Design and Analysis of a Solar Powered Water
Filtration System for a Community in Black Tickle-
2022 IEEE International IOT, Electronics and Mechatronics Conference (IEMTRONICS) | 978-1-6654-8684-2/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/IEMTRONICS55184.2022.9795758
Domino
Sheikh Usman Uddin
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
St.John’s, Canada
suddin@mun.ca
Abdul Azeez
Engineering and Applied Science
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
St.John’s, Canada
aazeez@mun.ca
Abstract— The demand for fresh drinking water has
increased globally due to technological advancements and
an increase in the world's population. The world is also
witnessing climate change due to excessive emissions from
conventional power generation procedures. Today's
world necessitates the use of renewable sources for water
purification. Using the HOMER Pro software, this study
elaborates on a design for a solar-powered drinking water
reverse osmosis system for a community in Black Tickle-
Domino. This study also uses the HOMER Pro software's
optimization feature to conduct an economic analysis to
develop the most cost-effective system design. The Steady-
state analysis was conducted in HOMER Pro Software
whereas the dynamic modelling and analysis of the
proposed design was also validated in MATLAB
Simulink. Also a comprehensive instrumentation design
with important protection controls schemes is designed to
ensure system stability and reliability for operation.
Keywords— Solar, Reverse Osmosis, Water Desalination,
HOMER Pro Software, MATLAB, Instrumentation and
Protection.
I. INTRODUCTION
The human body needs water more than it needs anything
else. It is surprising to hear that we will die of thirst quicker
than we would die of hunger. It is equally surprising to hear
that, in any given month, well over 100 communities in
Newfoundland and Labrador do not have continuous access
to clean, safe drinking water [1]. The Indigenous community
of Black Tickle-Domino, located in Labrador, does not have
piped-in water and forcing the 126 residents of the
community to travel around 2 kilometer’s to retrieve water.
The community's regular water supply is several unmonitored
local streams, brooks, and ponds. A Potable Water
Dispensing Unit (PWDU) was installed in Domino in 2004.
978-1-6654-8684-2/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE
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Onyinyechukwu Chidolue
Engineering and Applied Science
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
St.John’s, Canada
oachidolue@mun.ca
Dr. Tariq Iqbal
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
St.John’s, Canada
tariq@mun.ca
Still, access to water was strictly limited and expensive, with
residents paying up to two dollars per liter of drinking water.
The PWDU is unsustainable without consistent government
funding [2]. Aside from water, the high cost of transportation,
such as snowmobile gas, is another significant deterrent to
continuous PDWU operation. Water retrieval from a stream
about 25 kilometers away is hindered by adverse weather,
substantial snowfalls, and storms [3]. Local shallow water
holes known as 'wells' arise as water sources, while some
wells become inaccessible due to snow covering in the winter
and spring. Many residents continue to use untreated brooks
and still ponds for their water needs, as they did before
installing the PWDU [3]. It is important to note that this is an
issue concerning drinking water and severe mental and
physical health risks associated with using untreated or
inadequately treated water. This project mainly aims at
designing and simulating a PV System to power a
community-size water filtration system to solve the
freshwater scarcity issues. The fresh water-scarce areas in the
world now rely on water desalination processes. Desalination
has emerged as a potential method to produce freshwater in
recent times due to technological advancement. Keeping this
in mind, a small-scale solar-based filtration system seems to
be the most feasible, environment-friendly, and accessible
solution for the continuous availability of water.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
In this section, several papers related to the photovoltaic-
based reverse osmosis system were reviewed, and their
conclusions were discussed. The article published on the MIT
website [4] in 2013 elaborates how a small Mexican village
produces clean water with a solar-powered system. The
system runs autonomously, producing 1,000 liters per day.
The solar-powered setup can produce at least 1,000 liters of
drinking water on a cloudy day - enough for 450 residents [4].
A simulation-based RO design system was used to find the
performance of the solar-powered RO system. Three Pakistan
cities were assessed, including Lahore, Hasil Pur and
Faisalabad [5]. According to WHO quality requirements, the
TDS concentrations for these three cities were reduced from
1495 to 295.44, 2190 to 237.69 and 7683 to 241.98,
respectively [5]. The required energy turns out to be 60, 95,
and 311 kWh/month for Lahore, Hasil Pur, and Faisalabad,
respectively. The paper used PVsyst software for solar
calculation and deduced that 19, 15, and 40 PV panels would
be used by Lahore, Hasil Pur, and Faisalabad, respectively
[5]. Another study was conducted for a photovoltaic-based
reverse osmosis system in which a 500 L/hr. system was
designed using a 2KW PV system with a 5KVA hybrid
inverter. Analysis and comparison of cooling and no-cooling
