratification problems in lake abstraction points and aeration of abstraction point
to break down the thermocline layer are needed which requires much energy.
 Poor access to water and poor water management
 Poor water productivity in the agricultural sector can impact on water quality.
 Water affordability issues and the challenges of investing in water infrastructure.
 Storage and confidence in storage facility container to prevent contamination entail
education and awareness of cross-contamination.
 SOLAR WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS
(METHODS)

 Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS)

 Solar Water Distillation

 Solar Water Pasteurization

 Solar Water Purification

SOLAR PASTEURIZATIONN
 Pasteurization involves heating water to a sufficient temperature for a time in order to
destroy pathogenic microbes.
 The time taken to destroy microbes decreases exponentially with increasing temperature.
 A common misconception is that water must be boiled, as pasteurization occurs at
temperatures well below 100oC.
 For example, worms and protozoa cysts are destroyed at temperatures above 55oC,
whereas E. coli, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholera, Shigella spp and Rotavirus are destroyed
at temperatures above 60oC.
 Therefore, a system that maintains water temperatures above 60oC may be suitable to
address the pathogens that are of primary concern.
SOLAR DISINFECTION (SODIS)
 Solar disinfection (SoDis) is a water treatment technique consisting of exposing water to
sunlight, specifically UVA radiation.
 Unlike conventional UV water treatment, where UVC radiation directly damages the DNA
of pathogen, SoDis utilizes UVA wavelengths in order to form reactive-oxygen species
(ROS) in water.
 These ROS, (which include monatomic oxygen, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and
hydroxyl radicals) damage the DNA of pathogens and deactivate the microbes
 The process involves contaminated water being filled in transparent PET or glass bottles
which are then exposed to the sun for approximately 6 hours. The UV rays of sun eliminate
the diarrhoea-causing pathogens, thereby making the water fit for consumption
SOLAR WATER PURIFICATION

 This method integrates electricity generated from solar energy for water
purification. Solar panels generate power for a battery which is used for filtration
and purification systems. These structures are generally mobile and are immensely
helpful for disaster - relief efforts. They also come in various sizes meant for small
scale use to commercial/community supply.
 The solar radiations are collected by solar panel.
 This energy is then stored in a battery. The battery is connected to the purification
unit through a electromagnetic relay.
 The purification unit consists of high pressure motor , reverse osmosis system and
the water tank. The high pressure creates the necessary pressure required to carry
out reverse osmosis.
 Reverse osmosis is a process in which the solvent moves from the region of its
higher concentration to lower concentration through a semipermeable membrane
on application of osmotic pressure.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF SOLAR POWERED WATER TREATMENT SYSTEM
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPONENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

 Raw water tank: the tank the huge amount of raw water is available which use for the process.

 Filters: There are 3 types of filters are used which is used to filter the water. These filters are the
primary stage of purifier which will remove the waste material and bacteria. Filter will also remove
the various chemicals from water.

 Booster pump: The purpose of the reverse osmosis booster pump is to increase water pressure going
into the RO unit. Reverse osmosis is a pressure driven process. If inlet water pressures are low that so
that time output of RO membrane is low and rejected water is more. so booster pump is essential in
this system.

 RO Membrane : It is process in which dissolved solids are removed from impure water is called as
reverse osmosis. By using the semi permeable membrane ions, molecules and larger particles are
removed from water. Reverse osmosis can remove many type of dissolved and suspended species from
water.

 Battery: A battery is supplies electric power, its positive terminal is cathode and its negative terminal
is anode. An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external
connection provided to power electrical devices. RO plant battery is 12v two batteries are applied .

 Solar Panels: The solar panels are made up of photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into direct
current Electricity throughout the day. The amount of power produced depend on the intensity of
light.
 Arduino : It is an electronic device which is easy to use in the form of hardware as
well as programming. This board is designed with set of input and output pins which
are interface with various expansion boards . Arduino is used for the controlling
purpose. If raw water tank is empty that time booster pump will be off this
provision is made through the arduino. Water level indicator indicate the storage
status of the water store in tank.

 Purifier/ Fresh Water Tank : After the water is passed through membrane only
pure water is store in this tank

 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT): Charge controllers are used for
extracting maximum available power from PV module under certain conditions.The
voltage at which PV module can produce maximum power is called maximum power
point. List of methods-
I. P and O algorithm
II. Incremental conductance
III. Open Circuit Voltage Technique
IV. Short Circuit Current Technique
SOLAR DISTILLATION / SOLAR STILL
 Solar water distillation uses a solar still to condense pure water vapour and settle out
harmful substances to make clean, pure drinking water.
 This process is used when the water is brackish containing harmful bacteria, or for settling
out heavy metals and also for desalination of sea water.
PROCESS:
 Water to be cleaned is poured into the still. The glass cover allows the solar radiation to
pass into the still, which is mostly absorbed by the blackened base. This interior surface
uses a blackened material to improve absorption of the sunrays. The water begins to heat
up and the moisture content of the air trapped between the water surface and the glass
cover increases. The heated water vapour evaporates from the basin and condenses on the
inside of the glass cover. In this process, the salts and microbes that were in the original
water are left behind. Condensed water trickles down the inclined glass cover to an
interior collection trough and out to a storage bottle.
CALCULATION:

The distillate obtained from basin type solar still can be determined
using the expression given below:
Approaches to achieving higher productivity in solar stills
IMPROVISING THE EFFICIENCY OF SINGLE-SLOPED
SOLAR STILL USING THERMALLY CONDUCTIVE
NANO-FERRIC OXIDE

 To desalinate water, the single-sloped solar still (SSSS) has proven to be a viable
option with much affordability.
 Usage of nanomaterial on the absorbent layer can improve the thermal conductivity
of the basin area and thus the distillate produced per hour. The micro-coated and
nano-Fe2O3 particles can be employed and analyzed.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP:

 Three types of stills named A, B, and C.

