Solar Chlorine Generator
Sponsored by Dow Chemical
Fall 2012
Nick Lubenetski, Kelly Helfrich, Brittany LaBadie, David Blyton
Big Picture
Problem: Every year there are millions of deaths
resulting from contaminated drinking water
Our goal: Is to make a simple cost effective
water purification device that can be operated
by a common person in Morocco
Project Goals
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Research and understand project background
(solar, chorine generation, filtration)
Understand previous design failures and successes
Design a prototype for SUNU
Build first round prototype
Test and modify prototype
Write instruction sheet/video to be sent over
with prototype
◦ include safety information
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Include a detailed final report with what we found
and why we chose design
◦ all research included
Last Semester’s Project
What was accomplished
• Prototype built
• Sealed the container
• Researched Scrubber
systems
How it works
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Brine Water Used
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Electrolysis
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Chlorine generated reacts
with harmful bacteria
Positives of This Model
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Cheap Method
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All supplies are Accessible
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Easy to Use
Generates Chlorine from
Brine water
Problems with Current Design
The current model is not solar
 Release of very harmful chlorine gas
 Purified water is not accessible
 Installing Scrubber System is complicated
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What needs to be addressed
The release of harmful chlorine gas
 Accessing the purified water
 Making the system solar powered
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Research
•
•
Our water
How to purify it
• Bleach
• Carbon Filtration
• Chlorine Generation
Our Water
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Three basic categories
1. Protozoa
2. Bacteria
3. Viruses
Bleach
Add specified amount of bleach
 Wait 30-60 minutes until water is clear
 Can purify 5,460 gallons for $4
 Only kills bacteria
 May also need to be filtered
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Carbon Filtration
Activated carbon
 What it’s best at removing
 What it’s not good at removing
 Silver or KDF-55 used to prevent bacteria
growth
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Carbon Filtration Use
1.
2.
3.
Water passes
through
mesh/screen filter
Passes through
activated carbon
filter
De-ionizing filter
used
Chlorine Generation
Effects of chlorine
 Salt used for reaction
 Forms hypochlorite
 Used for water filtration
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New Design
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Purpose
Application
Constraints
Bleach design
Solid Works Design
Bleach
Storage
Mixing
Tank
Carbon
Filter
Storage
tank
Addition of Bleach
Manual addition one time a month
 Drains via gravity
 Small amounts added
 Calculations
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Mixing Tank
Continuously
stirred
 Feed streams
(bleach/water)
 Assumptions &
calculations
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Storage Tank/Filtration
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Storage tank
◦ Stores purified water waiting to be filtered
◦ Size
◦ Underground to maximize space
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Carbon Filtration
◦ Pumped up from underground storage tank
◦ Removes contaminants and dirt just before use or consumption
Picture sources
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http://omiusajpic.org/topics/safe-drinking-water/
http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/NewsStories/2012/April/Miracle-Moringa--Growing-Wild-in-African-Backyards
http://www.fluidmixer.com/CSTRs/Perfect-Mixing.aspx
http://www.filtersfast.com/articles/Guide-to-Water-Purification.php
http://www.rainshowermfg.com/page16/page36/page36.html
http://newwater.com.au/
http://www.luxist.com/tag/drinking+water/
http://www.riversideonline.com/source/images/image_popup/id7_germtype
s.jpg
http://www.clorox.com/img/products/regular/hero_product.png
http://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/WQ/images/WQ-13.fig1.gif
http://www.goldstockbull.com/articles/time-buy-solar-stocks/
http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=98
Data Sources
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Bleach Research
http://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/EmergencyPreparednessandResponse/Factsheets/WaterPuri
fication.aspx
How to build your own at home generator-http://www.ehow.com/how_7590604_builddiy-homemade-chlorine-generator.html
Water purification w/ video- http://www.tngun.com/diy-chlorine-generator-for-waterpurification/
Chlorine facts- http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/chlorine/basics/facts.asp
◦ http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/chemfs/fs/chlorine.htm and http://
◦ deploymenthealthlibrary.fhp.osd.mil/Product/RetrieveFile?prodId=300
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Existing products- http://www.hayspurewaterforallfoundation.com/products.html
Existing project- http://www.gomanzanillo.com/features/cleanwater/index.htm
Bucket and Berkey system- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KExgPPfF2o
Buying a Berkey Filter- http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkey-water-filters/replacementfilters/black-berkey/
http://www.sedifilt.com/drinking_water/activated_carbon_granular_and_solid_block.html
http://www.sedifilt.com/drinking_water/health_effects_of_chlorine_in_drinking_water.html
http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/activated_carbon_water_filtration.htm
http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-2-12.pdf
http://www.lenntech.com/Data-sheets/Ion-Exchange-for-Dummies-RH.pdf
http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/activated_carbon_water_filtration.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_filtering
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm