Post date: Jul 27, 2012 4:48:13 PM
The past couple of weeks have been spent developing a system that meets the qualifications above. I have decided that the most effective technique to desalinate water on this small, personal scale is a simple distillery. Saltwater will be boiled, the steam will be collected, then finally condensed into fresh, distilled water.
Before I could start the manufacturing stages of my work I needed to work out some calculations. These calculations included mapping out how long the sun will be in the right position, how effective the overall device needs to be, and finding the focal point of my parabola.
I have now began designing the system that will allow me to desalinate water and meet my qualifications. I have developed a system that includes 3 separate stages. The first stage is a saltwater reservoir, it contains the saltwater that is to be desalinated. The second stage is the evaporation stage, it includes a container where saltwater flows to be boiled. In order to boil the water I needed a source of heat,in which I used the sun. I used a three-dimensional parabolic reflector to concentrate the sun's light. The focal point of my reflector is where stage 2 lies. The third and final stage is a freshwater collector. It sits directly below stage two, beneath the reflector. The evaporated water is condensed through a tube that connects stages 2 and 3.