Development of Solar Powered Reverse Osmosis

Plant
Muhammad Rehan Sundas Younis Muhammad Asim
Dept. of Mechatronics Engineering Dept. of Mechatronics Engineering Dept. of Mechatronics Engineering
Air University Air University Air University
Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan
muhammadrehan645@gmail.com sundasyounis386@gmail.com muhammad.asim2626@gmail.com
150655@students.au.edu.pk 150670@students.au.edu.pk 150571@students.au.edu.pk

Abstract—We have developed and designed solar powered
Reverse Osmosis water purification system, in which an outside
water powered weight is connected to a concentrated arrange-
ment in this way constraining unadulterated water through a
porous film, is a novel innovation used to give decontaminated
water to industry and individuals. The procedure requires a high
vitality contribution for the high-weight feed siphons and has
made it hard to utilize the elective vitality sources, for example,
those named previously. The improvement and execution of a
sun powered fueled RO unit won’t just be of extraordinary
advantage for networks in rustic territories but on the other
hand is viewed as a financially savvy strategy for providing
consumable water from harsh sources in neighborhood or remote
regions A few elective vitality sources are being assessed then,
with diesel, vehicle batteries, LPG and paraffin control being the
standard. In any case, these types of vitality must be connected
for low vitality prerequisites, for example cooking and lighting
necessities or, best case scenario, the vehicle of consumable water.
Sunlight based power has turned into a compelling strategy for
providing minimal effort vitality to those in remote zones. It
helps with the advancement of our nation by giving power to
family apparatuses, cooking utensils, warmed water, and so forth
to those in need. Further improvement of sun based innovation,
including the advancement of utilizations for sun powered power,
is to be sure a test for our businesses.
Index Terms—solar Powered, water, improvement, porous film
II. P RINCIPLE O F O PERATION
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water purging innovation that
utilizes a semipermeable film to expel particles, atoms and
bigger particles from drinking water. In turn around assim-
ilation, a connected weight is utilized to conquer osmotic
weight, a colligative property, that is driven by concoction
potential contrasts of the dissolvable, a thermodynamic pa-
rameter. Invert assimilation can expel numerous kinds of broke
up and suspended species from water, including microscopic
organisms, and is utilized in both mechanical procedures and
the creation of consumable water. The outcome is that the
solute is held on the pressurized side of the film and the
unadulterated dissolvable is permitted to go to the opposite
side. To be specific, this layer ought not permit huge atoms or
particles through the pores (gaps), yet ought to permit littler
segments of the arrangement, (for example, dissolvable atoms)
to pass uninhibitedly.

