Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination

Using Solar Energy

Prasad Kabade1, Abhishek Jain2, Mohit Jain3, Shubham Kishore4 and Ujjwal Kumar5

One of the very important things to keep living things alive is ‘water’. It is very
important to use water wisely. Nowadays, it is very difficult to get consumable
water easily because of the nature imbalance due to many mistakes of human
beings. At present, there are many desalination methods, but they are either
costly or not working efficiently. So, a portable desalination equipment, which is
useful in both summer and winter seasons and does not need any electricity, has
been devised. Solar energy is used to desalinate the water. The model is portable
and can be used in oceans, polluted lakes and ponds to obtain unusable water and
make it usable for human consumption.
Keywords: Water, Desalination, Conservation, Consumable water, Drinking water, Solar energy,
Wind energy

Introduction
Desalination is a process that extracts minerals from saline water. It is a process in
which salt is removed from water to make it consumable. Desalination focuses on
cost-effective provision of freshwater for human use. Along with reused wastewater,
desalination is one of the few rainfall independent water resources.
Desalination still proves to be a costly method for acquiring freshwater. When it
comes to desalinating the saltwater, two of the main possibilities are thermal distillation
and reverse osmosis. Thermal distillation involves boiling the water and collecting
the resulting freshwater condensation, which is applied in the proposed model.
With growing demand for good water and all other water resources draining, the
desalination division has been improving at an increased rate. The proposed portable
water dispenser functions completely on solar power and utilizes no other source of
energy. Solar power is made highly effective by the use of Fresnel lenses fitted, which
concentrate the solar radiation on the water and make the water boil and thus evaporate
1
Assistant Professor, DSCE, Bangalore 78, Karnataka, India; and is the corresponding author.
E-mail: [email protected]
2
BE Student, DSCE, Bangalore 78, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected]
3
BE Student, DSCE, Bangalore 78, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected]
4
BE Student, DSCE, Bangalore 78, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected]
5
BE Student, DSCE, Bangalore 78, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected]
Portable Water
© 2018 IUP. AllDispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy
Rights Reserved. 7
at a faster rate. The vapor is then collected through a connected outing pipe and
condensed in a storage.
Depending on solar radiation, the evaporation and condensation rate will vary.
This model is particularly effective during sunny days. But considering the fact that
the world is currently running short of energy resources, this model resourcefully
supplies us with fresh potable water.

2. Literature Review
Damini et al. (2016) explained how energy and water are the main resources that
need to be conserved in the first place all over the world. The use of energy rose
rapidly due to the consumption of fossil fuels. Degrading these fossil fuels leads to
pollutant augmentation in ground water which is used for drinking purpose. This can
be achieved through renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro and biomass.
The renewable energy is clean and green energy and the most promising alternative
technology. The energy of solar is abundant all over the world, especially in India. The
solar energy must be utilized in an efficient way so that the electric consumption can
be gradually minimized. In this paper, Evacuated Tube Collector (ETC) type solar
water heater is integrated with the desalination unit; subsequently, that leads to heating
and purification of water with minimum heat losses in the respective hybrid system.
The ETC type solar water heater stores water at high temperature, whereas it requires
heated water for increased evaporation as well as yield. Using this integrated system
ensures thermal efficiency, sustainability, social and economic development in the
societies.
Amrit et al. (2016) investigated the performance of honeycomb-structured PVC
used as packing material inside humidifier in Humidification-Dehumidification
Desalination Plant. The affecting operational parameters like mass flow rate of water
and air on the performance parameters of humidifier such as range, effectiveness,
efficiency, water evaporation rate, heat and mass transfer rate are studied. The inlet
hot water to the humidifier is kept around 35-60 ºC. The result is analyzed at different
flow effectiveness of humidifiers and is found to be maximum of 0.75.
Adel et al. (2015) evaluated the effect of solar irradiation on the permeate flow
rate produced by vacuum membrane distillation installation. The used membrane
module, in our case, is composed of two hollow fiber membrane wound in helically
coiled shape. These fibers were placed in parabolic through concentrator absorber.
The relatively hot solution (brine) in the absorber was used as a feed for our fibers.
After the establishment of the model governing equations, a resolution was done
with the finite element method. The sensitivity of the permeate flow rate to the solar
irradiation and feed salt concentration were investigated.