of the PV system were also carried out. It was concluded that
around 18% more daily PV energy was utilized using the
tracking system, and 10% more PV energy was used when
the panels were cooled [6]. Abdel Kareem's [7] analysis was
based on capturing desalination water using solar, wind and
geothermal energy. His conclusion defined that good design
is very important when off-grid PV systems are designed. He
further concluded that solar tracking and cooling of PV cells
eventually make the process efficient. Ali et al. [8] did a
further analysis of combining reverse osmosis and adsorption
desalination systems. He further used MATLAB for
simulations of different scenarios. His work concludes that if
both are run together, the permeate salinity is slightly
decreased, which will make the process more efficient.
Charcosset [9] also carried out his analysis on the same topic.
His research involves merging renewable energy with
different designs and mathematical models to achieve the best
economical solution. His work concluded that PV-based RO
plants are most efficient in energy consumption when utilized
on a small scale. Ahmad and Schmid [10] study water
desalination in Egypt desert using a PV system for energy.
Gocht et al. [11] carried out their study for reverse osmosis
using photovoltaic energy sources in Jordan. Richards and
Schafer [12] worked on PV based desalination plant for
remote communities in Australia. Tzen et al. [13], kalogirou
[14] also carried out analyses for the same systems. Goosen
et al. [15] work were slightly different from others as he
studied and compared the challenges in a renewable-based
desalination system.
III. REVERSE OSMOSIS DESALINATION SYSTEM
A reverse osmosis setup will be used for water filtration in
this design. Reverse osmosis converts unfiltered water to
clean water when water is pressurized and passed through a
membrane, as shown in Figure 1. When water flows through
the membrane, the unfiltered water flows to the more
concentrated side of the membrane while clean water moves
to the region of low concentration. The unfiltered water can
also be referred to as feed water, the clean water as permeate
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and the concentrated contaminated water as the waste or
brine. A membrane is a tool with filtering pores that allow
only clean water molecules to pass through it. In regular
osmosis, equilibrium is obtained on both sides of the
membrane. Still, in reverse osmosis, constant pressure is
applied to the feed water while ensuring that the brine and
permeate do not mix up but are collected separately [16].
Figure 1 - Reverse Osmosis Plant Flow Diagram [16]
IV. SITE SELECTION AND SYSTEM DESIGN
A. Site Characteristics and Water Supply System:
Black tickle - domino is in the southern Inuit community on
the pond's island; this community is one of the minorities in
Canada that still suffers insufficient water supply. This
vicinity has no piped water supply causing 126 people of its
residents to have little access to water supply or rather must
travel 1 km away or more to access this supply. The
community has only one portable drinking water supply
located 2 km away, and it is costly for residents to access. The
average water consumption per household size consisting of
3 people in this community is 394 Liters, which is less than
the standard consumption rate of 274 Liters of water per day
per person as the average usage in Canada [17]. Herring Cove
pond is 2km from the furthest house in Black Tickle and
about 1km from the nearest place [18]. The water quality in
the pond was tested to check for its drinking safety; further
testing [19] found out the water E-coil was absent, but a
certain amount of coliform was present and recorded to be
satisfactory for drinking. Based on the reports, this site has
been selected.
B. Selected Water Source and Water Requirement:
For the Black Tickle community, Herring Cove Pond is the
best fit for the source of water to solve the current state of
water scarcity and accessibility. The pump selection depends
on the bore depth and flow rate. Ponds elevation is 143
meters with the pump placement at 120 meters; 23 meters
were left to avoid the accumulation of underground
impurities and pump damage from stones or sands. The pump
selection depends on the energy demand, total dynamic head,
performance efficiency, energy discharge and maintenance.
Choosing the correct sizing for the solar system is very
important to meet the energy demand. A poorly sized system
can affect energy production and economic cost. The average
daily water consumption per person in Canada is 272.55
Liters [17], including drinking and household activities.
However, due to the cost and proximity inefficiency,
residents of black tickle consume as low as 88.2 Liters, i.e.
about 32% of the standard consumption rate per day. This
design will provide the standard water requirement per day
per person to solve the issue. Hence the total water
requirement per day by whole community is 34,341.3
Liters/day based on the population of 126 people. Figure 2
below shows a schematic diagram for the water extraction
setup that will be used for resolving the water scarcity at
Black Tickle.
Figure 2 - Block Diagram for Ground Water Extraction
C. Water Energy Calculation:
In order to calculate the total energy required to bring the
water from ground to usable level, the total dynamic head
needs to be calculated. The total dynamic head is the entire
pipe length for the configuration, plus the frictional elbows
