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NAGA CITY SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL

S/Y 2023-2024

Development of a Solar-Powered

Desalination System for Efficient

Freshwater Production from Seawater

A Research Study submitted to the

Faculty of Science Department of Naga City Science High School

In partial fulfillment of the Requirements in Research II

ABELONAR

ADORINO

APAD

ARCILLA

DEL MAR

ROSERO

BARBA

LUANSING

NAPOLES

Student Researchers
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INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Clean and drinkable water have been a vital nutrient that contributes to our health. It

performs many roles in our body’s functions. Without water, we wouldn’t be able to survive.

It also has many purposes that help not only to people but also to animals, plants, and

industries.

Based on our research, billions of people don’t have access to clean and drinkable water.

Also, the Earth’s water mostly contains salt which is not safe for people to drink. Saline

water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of

dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, but less salty than brine. The salt

concentration is usually expressed in parts per thousand (permille, ‰) and parts per million

(ppm). The USGS salinity scale defines three levels of saline water. The salt concentration in

slightly saline water is 1,000 to 3,000 ppm (0.1–0.3%); in moderately saline water is 3,000 to

10,000 ppm (0.3–1%); and in highly saline water is 10,000 to 35,000 ppm (1–3.5%).

Seawater has a salinity of roughly 35,000 ppm, equivalent to 35 grams of salt per one liter (or

kilogram) of water. The saturation level is only nominally dependent on the temperature of

the water.[1] At 20 °C (68 °F) one liter of water can dissolve about 357 grams of salt, a

concentration of 26.3 percent by weight (% w/w). At 100 °C (212 °F) (the boiling

temperature of pure water), the amount of salt that can be dissolved in one liter of water

increases to about 391 grams, a concentration of 28.1% w/w.

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Climate change is what we experience right now here on Earth. One of the ways that

will avoid this is by using a renewable source of energy specifically Solar Energy. Solar

Energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies

such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water

heating), and solar architecture. It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its

technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on

how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar

techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water

heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the

Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and

designing spaces that naturally circulate air. This type of energy plays an important role in

reducing greenhouse gas emissions which is dangerous to living things.

The solar powered machine will contain an Electro dialysis process. Electro dialysis is

a membrane-based process involving transport of ions through semipermeable membranes

using an applied electric field. The applications employing electro dialysis include

desalination, table salt production, wine stabilization, whey demineralization, and pickling

bath recovery. The process involves an electro dialysis cell in which the feed stream and the

permeate stream are separated by polyelectrolyte membranes. The membranes employed are

anionic polyelectrolytes (such as poly(styrene sulfonic acid) or Nafion®) and cationic

membranes such as poly(vinyl benzyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide). The anionic

polyelectrolyte is the cation exchange membrane, and the cationic polyelectrolyte is the anion

exchange membrane. As these polymers are water soluble or dispersible, they are often cross-

linked for stability in the electrodialysis process. The anion exchange membranes permit the
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passage of anions but reject cation permeability, and the cation exchange membranes permit

the passage of cations but reject anion permeability.

This study aims to provide people with drinkable and clean water that can help to

their daily lives because water is one of the most important things that every person should

have and to be able to survive and live. With the help of technology and machine system, this

will use the energy of solar. This solar powered machine will convert salt water into a

drinkable water.

Statement of the Problem

This study sought to determine the problem, this involves transport of ions through

semipermeable membranes using an applied electric field. Moreover this sought to answer

the following questions.

1. How can we enhance the efficiency of a manufacturing facility while transitioning to

environmentally sustainable energy sources such as solar power?

2. How can we enhance the performance of special filters in water machines to effectively

remove salt and prolong their lifespan?

3. How can we discover smart ways to dispose of the study leftovers from the water machine

ensuring them don’t harm nature?

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Significance of the Study

This study will effectively benefit water distributors namely the Independent Water

Networks Limited (IWNL), farmers, manufacturers, consumers, future researchers and also

the environmental biodiversity

The Independent Water Networks Limited can use the study's findings to reduce

power usage in electric charges often called electricity which are abundant to many people.

Once the solar powered machines are used, manufacturers of water will have no recurrence

cost of electricity or fuel

Farmers will benefit here by improving healthier and clean crop yields and they

can spend a low budget on paying for water supply and usage of it. It will also reduce the

amount of labor and time that is needed to irrigate the crops.

Consumers can benefit through the assurance of high quality water, lower pricing of

drinkable clean water and consistent water supply. The consumers will also be provided with

information, resulting to more qualified choices in buying water brands.

Future Researches may benefit from this study by improving and exploring more

considerate and qualified experiments on water filtration. They may also search for more

applicable and adaptable solutions in the machine for possible improvements in the future.

