Solar Powered Water Filtration_Team 2020-25

Prototype of an off-grid appliance

Hosted by Team 2020 - 22

This project is now archived and was part of DDW21

This project is part of
Efficiency for Access Design Challenge prototypes

Prototype of a Solar Powered Water Filtration

Team 2020-25

We have developed a prototype of a solar-powered water filtration and purification system as part of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge 2020 – 2021, a global, multi-disciplinary competition that empowers teams of university students to help accelerate clean energy access.

Summary of our design

In rural areas in low to middle income countries, sources of water include rivers, dams and lakes, which are also used for activities such as washing clothes and watering animals. As a result, there is a strong need to purify water, so that it can be used for cooking and drinking. In response, we designed a solar-powered water filtration and purification system for people who live in rural areas who lack access to electricity and clean water. It can be used by 10 medium sized families assuming a maximum drinking water consumption of 10 litres per household. Our design uses an ultrafiltration membrane and ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diode (LED) to provide clean and safe drinking water for communities. It has the following key design features: 1) A sieve for pre-treatment to remove any large particles from the cloudy water. 2) A pump at the bottom of the tank to pump water at a sufficient pressure to the membrane. 3) An ultrafiltration membrane that can removes small particles and bacteria. 4) A pipe fitted with an UV LED, which purifies water by killing viruses. 5) A liquid crystal display (LCD) that notifies the user when maintenance is needed.

Our experience designing and building the prototype

The experience of building a prototype was quite new to us. It involved a lot of teamwork, research, time management and skills. It was great to make our idea tangible, and basically the entire experience was very fulfilling.

Our design works to address the following SDGs

- SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): Access to clean drinking water can promote good health by helping to reduce the transmission of waterborne diseases. - SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): Improved access to clean water can help enhance sanitation for people who live in rural areas. - SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): Solar energy, which is used to power the UV chamber purifier, is more affordable compared to alternating current (AC). - SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Providing access to clean water and affordable energy to the rural community can help improve resource equality within a country. This design can help enhance access to clean water for urban and rural populations.