and horizontal pipes. Assuming that the pump is 120 meter
above the water level and has to raise a water to height of two
tanks which are 4 meters high each and have 5, 90° elbows
will require a total dynamic head of 134 meters. The total
head and water consumption requirement per day is required
to calculate the pump size. The shaft power required is
calculated to be 5.2 KW using the hydraulic power required
to raise the water given in equation 1 and then using the shaft
power required by the motor as given in equation 2.
= ∗ ∗ℎ∗
ℎ =( )/( )
Where
is the water density of 1000 kg/m3
is the gravitational constant 9.81 m/s2
ℎ is the total dynamic head i.e. 134 meters
is the water flow rate i.e. 0.002361 m3/s
is the system efficiency i.e. 60%
D. Electrical Load Requirement:
The significant components of load in the system are
submersible pump motor, complete RO system load and
miscellaneous load. The entire system will run for 04 hours a
day to produce sufficient drinking water for the whole
community. Based on the total dynamic head of 134 meters,
the liquid flow rate of 37.4 gallons per minute, and pump
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efficiency of 60%, a 7.0-kilowatt single phase induction
motor is selected to be coupled with the submersible pump
[21]. The complete RO system for producing 37.4 gallons per
minute has a power requirement of 12.0 kilowatt [22]. Some
miscellaneous energy required, including area lighting,
control equipment, etc., would need a maximum of 1.0
kilowatt. Hence the total energy required will be
approximately 20.0 kilowatts for running the system
smoothly at a production rate of more than 37.4 gallons per
minute. The table 1 summarizes the total electrical energy
requirement of the system.
Table 1 - Electrical Load Summary
Component Load (KW)
Submersible pump motor 7.0
Reverse Osmosis System 12.0
Miscellaneous 1.0
Total Load 20.0
V. SYSTEM STEADY STATE MODELLING AND ANALYSIS
A. System Design in HOMER PRO:
The HOMER Pro software is used for the techno-economic
analysis to optimize the system and introduce the most
feasible solution. The system design includes a Photovoltaic
(PV) array, lead-acid battery and inverter feeding the load.
The system has a daily energy requirement of 80-kilowatt
hours with a peak load of 35.01 kilowatts. The PV has 32.9
kilowatts of maximum power and uses a 38.0-kilowatt
inverter. The result of Homer Pro with optimization suggests
72 12-volt batteries with four batteries in each string to keep
the DC bus voltage at 48 volts. The system configuration in
HOMER software is shown in figure 3.
(1)
(2)
Figure 3 – System Design in HOMER Pro Software
The figure 4 below shows the available solar irradiance and
clearness index at the proposed site location.
Figure 4 – Solar Irradiance at Herring Cove Pond
B. System Steady State Modelling Results:
The figure 5 shows comparison of total electrical load served,
PV Panel Power output and battery input power for three
consecutive days in the month of June. It can be seen that
when the photovoltaic is sufficient for the load battery is
being charged otherwise battery is providing power to the
load.
Figure 5 - Power flow comparison on three random days of June
In figure 6, the summary of the optimized electrical data is
shown, which shows the electricity production, consumption
and the renewable fraction constraints. It can be seen that the
system is environmental friendly as all the energy used is
from the renewable energy sources.
Figure 6 - Electrical Summary
Figure 7 shows cash flow analysis for 25 years according to the
type of cost, including replacement, salvage, operating and
capital. The cost in all systems was selected from the internet and
is put in Canadian Dollars for economic analysis.
Figure 7 - Cost Analysis
VI. SYSTEM DYNAMIC MODELLING AND ANALYSIS
A. System Modelling in MATLAB Simulink:
MATLAB is a programming software that is used worldwide
for developing algorithms and creating models of systems.
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Simulink is a sub program of MATLAB which allows the
user to create multidisciplinary systems with the power of
writing and integrating the code and finding the response of
that system. The figure 8 shows the complete electrical model
of the system in which photovoltaic source is used followed
by boost converter for charging the battery. The battery is
connected with the inverter and the motor load is considered
as resistor for simplification in model.
Figure 8 – Complete System Model in Matlab Simulink
B. System Dynamic Modelling Results:
The system dynamic response was analyzed using the
Simulink. The figure 9 shows the photovoltaic voltage
response and it can be seen that in start the transient behavior
of PV increases the voltage to 100 volts whereas after
reaching the steady state it stabilizes to actual 65V.
Figure 9 - PV Voltage Response
The boost charging response is shown in figure 10. It can be
seen that the voltage has fast switching spikes as duty cycle
is used for increasing the voltage level for battery charging.
Figure 10 – Battery Boost Charge
Figure 11 shows the response of voltage across the load. It
can be seen that the voltage waveform has both positive and
negative cycles and DC waveform is converted to AC
waveform using the inverter. The waveform is not pure sine
wave as filtering circuit was not implemented across the load 15 Valve-C Open/Close
for simplification purpose of model. 16 Valve-D Open/Close
17 Valve-E Open/Close
18P Reject water outlet Pressure sensor
19F Reject water outlet Flow sensor