They may also modify the machine to be used not only to water filtration.
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Scope and Limitations of the Study

We use electro dialysis to convert salt water to fresh water cause drinking salt water

is so dangerous to our body. We also use NaCl (Sodium Chloride).It involves separating of

salt ions from water molecules. Scaling up the technology for large-scale freshwater

production poses engineering and logistical hurdles. The cost of investment and operational

costs associated with electro dialysis systems.

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RELATED LITERATURE

Desalination can be defined as a procedure that extracts mineral elements from water

that is saline. According to Soteris, desalination of brackish water and seawater is one of the

ways of meeting water demand. Speaking broadly, desalination implies the elimination of

salts and minerals from an intended substance, mirroring the case in soil desalination, a

concern for the realm of agriculture. Based on an article by Iberdrola which is about

Desalination, this process is currently applicable on seawater and its purpose is to produce

freshwater for consumption and other agricultural purposes. Also, here are the main processes

of desalination that are used today: Reverse Osmosis, Solar Distillation, Electrodialysis,

Nanofiltration, and Gas hydrate formation. However, it has disadvantages and it may have an

impact in our environment. Desalination requires and uses a high amount of energy.

Electrodialysis, was started by Maigrot and Sabates further perfected by Schollmeyer

in 1900, has changed water filtration via electric field used to move ions across membranes.

This process finds applications in desalination and salt production with a high-water recovery

rate indispensable for water conservation. It works on low pressure hence the need for strong

chemicals is reduced as a result of using safe filtering solutions.

Two strategies have been proposed to enhance performance and prolong filter

lifespan. According to Elsevier, who is the founder of ScienceDirect Topics: monitoring and

controlling filter performance and optimizing operational parameters. Proper sizing, flow

rate, and pressure optimization increase efficiency with targeted commercial stacks over 80%

current efficiency resulting in reduced energy operating costs. (Roberts & Mostert, 2003).
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According to Kannan & Vakeesan (2016), the importance of efficient and reliable

energy sources is vital considering the rising global energy demand. Solar electricity appears

as the best alternative due to several reasons like its abundance, accessibility, cost-

effectiveness among others. Thus, this is consistent with requirements of green technologies

in water filtration procedures.

For example, solar power is one of the sustainable environmentally friendly sources

that contribute significantly towards economic development in developing countries. The

availability of solar power varies depending on location where it can be found at different

There’s a significant contribution of solar power to the development of rural areas in

developing countries. It is available in different climates, cost-effective and has minimal

environmental impact that makes it attractive. Scalability and reliability are provided by solar

panels having a life span of 25-30 years, decreasing reliance on finite fossil fuels and

encouraging energy self-sufficiency.

A solar still is a straightforward sun-powered apparatus that transforms salty or

brackish water into drinkable water. This invention is particularly useful in developing

nations that face a scarcity of clean water supplies. The results of an assessment on a custom-

made, dual-sloped bassin-type still were quite compelling. (Nomor et al., 2021).

Leftover salts from water filtration processes pose an ecological concern. According to

Brian Campbell, who is the founder of WaterFilterGuru, safe means of disposal include

putting them in household waste since they are not poisonous. This should be done according
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to the local directives for adherence purposes. Alternatively, these salts may be given out to

other people who might have some use for them.

A promising way towards sustainable water management can be achieved through the

combination of electro dialysis with solar power adoption into water filtration systems. In this

regard, it addresses efficiency, reliability and sustainability issues that are integral part of

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) strategy.

During the last decades the interest in the application of ion-exchange membranes

(IEMs) in electro dialysis (ED) technology has appeared in wastewater treatment, drinking

water, water treatment and in the food industry and more recently in energy conversion and

storage It is one of the limited phenomena. In particular it increases the electrical resistance

of the ED stacks and consequently increases the cost of handling and membrane replacement,

which directly affects the end product prices Pharmaceuticals and beverages processed in the

food industry is more complex and abundant in many organic and inorganic products f

increases significantly such knowledge and better understanding of IEM pollution

phenomena is not a priority a it will not only solve problems and appropriate solutions, but

also one of the key factors for the advancement of membrane technology This review focuses

on biological contaminants generated in IEMs during manufacturing ED planning in the food

and water industry in particular . It mainly reflects the basic preparation techniques used in

industry or in the laboratory, as well as the recently developed decontamination methods.

(Bdiri et al., 2020)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.iberdrola.com/about-us/what-we-do/solar-photovoltaic-energy/solar-

energy

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/

electrodialysis#:~:text=Electrodialysis%20is%20a%20membrane

%2Dbased,demineralization%2C%20and%20pickling%20bath%20recovery

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/

electrodialysis

https://discover.parker.com/Find-Your-Watermaker?gad_source=1

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-1587-9_12

https://www.thewatertreatments.com/desalination-water-treatment/electrodialysis-

electrolysis/

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b07482

https://www.yasa.ltd/amp/electrodialysis-water-treatment-process-guide

https://www.watertechnologies.com/products/electrodialysis-ed
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https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.1c01590

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42250-020-00178-9
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