I. I NTRODUCTION

Water is essential for the living beings. Not only for drinking
but also for daily life purposes. There is a dire need of water
everywhere. Water serves different purposes. In order to meet
some requirements, water needs to be purified. There come
different categories of un-purified resins that exists in water. In
Fig. 1. Principle of RO
order to do so, some methods come into action, one of which is
Reverse Osmosis (RO). It is a procedure that splits unwanted
rudiments those which are not required in any solution. In A. Reverse Osmosis Process Description
order to purify water for drinking along with producing it for The RO process is straightforward in configuration compris-
industrial use, the substance can be subjected to RO. It can also ing of feed, pervade and dismiss stream. For feed water it is
be applied to produce ultra pure water (e.g. semi-conductor, important to give pre- treatment so as to evacuate inorganic
pharmaceutical industries) and boiler feed water. In addition, solids and suspended strong and utilizing high weight siphon
RO membrane schemes are utilized in waste water and water given feed through semi porous layer. Contingent on the per-
reuse treatments. vade where it is utilized important post treatment is given..For
feed A schematic diagram of the RO process is shown in below
figure: [1]
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of RO process [2]
1) Reverse Osmosis Requisites: A RO desalination plant
basically comprises of four noteworthy frameworks: (a) Pre-
treatment framework, (b) High-pressure pumps, (c) Membrane
frameworks, and (d) Post-treatment. Pre-treatment framework
is given to evacuate every single suspended strong so salt
precipitation water to go through the film and have the salt
rejected. The weight ranges from 17 to 27 bar for bitter water,
and from 52 to 69 bar for seawater. Film frameworks comprise
of a weight vessel and a semi-porous layer inside that allows
the feed water to go through it. RO layers for desalination
for the most part come in two sorts: Spiral injury and Hollow
fiber. Contingent on water nature of saturate and utilization of
penetrate; post treatment may comprises of changing the pH
and sterilization. [1]
2) Advantages of RO Process: Following are the advan-
tages of the RO process that make it attractive for dilute
aqueous waste water treatment include:
1) RO systems are simple to design and operate, have low
maintenance requirements, and are modular in nature,
making expansion of the systems easy.
2) Both inorganic and organic pollutants can be removed
simultaneously by RO membrane processes.
3) RO systems allow recovery/recycle of waste process
streams with no effect on the material being recovered.
4) RO systems require less energy as compared to other
technology.
5) RO processes can considerably reduce the volume of
waste streams so that these can be treated more effi-
ciently and cost effectively by other processes such as
incineration. [3]
6) The RO plant is normally operated at ambient temper-
ature which reduces the scale formation and corrosion
problems, because of antiscalent and biodispersent use,
which will reduce maintenance cost.
7) The modular structure of the RO process increases
flexibility in building desalination plants within a wide
range of capacities.
8) The specific energy requirement is significantly low 3-
9.4 kW h/m3 product. [4]
9) The process is electrically driven hence it is readily
adaptable to powering by solar panels.
In addition, RO systems can replace or be used in con-
junction with others treatment processes such as oxidation,
adsorption, stripping, or biological treatment (as well as many
others) to produce high quality product water that can be
reused or discharged. [5]
III. M ETHODOLOGY
The methodology of RO framework is a genuinely uniform
procedure in the water treatment industry. A RO framework
is inalienably a secluded structure with the structure squares
being the film components and the weight vessels (that house
the components). For business and mechanical applications,
the components and weight vessels come in standard sizes
that are normal among providers. A key favorable position
of a secluded structure is that the framework can be scaled
to estimate by joining these structure obstructs in a way that
meets the water creation needs of the application.
Structuring a RO framework is chiefly an activity on choos-
ing the most effective layer for the particular application and
after that deciding the size and amount of film components
important to create the ideal volume of pervade, just as orga-
nizing the components in parallel or potentially arrangement
to adjust and advance the stream and recuperation in the whole
framework.
Since the RO components are particular, a wide scope
of generation rates from 1-500,000 gallon for each moment
(gpm).It can be suited by choosing from pre-built RO slides
dependent on the feed water source and quality, just as and
the ideal item water stream and quality. The necessities of
numerous business and modern applications are frequently
met utilizing pre-designed RO slips; in this way lessening
the expense of the framework and shortening the lead time.
Specific applications, for example, ultra pure water and bigger
frameworks, for example, metropolitan treatment; nonetheless,
commonly require more altered frameworks.
A. Abbreviations and Acronyms
(RO) Reverse Osmosis, (PV) Photo Voltaic, (UV)Ultra
Violet, (CAD) Computer Aided Design, (ISC) Short Circuit
Current, (VOC) Open Circuit Voltage, (TFM) Thin Film
Membrane
B. Units
• GPM Gallons Per Minute,
• GPD Gallons Per Day,
• W Watt
• KW Kilowatt
C. System block diagram and schematics The daily required energy from the PV panels

EH
EP V = × ξp (2)
ξIN V

where
• ξp = Efficiency of pump
• ξIN V = Efficiency of inverter
The Peak Sun Hours (PSH)

Edsr
PSH = (3)
Go

Edsr = Average Daily Solar Radiation Intensity in Islamabad

Fig. 3. PVRO system model diagram Go = Peak Solar Radiation Intensity=1000W/m2
[6] Considering safety factor (1.5), the peak power of the PV
Panels will be:

(1.5 × EP V )
PP V = (4)
PSH

Sizing of RO System Energy required by RO system (Single

Unit)
ERO
EP r = (5)
ξIN V × ξR × ξB

ERO , Electrical rated energy of RO unit

ξB , Efficiency of Battery
ξR , Efficiency of Regulator
EP R , Required Electrical Energy from the PV Panels
Fig. 4. PVRO Schematics Peak Power with safety factor of 1.5
[6]
EP R
IV. S YSTEM DESIGN AND SIZING PP V R = 1.5 × (6)
P SH
Design and size of the PV-powered RO desalination system
depends mainly on: Total Peak Power of the PV Panel for the RO Desalination
system will be
• Fresh water daily required 50 litres
• Salinity of brackish water 1227 mg/l (maximum) PP V T = PP V + PR (7)
• Temperature of brackish water 25C
• Conductivity
To Meet design requirement, the PV generator will consist
The main goal of system sizing is to achieve the right balance of efficient PV Modules.
between daily needs of electrical energy consumed by the load
Sizing of the storage battery will be:
and produced by the PV generator. Sizing the brackish water
pumping system. The daily required hydraulic energy is given
EP V + ERO
by Eq. 1. SB = × Na (8)
DD × ξB
Eh = ρghQ (1)

