Authors: Fatoumata N'diaye, Kevin Shurtleff
Mentors: Kevin Shurtleff
Insitution: Utah Valley University
The use of solar energy for water purification purposes has proven to be an efficient tool with promising results which could help tackle the issue of water scarcity in developing regions of the world. The low-cost, solar water purification system built previously will be improved through increasing thermal conduction, enhancement of the water flow uniformity, strengthening of the piping system, increasing airflow inside the water purification system, and thus maximizing the clean water production rate. We used aluminum foil as the condensation surface with silicone caulk as a binding agent between the materials. We used ultra-violet resistant greenhouse plastic film to protect the purifier overall from sunlight damage. We measured the incident solar irradiance, airflow inside the purifier, temperature of the evaporation side, temperature of the condensation side, ambient temperature outside, conductivity of the dirty and clean water, and clean water quality/taste. Finally, we compared this data to previously collected data.