 The conventional solar still (A) coated with black paint,
 Micro absorbent layer solar still, is coated with black paint micro Fe2O3 (B),
 Nanoabsorbent layer solar still is coated black paint nano-Fe2O3.
 The readings were obtained for all the three stills, the temperature sensors are
placed at important nodal points.
 Pyranometer is used to measure the equivalent solar irradiance in W/m2. The
collected pure water samples are measured using a calibrated flask.
Experimental setup
RESULT COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS WORK

SR. AUTHOR NAME EXPERIMENTAL WORK DONE YIELD PER DAY THERMAL
NO. (L/M2 OR KG) EFFICIENC
Y (%)

1. Kabeel et al. Basin coated with black paint mixed with a TiO2 6.6 N.A.
nanoparticle

2. Sain et al. Performance enhancement of single-sloped solar still 3.48 38.65

using nanoparticles mixed black paint

3. Balachandran et Enhancement of PV/T-integrated single-sloped solar still 2.2 60.82

al. productivity using water film cooling and hybrid
composite insulation

4. Gurukarthik et al. Improvising the efficiency of single-sloped solar still CSS-2.86 52

using MALSS-4.23 63
thermally conductive nano-ferric oxide NALSS–5.39 68
Expected nature of graph for Hourly disparities of thermal
efficiency:
COSTING

CONCLUSION:

 From the test results, the nano-ferric oxide thermal conductivity value is high, and
thus the water evaporation process takes place faster. As the rate of evaporation
increases, obviously the hourly yield of palatable water also increases
CASE STUDIES
 Rajaseenivasan, Murugavel, and Elango (2014) examined the exergetic performance
of single and double-basin solar stills having different wick materials (such as black
cotton cloth, jute cloth and waste cotton) in the basin. The pieces of mild steel
were also used to enhance the heat storage capacity of basin. The maximum exergy
efficiency obtained for single and double-basin solar stills was calculated to be 2.0%
and 1.4%, respectively. Further, the payback periods obtained for single and double-
basin solar stills were 352 and 443 days, respectively.

 Panchal et al. (2018) examined the performance of double-basin solar still coupled
with evacuated tubes. The use of solid fins made of mild steel increased the
distillate yield by 25%. During sunshine hours, the distillate yields obtained from
lower and upper basins were 5.7 and 2.2 litres, respectively. While for off-sunshine
hours, the distillate yield was only 1.4 litres. The integrated unit reduced the loss of
latent heat of condensation as observed in single-basin solar still.

 Hansen, Narayanan, and Murugavel (2015) studied the working performance of solar
still for different wick materials (i.e. wood pulp, water coral fleece and polystyrene
sponge) and configurations of absorber plate (i.e. Flat absorber and steeped
absorber with and without wire mesh). The use of water coral fleece material
(having heat transfer coefficient of 34.21 W/m2ºC, porosity of 69.67%, capillary rise
of 10 mm/h and absorbency of 2s) resulted into the highest distillate productivity of
4.28 l/d.
RESEARCH AND PILOT SCHEMES IN INDIA
 National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)

NIOT has been focusing on utilizing ocean resources for fresh water and renewable
energy technology. One of their specific areas of work is the LTTD process, where
fresh water is produced using low temperature thermal desalination (LTTD).

 Department of Science & Technology (DST)

DST has supported KG Design Services (KGDS), Coimbatore and National Institute of

Ocean Technology (NIOT) to develop and demonstrate a solar thermal desalination
plant which harnesses solar energy, concentrates it and produces steam which in
turn is used for desalination of sea water through the Linear Fresnel Reflector
(LFR) system

 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

BARC scientists in Mumbai have developed a water purifying technology which is

either driven by solar or wind energy for desalinating contaminated water besides
removing toxic elements, pathogens and turbity. For treating the water, electricity
locally produced from sunlight, is used to operate a pressure-driven, membrane-
based reverse osmosis process.
FUTURE SCOPE
 Solar distillation is a proven technology for water disinfection and the system can be
customized from one person to community sized systems.
 They have a long life span of about 20 years and generally do not require moving
parts.
 The water purification business in India is undergoing major changes, not just in
terms of technology, but also in terms of pricing and competition. The drivers of
change include scarcity of clean drinking water, low penetration of water purifiers,
increasing urbanization, and waterborne diseases.
 Providing with solar water purifiers, which makes use of solar photo voltaic systems
would be a step in the right direction as an access to clean, safe, consumable
water. There is an untapped opportunity in the rural areas but it is definitely an
effort for the long haul.
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THANK YOU