A. Pump – A Protection Control

If pump-A has faults like over current, thermal, phase loss
and undercurrent the overload relay 2E gets activated and
trips the pump-A.

Figure 11 - Load Voltage Response

VII. SYSTEM PROTECTION CONTROL DESIGN
The protection control of the water filtration system aims at
increasing the reliability in operation in case of any fault/loss
of any individual system/component. The proposed
protection system will have valves to control water flow and
an over-current relay to protect motors, flow rate sensors,
pressure sensors and level switches. The figure 12 depicts the
proposed PV-powered water filtration system's protection
system process and instrument diagram using several field
instrumentation. The table 2 elaborates the instruments used
in order to implement the protection control of the system.
The complete protection control strategy is elaborated further
and 6 major protection schemes are explained.
B. Pump – B Protection Control
If the overload relay 8E senses any abnormal conditions in
the running parameters, it trips the pump-B.
C. Clean Water Tank Protection Control
Two level switches, 13H and 14L, monitor the clean water
tank level for high and low levels. If the clean water tank level
reaches the high-level set point and holds for more than 15
seconds, the level switch contact initiates a signal to trip the
complete system.
D. Brackish Water Tank Protection Control
Two level switches are also installed on the brackish water
tank to monitor the liquid levels in the tank. The high-level
switch, 6H, initiates a partial shutdown of the system by first
sending a stop signal to pump-A followed by closing the
valve-B. In this condition, the liquid inflow to the brackish
water stops, but the rest of the system remains in operation.
The system normalizes when the 6H level switch resets back
to its normal condition.

E. Reverse Osmosis Membrane Protection Control

This protection function considers the differential pressure
across the membrane. The inputs are taken from the pressure
sensor, 11P at the outlet of the RO membrane and the pressure
sensor, 9P at the inlet of the RO membrane. If the differential
pressure reaches a defined set point, the emergency shutdown
Figure 12 - Protection System Process and Instruments Diagram is activated and the whole system is shut down. The filtration
system can be restored after checking the healthiness of the
RO membrane. This condition indicates the healthiness of the
Table 2 - Field Instrument List
membrane.
Identifier Description
1 Valve-A Open/Close F. Reject Water Outlet Protection Control
2E Overload relay for Pump-A This function monitors the productivity and efficiency of the
3 Valve-B Open/Close system by monitoring the flow rates of 12F and 19F, the flow
4P Pump-A Pressure sensor rate sensors at the RO membrane outlet and the reject water
5F Pump-A Flow rate sensor inlet, respectively. If the system's efficiency falls below 50%,
6H Brackish water tank High-level limit switch an emergency shutdown signal is initiated to shut down the
7L Brackish water tank Low-level limit switch complete system.
8E Overload relay for Pump-B
9P Pump-B Pressure sensor V. CONCLUSION
10F Pump-B Flow rate sensor Based on the optimized results from the HOMER Pro
11P RO Membrane clean water outlet pressure sensor
Software, the most economical design of a solar-powered
12F RO Membrane clean water outlet Flow rate sensor
13H Clean water tank High-level limit switch
based drinking water reverse osmosis system is designed,
14L Clean water tank Low-level limit switch
which provides enough drinking water to the whole

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community of the Black Tickle-Domino. The system is based
on solar power, which means no carbon dioxide emission in
the environment. The results depict that 32.9 KW of
maximum power from the solar panels and battery
arrangement of 72 batteries of 4 strings will be sufficient for
the smooth operation of the water filtration system. The
system dynamic response concludes that with minor changes
the system will be able to operate in stable zone. Further the
detailed protection control scheme of the system ensures that
the system operation remains reliable irrespective of any
faults that can occur. Considering the advantages of the
system and the need of the residents of the community, the
initial investment cost is high but justified, and the final
design turns out to be the most feasible solution for providing
drinking water to the whole community.
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