Mission Statement: To demonstrate the commercial viability of a small scale solar distillation system and to provide potable water to rural communities in Central

Valley PureDistilled Drinking Water

There are rural communities in the Central Valley who are without access to clean drinking water. These rural areas, where the population is often below 10,000, may have water with 4 to 5 times the amount of nitrate and arsenic allowed by the EPA. Our team has designed a product that utilizes green energy resources to significantly reduce the energy cost for a small scale water distillation system.

Authors: Stephen Ho, Chris Harrison, Ernesto Mora-Lua, Raymond Hoang, Ian Burnside

To achieve our goal for a commercially viable small scale water distillation system, the system needs to follow the following design constraints.

•Distill water to EPA standards at levels of Nitrate less than 10 mg/L and less than 0.01 mg/L of Arsenic.•Modular•Plug and Play•Easy Maintenance•Small Environmental Footprint•To serve 200 families•Affordable

Given the availability of solar power in the central valley and the high costs for rural communities to obtain drinking water, our product is the best fit for those small communities due to its low maintenance costs, usability, and scalability.

The 3 stage solar thermal multi-effect distillation system uses an array of solar thermal concentrations to heat contaminated water with a heat exchanger at the first stage at the bottom. A metal plate is between each stage where the evaporated water condenses and latent heat is transferred to the subsequent stages. The system also uses photovoltaic solar panels to power a vacuum pump that is used to evacuate the 3 stages in order to achieve low temperature boiling in each still.

UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, MERCED|SCHOOL of ENGINEERING

Contact: Stephen Ho - sho23@ucmerced.edu

Conclusion and Recommendations

Final Design

Introduction Prioritization of Concepts

Prototype: Proof of ConceptThe 2 stage prototype uses 0.5 inch PMMA acrylic sheets instead of the “steel drum” design to demonstrate the systems functions with a transparent view. Acrylic also has great insulation properties over steel.Heat Input: 800 watts required to boil the water.Utilizing a 4ft X 6ft tubular CPC solar collector array getting temperatures of 70°C.