where, SB = Storage capacity of battery in KWh

• ρ = water density (1000kg/m3 )
• g = acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2 )
• H = Total pumping Head
• Q = Daily needed Brackish water
EP V = Energy required to pump brackish water
ERO = Energy Required by RO system
DD = Depth of discharge
Na = Number of days battery will be available without charging
 V. M ODELING operator on a daily basis. The average results for the 2 days
A. Solid Works CAD is summarized in below table.

TABLE I
R ESULTS

Total Total
Avg. Feed Avg. Feed
Dissolved Dissolved Tempe-
Conductivity Conductivity
Location Salts Salts rature
Input Output
Input Output (C)
(S/cm) (S/cm)
(ppm) (ppm)
Bahria
1035 516 300 15 25
Town
Naseer
461 230 181 90 27
-abad
Waris
270 135 189 95 26
Khan
Air
542 272 233 115 20
University

Fig. 5. Full assembled model
This is the full assembled model of our hardware which
includes RO assembly,8 solar panels connected in series and
a battery as illustrated in above Fig.
Fig. 6. RO assembly
This is the RO assembly which consists of a feed
pump,sensors,RO membrane as illustrated in above Fig.
VI. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION
The following parameters were monitored and evaluated as
being relevant to the efficient operation of the unit:
• Level of Sunlight
• Feed Conditions of tap water
• Permeate Product Quality and Capacity
• Brine Effluent Quality and Capacity
• Auxiliary Process Data for Optimized Production
The unit was Prepared and set-up to be operated by ourselves
at home. Data was taken for 2 days with the daily production
calculated from the flow meter. Initially the unit was optimized
for permeate flow to enable the unit to be operated on a
standalone basis. The unit produced approximately 378 liters
of permeate per day at a recovery of 60%. The unit was
then left to operate on its own, with little intervention by the
It is clear that the unit production decreased as time went on.
The decrease can be contributed to the reduction in sunlight
quantity and strength as the winter approached and more over-
cast days were experienced. In addition to this, the decrease
in ambient temperature further contributed to the reduction
in recovery. It was realised during this experiment, that the
membranes were experiencing fouling conditions owing to the
low crossflow velocities early and late in the day.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all
those who provided us the possibility to complete this Project.
A special gratitude I give to our final year Project Supervisor,
Dr. Zafar Ullah Koreshi, whose contribution in stimulating
suggestions and encouragement, helped us to complete our
Project. We would like to express gratitude towards our Parents
for their kind co-operation and encouragement. Furthermore
we would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation
the crucial role of the staff of Air University, who gave the
permission to use all the required equipment and the necessary
materials to complete the Project. Last but not the least,
my special thanks and appreciations also go to my Group
Members in developing the project and people who have
willingly helped me out with their abilities.
R EFERENCES
[1] Garud, R. M., et al. ”A Short Review on Process and Applications of
Reverse Osmosis.” Universal Journal of Environmental Research and
Technology 1.3 (2011).
[2] Pangarkar, Bhausaheb L., Mukund G. Sane, and Mahendra Guddad.
”Reverse osmosis and membrane distillation for desalination of ground-
water: a review.” ISRN Materials Science 2011 (2011).
[3] Kim, Jin-Sung, et al. ”Design of Newly Robust PID Controller for
Reverse Osmosis Plant.” International Conference on Computing, Com-
munications and Control Technologies. 2010.
[4] Palit, Sukanchan. ”A short review of applications of reverse osmosis
and other membrane separation procedures.” International Journal of
Chemical Sciences and Applications 3.2 (2012): 302-5.
[5] Dupont, R. Ryan, Talbert N. Eisenberg, and E. Joe Middlebrooks.
”Reverse Osmosis in the Treatment of Drinking Water.” (1982).
[6] Bilton, Amy M., Leah C. Kelley, and Steven Dubowsky. ”Photovoltaic
reverse osmosisFeasibility and a pathway to develop technology.” De-
salination and water Treatment 31.1-3 (2011): 24-34.