solar powered water desalination science project
Solar-Powered Water Desalination Science Project
Here is a great science project for young and budding thinkers that will use solar energy to desalinate salt water. The apparatus or materials needed for this project are readily available and is sure to give plenty of fun and inspiration to all those involved.
- Osmotic membrane, where water is filtered by a fine membrane which allows only the passage of water molecules.
- Second one is the conventional distillation method.
- The third method is to simply use the water in a fuel cell system where the fuel cell will split its atoms and then again put it back together in molecular form.
- First off, you will need 3-5 different magnifying glasses plus a discarded dish antenna, the ones that we use for our television sets. Also make sure that you get one with a stand so that it stands up on the ground.
- Second you will need 3-5 stands or small tripods or you can also use camera tripods for the purpose. These are required to hold up the magnifying glasses.
- Next, you will require some mirrors cut in a curve which fit the dish structure of the antenna. Now another alternative is to use three straight supported mirrors, if you cannot find the ones which go into the dish properly, however make sure that you get concave mirrors.
- Next, visit a store that sells science experiment apparatus. Here you will need to find three important things. One, a beaker or a strong and thick petri dish, a tripod or stand, over which you can place the beaker and then a distillation apparatus. This apparatus is standard apparatus which consists of a plug or a covering that fits over the beaker, then, there is an angled (90/45 degrees) tube which is made up of glass and goes into the plug and lastly there is a proper stand or tripod which holds up the tube.
- Lastly, you will need a cloth which is the size of the glass tube, plus some cold water, a small ink dropper, a mug and a pencil.
- First place mirrors/dish facing the sun. If you are using mirrors, they should have an angle of about 80 to 85 degrees. Using a measuring tape, try to find out the mid-point of the mirror. This does not have to be very precise. However make sure that you get a round about idea. Mark it in a circle with a pencil.
- Next off, place the tripod plus beaker and the distillation apparatus with salt water in front of the mirror. Cover the tube with the cloth, you can clip it on. Do not cover the remaining half which goes inside the plug or covering.
- Now here comes the hard part, aligning the mirrors and magnifying glasses. First, align the mirrors in such a manner that they are perfectly facing the sun and the beaker is getting the best and full blast of the sunlight. Change the direction and angles of the mirrors so that you get a really good refection of the rays.
- Wear your goggles and start arranging your magnifying glasses. Once you have set them up on the tripos, you can get a reflection from the mirrors, focus and direct the sunrays exactly on the surface of the water. This will take bit of time but aim the rays in the best possible concentrated form on to the surface of the water. In fact, if you do it really properly, you will get a single concentrated ray of sunlight.
- Now this one's a bit tougher and also optional. The packet of the magnifying glass will tell you the 'focal length from the focal point'. This is the length from the surface of the glass, to a point where the energy of the rays would be concentrated the maximum. If you can, you can mark a point on the ground, make it a focal point with the help of a stick and your pencil. Let the point be elevated in the air to make things easier. Then arrange the apparatus for distillation over that point and then arrange the magnifying lenses in such a manner that all the lenses have one common focal point, which is the beaker. You will need a scale or measuring tape for this. This way, you will get the best possible concentration of the rays.
- Keep the cloth wet using the cold water and the ink dropper.