Water Distillation Unit for Drinking Water Purification System for Remote Areas
Clean drinking water is prime need for every human being, but about 1.1 billion people lacked proper drinking water. Scarce of freshwater has been a major problem all around the world. Solar distillation is a practical substitute for freshwater in remote areas or arid zones where Seawater or wastewa
2025-06-28 16:36:43 - Adil Khan
Water Distillation Unit for Drinking Water Purification System for Remote Areas
Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject SummaryClean drinking water is prime need for every human being, but about 1.1 billion people lacked proper drinking water. Scarce of freshwater has been a major problem all around the world. Solar distillation is a practical substitute for freshwater in remote areas or arid zones where Seawater or wastewater is available in bulk amount. The attractiveness of this approach resides in the simplicity of the solar still, equipment used to produce saline-free water for drinking, intensive agriculture, domestic use and other purposes. A solar still is an apparatus exposed to solar radiation that consists essentially of a basin with a solar collector where saline water is deposited and covered with a transparent inclined glass plate.
The system operates as a greenhouse where the heated seawater evaporates and condensates on the inner surface of the cover the distillate yield is collected in an external container. Solar desalination is one of the options to produce fresh water from any type of contaminated water (brackish, contaminated and sea water) in a sustainable way. A solar still is a simple device used to purify the water using solar energy through evaporation and condensation processes.
Although there are different types of water purification process like filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet radiation, carbon absorption, but select the most cost effective and reliable processes like as distillation and boiling. In this project we are going to designs a water distillation unit with productivity exclusively more than 5 l/ m2/day in order to fulfill the demand of single person per day.
Project Objectives- To design a home size water distiller that will produce sufficient amount of distilled water for drinking and domestic use, and depends only on renewable solar energy.
- To construct the home size solar water distiller using available local materials.
- Water distillation unit will be designed for water purification system.
- To evaluate the performance of constructed solar water distiller.
Material: In this project we are preparing a water distillers that are typically used in remote areas where there is limited access to freshwater and centralized distribution systems wich works on basic principle of evaporation & condensation. The basic component of this project is Basin. The basin contains the saline (or brackish) water that will undergo distillation. As such, it must be waterproof and dark (preferably black) so that it will better absorb the sunlight and convert it to heat. Itshould also have a relatively smooth surface to make it easier to clean anysediment from it. A basin still consists of the following basic components:
(1) Basin,
(2) Support structures
(3) Glazing
(4) Insulation
Methodlogy: Solar water . The sun penetrates through the cover and into the underlying still basin. The untreated water is collected in the still basin and heated up by the sun, eventually evaporating and separating from the contaminants. It is important that the material used for the still basin can absorb heat, for example a leather sheet, silicon, reinforced plastic, or steel plate. The slanted cover funnels the thin layer of condensed water from its underside into a channel (pipe, tube), which leads to a separate water storage container so it can be used for domestic purposes or drinking water. The remaining contaminants in the still basin should be appropriately disposed.
Benefits of the Project- The unit requires low maintenance.
- Diversifies the sources of freshwater and therefore reduces stress on local freshwater reservoirs.
- Uses a renewable and free source of energy.
- It will be very beneficial for areas particularly where fresh water is getting scarce.
- It is cheap relatively purchasing water bottles from shop.
- It provides safe drinking water which alleviates health risks for contaminated water.
- It uses the renewable source of energy which leaves positive impact on our environmental side.
- It lessens stress on local freshwater reservoirs because the sources of freshwater have been diversified.
In this type of project on large scale technical experts may be required to introduce the system and train direct users in use and maintenance. The systems require siting on flat and open areas with access to water and sunlight. The “roof” of the system is installed with a transparent cover (often glass), placed at an angle to receive maximum sunlight.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry Energy Other Industries Health Core Technology Clean TechOther Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Clean Water and Sanitation, Affordable and Clean EnergyRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 78800 | |||
| Solar Collctors | Equipment | 1 | 20000 | 20000 |
| Water Level Indicator | Equipment | 3 | 2500 | 7500 |
| Water Reservoir Tank | Equipment | 1 | 7500 | 7500 |
| Water Basin | Equipment | 1 | 9500 | 9500 |
| Insulating Material Sheets | Equipment | 2 | 2900 | 5800 |
| Basic Plumbing Material | Equipment | 1 | 7000 | 7000 |
| Transparent Glazing Cover | Equipment | 2 | 2000 | 4000 |
| Distilled Water Collector Tank | Equipment | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |
| Overhead | Miscellaneous | 1 | 5500 | 5500 |
| Stationary | Miscellaneous | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |
| Microcontroller Chip | Equipment | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |