Impact of Solar Tracking on Solar Energy-Based Water Purification
Session Number
Project ID: ENGN 06
Advisor(s)
Dr. Brooke Schmidt, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
Engineering
Start Date
20-4-2022 10:05 AM
End Date
20-4-2022 10:20 AM
Abstract
Water purification remains one of the permeating questions for humanity throughout history as humans’ need to consume clean water to satisfy their bodily needs hasn’t matched up well with the type of water present on Earth in large quantities as roughly only 1.2 % is safe for human consumption. In recent years, with the continued development of technology, experiments have been conducted as far as efficient automation of the water purification process goes with varying results. 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 impact of adding solar tracking capability to a solar energy-based water purification system. This is accomplished through adding this capability to an already created design that uses readily available materials. The effectiveness of this new version is determined by comparing the amount of water purified by the end of a day by a stationary setup versus a mobile setup. A safety check is conducted by measuring the pH of both input and output water. Observed results concur with statistical significance of the impact of solar tracking during multiple trials.
Impact of Solar Tracking on Solar Energy-Based Water Purification
Water purification remains one of the permeating questions for humanity throughout history as humans’ need to consume clean water to satisfy their bodily needs hasn’t matched up well with the type of water present on Earth in large quantities as roughly only 1.2 % is safe for human consumption. In recent years, with the continued development of technology, experiments have been conducted as far as efficient automation of the water purification process goes with varying results. 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 impact of adding solar tracking capability to a solar energy-based water purification system. This is accomplished through adding this capability to an already created design that uses readily available materials. The effectiveness of this new version is determined by comparing the amount of water purified by the end of a day by a stationary setup versus a mobile setup. A safety check is conducted by measuring the pH of both input and output water. Observed results concur with statistical significance of the impact of solar tracking during multiple trials.