8 The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. XI, No. 3, 2018

 Membrane Distillation (MD) is a thermal process based on highly porous and
hydrophobic membrane. It can be classified into four different configurations
according to the nature of the cold side of the membrane. These configurations are
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD), Air Gap Membrane Distillation
(AGMD), Sweeping Gas Membrane Distillation (SGMD) and vacuum membrane
distillation.
Maheswari et al. (2014) utilized the heat energy wasted in exhaust gas of an
IC engine of low capacity for distillation desalination using a submerged horizontal
tube straight pass evaporator and a condensing unit, without the aid of any external
energy for pumping system. In this work, a horizontal tube straight pass evaporator
was designed and fabricated, and experiments were conducted. The performance of
the Submerged Horizontal Tube Evaporator (SHTE) was analyzed under various load
conditions. The work proved that 1.8 L/h of saline water can be desalinated from the
5 HP Engine Exhaust gas without affecting the performance of the engine. By utilizing
the heat energy, in addition to increase in overall efficiency, the thermal pollution is
also reduced considerably.
Alwaer and Gryzagoridis (2014) presented the results that were obtained while
monitoring the thermal performance of a solar water desalination system. The system
consists of a solar collector equipped with evacuated heat pipes which supply heat
from the sun to a circulating fluid in a collective manifold. A solar simulator consisting
of an array of halogen floodlights was used to heat the evacuated heat pipes, which in
turn transferred the heat to the circulating fluid feeding a heat exchanger in the
system’s geyser. The irradiance from the solar simulator that could be controlled by
means of variable transformers controlling the voltage to the halogen lamps was
measured over the surface of the evacuated heat pipe collector. The procedure allowed
for exposure of the collector to the solar simulator for 7 h daily and thereafter normal
cooling of the system. Preliminary results so far have shown that it is possible to use
modern domestic water heating systems to produce steam which when condensed
becomes potable water.
Hanen and Slimen (2014) investigated humidification process by air passing through
seawater. The objective was to determine the humid air behavior through the
humidification process. A test setup was designed and constructed to carry out and
optimize this technique. The process consists of air bubbles passing through seawater
situated on a simple basin. The experimental results obtained were used to put stress
and correlate the influence of different operating conditions on the air behavior in
the humidification process.
According to Mariem and Lotfi (2014), the power of desalination system by
Renewable Energy Sources (RES) systems has been going through an upward trend,
especially since the last decade. This paper concerns the modeling and the control of

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy 9

a desalination unit by reverse osmosis-based solar energy. The system includes
photovoltaic panels, electrical converters, batteries and a desalination unit which
presents the load. Dynamic modeling of various components of this isolated system
is presented. To ensure the balance between consumption and production and to
guarantee the proper operating of the unit, control loops are developed. The
simulation results showed that the proposed hybrid power system equipped with
control loops operates efficiently under load power demand variations.

3. Objectives
The study has the following objectives:
• Utilizing the inherently available solar energy to obtain consumable water
from oceans and polluted lakes where the water is unfit to drink.
• Desalination of water using solar energy at the seashores which helps people
to get consumable water. Also, mineralize the water using proper
attachments.
• Getting freshwater to the needy.
• Developing an affordable portable water system.

4. Methodology
There are so many models available in the market which purify the salty or polluted
water to potable water, but all available methods are either costly or need external
power source. Hence, this is one critical factor that not everyone can afford such
equipment. Also, there are some regions where the power source is not at all available,
so the main objective of the paper is to provide potable water at low cost to all
communities at all regions where sunlight is inherently available.
Some of the methods used to desalinate water are:
• Rainman Desalinator: It is a portable electric desalinator for cruising sailors
with petrol powered system driven by Honda 50cc 4 stroke motor. They
create three standard high output reverse osmosis options, two of which
are packaged in a handy briefcase format.
• Desolenator (Small-Scale Solar Desalinator): By combining solar PV, solar,
thermal, and a heat exchanger, desalinator has developed a portable water
purifier and desalination device powered by renewable energy
• Portable Solar Powered Desalinator: This system is encased in a military
grade, shock-resistant, noncorrosive case and powered by any 24 V DC
source; also this system is so efficient that it can be run from a vehicle’s
electrical system, portable solar panels or portable solar power system.

