Plausibility of Using Solar Energy for Water Purification
Advisor(s)
Brooke Schmidt; Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
Engineering
Start Date
21-4-2021 9:10 AM
End Date
21-4-2021 9:25 AM
Abstract
Water purification has been one of the permeating questions for humanity throughout history as humans need to consume fresh water to satisfy their bodily needs hasn’t matched up well with the type of water present on Earth in large quantities. In recent years, experiments have been conducted as far as efficient automation of the water purification process goes with varying results. In addition, growing renewable energy needs have sparked additional research into whether this process could be accomplished without external energy sources, leading to the niche field of solar energy-based water purification.
This experiment attempts to determine the feasibility of a low-cost solution as well as its effectiveness through applying already created designs while using cheaper and more readily available materials to determine if a setup similar to the one created in this experiment based off of reflective surfaces focusing the sun’s rays onto a single tray with impure water would be capable of producing sufficient clean water, measured by pH. This experiment yielded inconclusive results as to the feasibility of this setup, though it did make significant inroads as far as suitable temperatures for this setup which can serve as the premise for future experiments.
Plausibility of Using Solar Energy for Water Purification
Water purification has been one of the permeating questions for humanity throughout history as humans need to consume fresh water to satisfy their bodily needs hasn’t matched up well with the type of water present on Earth in large quantities. In recent years, experiments have been conducted as far as efficient automation of the water purification process goes with varying results. In addition, growing renewable energy needs have sparked additional research into whether this process could be accomplished without external energy sources, leading to the niche field of solar energy-based water purification.
This experiment attempts to determine the feasibility of a low-cost solution as well as its effectiveness through applying already created designs while using cheaper and more readily available materials to determine if a setup similar to the one created in this experiment based off of reflective surfaces focusing the sun’s rays onto a single tray with impure water would be capable of producing sufficient clean water, measured by pH. This experiment yielded inconclusive results as to the feasibility of this setup, though it did make significant inroads as far as suitable temperatures for this setup which can serve as the premise for future experiments.