10 The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. XI, No. 3, 2018

 • Solar Cucumber: It is a giant curved solar panel top. Inside the floating
units, saltwater is collected and evaporated in an airtight vacuum circulated
by solar power.
4.1 Concept Scoring and Screening
The purpose of concept screening (Table 1) is to sift through many new product
ideas quickly and inexpensively early in the new product development process to
identify the most promising concepts. The concept screening has been done based
upon several criteria related to the models. The concept screen works simply by
comparison against a benchmark base option (Rainman desalinator). A base option is
then chosen, against which all other options will be compared.This is a very supportive
process, as it is much easier to associate two choices than allocate a standalone score
to a single option. The base option may be a competitor product, an industry
benchmark or other standard. The team then examines each concept and compares it
against each criterion to give it a relative score. The scoring scheme for this may
simply be +1, 0 and –1 to show ‘better, same, worse’ or may have values to indicate
how much better or worse it is. Thus the concept screening helps to decide the pros
and cons of available models. After comparison with 4 models, the portable water
dispenser proved to be a much better model.

Table 1: Concept Screening

Desolenator Portable Solar Portable
Rainman Solar
Criteria (Small-Scale Solar Powered Water
Desalinator Cucumber
Desalinator) Desalinator Dispenser
Universality 0 – – – +

Ease of Use 0 + 0 – +

Durability 0 0 0 + +

Efficiency 0 – + 0 +

Portability 0 + + – +

Performance 0 – – – 0

Sum of +’s 0 2 2 1 5

Sum of 0’s 2 2 2 1 1

Sum of –’s 0 3 2 3 1

Total Score 0 –1 0 –2 6

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy 11

4.2 Design Details
The portable water dispenser is built using the following materials:
• Aluminum Hollow Frame: The hollow aluminum frame has been chosen to
make the model lightweight.
• Fresnel Lens: The lens (Figure 1) is used to concentrate the sunrays at a
distance. The focal point of this Fresnel lens is 11.9 inches.
• Rectangular Glass Container: The glass container is used to enclose the heat
and the pressure formed during heating. The frame has been enclosed to
keep the temperature from decreasing and to keep the pressure inside. The
volume of polluted water it can contain at a time is 2.5 L.
• Angular Hinges: The angular hinges have been fixed in the portable water
dispenser to make sure that the side lenses can be moved at various angles
depending on the sunlight.

Figure 1: Fresnel Lens

12 The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. XI, No. 3, 2018

4.3 Mechanism
The model (Figure 2) works upon the simple physical principle of evaporation and
condensation. The undrinkable water in the enclosed glass container gets heated and
then evaporated by the heat produced from the Fresnel lens which concentrates the
sunrays. After half an hour, the water starts to get evaporated and water vapor is
formed in the enclosed glass frame. The formation of water vapor is condensed and
collected in water collector. The water collected is clean drinkable water.

Figure 2: 2D Drawing Details of Model

10.25

11.9
Dirty
Salinated
Water
Right Side View 27 Container
Front View

Fresnel Lenses

Hollow
Aluminum
29.26

Frame

Water
Collector
Top View Scale 3:1
Isometric View

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy and Wind Energy

5. Results and Discussion

Portable water desalination is a great way to have drinking water in any outdoor
emergency situation. The main objective is to provide clean drinkable water at less
cost without using any external power source. Thus, this model (Figures 3 and 4) is
successful in giving the necessary amount of water for survival.
• The input volume of undrinkable water in the model was 1.5 L and this
level was maintained throughout.

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy 13

 Figure 3: Actual Focal Points of Fresnel Lens

Figure 4: Actual Setup Arranged at 12 Noon

14 The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. XI, No. 3, 2018

 • The results obtained for the same amount of water are:
– For 1 L input of salty water, the output obtained was around 700-800
mL of potable water in just more than an hour on a sunny day. It was also
observed that the rate of evaporation and condensation was high during
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is the time when the rate of sunlight is very high,
and all the three Fresnel lens are being put in use.
– The portable water dispenser can discharge up to 4-5 L of pure water in
a day.
– The amount of freshwater obtained will vary depending upon the weather
conditions and the level of salinity in the water.
– Also, by rough cost estimation, this model is inexpensive and more
effective, and requires low maintenance.
5.1 Cost Analysis
By comparing the cost of the portable water dispenser, i.e., the proposed model and
the other water sources for one year, we got the following observations and results.
Suppose the model works only for 3 h a day considering worst sunlight condition.
In that case, for even 1 h of heating, 600 mL of potable water will be obtained, and
thus in 3 h, 1.8 L (approx. 2 L) of potable water will get collected. Even in the worst
case, if taken only 25 days with optimum sunlight for the model to work in a month,
the model will produce 50 L of potable water per month. And based on the results,
it can be assured that for 1 year (excluding 3 months of rainy season when sunlight is
not available sufficiently), the portable model will at least produce 400 L of freshwater
even in the worst conditions. So, now considering the same for the mineral water
bottle, i.e., 2 L of the same will cost around 30, and thus for 400 L, it will cost
around 6,000. Now during the maximum working capacity of the portable water
dispenser, it will give 6 L of water in a day and the costing will be recovered within
a year. Thus, it can be concluded that the model is very cost-efficient and effective
considering its high durability and low maintenance. From a broader approach, if we
compare both types of water resource for 5 years, the cost of the mineral water will
be around 30,000, i.e., around 4 times more than the portable water dispenser..

Conclusion
• In this paper, a systematic approach for the design, fabrication and testing of
portable desalination equipment is presented.
• The main objective is to achieve clean drinkable water from dirt or salinized
water, hence this desalination model made it possible using simple principle
by condensation of steam to drinkable water.

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy 15

 • The clean drinkable water can be obtained around 70-80% from supplied
dirt or salinized water without using any electricity.
• Hence analyzing the function versus cost with the presently available
equipment in market, the portable desalination equipment is more efficient
and less in cost.
Future Scope
• The plant can be setup near oceans to continuously generate drinking water.
We can increase the desalination process faster with the help of larger Fresnel
lens.
• Some attachments can also be used to add useful minerals before dispensing
pure drinking water.
• It can also be used for high capacity purification by assembling number of
portable water dispenser units.
• When the plant is big, the moist absorber can also be put into place to
absorb as much water as it can. Although, the moisture absorber will not be
very efficient compared to current desalination plant, but we need to take
use of the available resources.
• This portable unit can also be used in life boats to obtain drinking water in
case of emergencies.
• Also, the floating arrangement at shores of lakes and oceans will help to
provide the drinking water for visitors.

References
1. Adel Zrelli, Bechir Chaouchi and Slimane Gabsi (2015), “Use of Solar Energy for
Desalination by Membrane Distillation Installation Equipped with Helically
Coiled Fibres”, IEEE, Sousse, Tunisia.
2. Alwaer A and Gryzagoridis J (2014), “Experimented Study of Solar Water
Desalination System Utilizing Evacuated Tube Heat Collector”, IEEE, Cape Town,
South Africa.
3. Amrit Raj, Rohan Bajaj and Srinivas T (2016), “Performance Evaluation of
Honeycomb Structured PVC Packed Humidifier in a Humidification
Dehumidification Desalination Plant”, IEEE, Nagercoil, India.
4. Damini M, Kasturi B and Kirubakaran V (2016), “A Concept Note on Solar Water
Heater Using Integrated Vacuum Desalination Unit”, IEEE, Nagercoil, India.

16 The IUP Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. XI, No. 3, 2018

 5. Hanen Ben Halima and Slimen Gabsu (2014), “Water Desalination Using
Humidification Process: Laboratory Study”, IEEE, Hammamet, Tunisia.
6. Maheshwari K S, Kalidasa Murugavel K and Esakkimuthu G (2014), “Desalination
Through Diesel Engine Exhaust Gas”, IEEE, Chennai, India.
7. Mariem Smaoui and Lotfi Krichen (2014), “Modelling and Control of a
Desalination Unit Based Solar Energy”, IEEE Sousse, Tunisia.

Reference # 60J-2018-08-01-01

Portable Water Dispenser for Desalination Using Solar Energy 17

Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction
prohibited without permission.