Professional Documents
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INDUSTRIALBOILERS
SOLAR DISTILLATION
Introduction
There is an important need for clean, pure drinking water in many developing countries. Often water
sources are brackish (i.e. contain dissolved salts) and/or contain harmful bacteria and therefore cannot be
used for drinking. In addition, there are many coastal locations where seawater is abundant but potable
water is not available. Pure water is also useful for batteries and in hospitals or schools.
Distillation is one of many processes that can be used for water purification. This requires an energy
input, as heat, solar radiation can be the source of energy. In this process, water is evaporated, thus
separating water vapour from dissolved matter, which is condensed as pure water.
Solar water distillation is a solar technology with a very long history and installations were built over 2000
years ago, although to produce salt rather than drinking water. Documented use of solar stills began in
the sixteenth century. An early large-scale solar still was built in 1872 to supply a mining community in
Chile with drinking water. Mass production occurred for the first time during the Second World War when
200,000 inflatable plastic stills were made to be kept in life-crafts for the US Navy.
There are a number of other approaches to water purification and desalination, such as photovoltaic
powered reverse-osmosis, for which small-scale commercially available equipment is available. These
are not considered here.
In addition, if treatment of polluted water is required rather than desalination, slow sand filtration is a good
option.
The purpose of this technical brief is to provide basic information and direct the reader to other, more
detailed sources.
General arrangement
Design types and their performance
Single-basin stills have been much studied and their behaviour is well understood. Efficiencies of 25% are
typical. Daily output as a function of solar irradiation is greatest in the early evening when the feed water
is still hot but when outside temperatures are falling.
Material selection is very important. The cover can be either glass or plastic. Glass is considered to be
best for most long-term applications, whereas a plastic (such as polyethylene) can be used for short-term
use.
Sand concrete or waterproofed concrete are considered best for the basin of a long-life still if it is to be
manufactured on-site, but for factory-manufactured stills, prefabricated ferro-concrete is a suitable
material.
Multiple-effect basin stills have two or more compartments. The condensing surface of the lower
compartment is the floor of the upper compartment. The heat given off by the condensing vapour provides
energy to vaporize the feed water above. Efficiency is therefore greater than for a single-basin still
typically being 35% or more but the cost and complexity are correspondingly higher.
Solar distillation Practical Action 3
Wick stills - In a wick still, the feed water flows slowly through a porous, radiation-absorbing pad (the
wick). Two advantages are claimed over basin stills. First, the wick can be tilted so that the feed water
presents a better angle to the sun (reducing reflection and presenting a large effective area). Second, less
feed water is in the still at any time and so the water is heated more quickly and to a higher temperature.
Simple wick stills are more efficient than basin stills and some designs are claimed to cost less than a
basin still of the same output.
Emergency still - To provide emergency drinking water on land, a very simple still can be made. It makes
use of the moisture in the earth. All that is required is a plastic cover, a bowl or bucket, and a pebble.
Hybrid designs - There are a number of ways in which solar stills can usefully be combined with another
function of technology. Three examples are given:
1 Rainwater collection. By adding an external gutter, the still cover can be used for rainwater collection to
supplement the solar still output.
2 Greenhouse-solar still. The roof of a greenhouse can be used as the cover of a still.
3 Supplementary heating. Waste heat from an engine or the condenser of a refrigerator can be used as
an additional energy input.
Figure 2: simple types of solar stills.
Design Specifications
The Distiller is made of the following parts:
1. Tempered Glass Plate
Glass has the property of selectively allowing only the higher energy
radiation to
pass through and blocking the longer wavelengths. This particular property
aids
in the distiller as it captures most of the incoming higher energy radiation
but
does not allow it to radiate back. This also serves as a condensing surface
being
open to atmosphere it will always be at a lower temperature than the water
inside. It is made slanting so that any water droplets that are formed finally
move
along the gradient where they finally deposit the condensate into collector.
2. Top water reservoir
Water is stored on top just under the glass plate. This water needs to be
recharged everyday. The floor of the container is painted black to maximize
the
irradiation capture. The paint needs to be not water soluble and dried in
sun
In many parts of the world, fresh water is transported from another region or location by boat, train, truck
or pipeline. The cost of water transported by vehicles is typically of the same order of magnitude as that
produced by solar stills. A pipeline may be less expensive for very large quantities.
Rainwater collection is an even simpler technique than solar distillation in areas where rain is not scarce,
but requires a greater area and usually a larger storage tank. If ready-made collection surfaces exist
(such as house roofs) these may provide a less expensive source for obtaining clean water.
INTRODUCTION TO BOILERS
A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a means for combustion heat to be
transferred into
water until it becomes heated water or a gas (steam). The steam
or hot water under pressure is then usable for transferring the heat
to a process. Water is a useful and cheap medium for transferring
pounds of steam. This term was coined by James Watt a Scottish inventor. The
measurement
of heat is in British Thermal Units (Btus). A Btu is the amount of heat required to raise
the
temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. When water is at 32 oF it is
assumed that its heat value is zero.
LATENT HEAT
additional 970 Btus would be
required. This quantity of heat
BOILER TYPES:
There are virtually infinite numbers of boiler designs but generally
they fit into one of two categories: (1) Firetube or as an easy way
to remember "fire in tube" boilers, contain long steel tubes through
which the hot gasses from a furnace pass and around which the
water to be changed to steam circulates, and (2) Watertube or
"water in tube" boilers in which the conditions are reversed with the
water passing through the tubes and the furnace for the hot gasses
is made up of the water tubes. In a firetube boiler the heat (gasses)
from the combustion of the fuel passes through tubes and is
transferred to the water which is in a large cylindrical storage
area. Common types of firetube boilers are scotch marine, firebox,
HRT or horizontal return tube. Firetube boilers typically have a
lower initial cost, are more fuel efficient and easier to operate but
they are limited generally to capacities of 50,000pph and pressures of 250 psig. The
more
common types of watertube boilers are "D" type, "A" type, "O" type, bent tube, and castiron
sectional. All firetube boilers and most watertube boilers are packaged boilers in that
they can
be transported by truck, rail or barge. Large watertube boilers used in industries with
large
steam demands and in utilities must be completely assembled and constructed in the
field and
are called field erected boilers.
MAKEUP WATER
A. WATER SOFTENERS:
Water as it passes over the ground, through caves and springs picks up some of the
elements
from the limestone and other elements of nature which dissolved and remain. These
elements
collectively are called hardness. Grandma's tea kettle, used as an example in Chapter
One,
always seemed to have a "build up" in the bottom which she removed periodically
usually with
vinegar. This "build up" is called hardness. In a heavy use industrial steam boiler the
water is
could be completely replaced as often as once each hour. Obviously at higher turnover,
temperatures and pressures than the tea kettle the boiler would quickly have scale from
this
hardness that would reduce and ultimately prevent water circulation and heat transfer
which will
destroy the boiler. The higher the operating pressure of the boiler the more critical the
removal
of foreign items from the feedwater becomes. Large utility boilers operating at 3,000
psig + may
actually use distilled water for ultimate purity.
The purpose of a water softener is primarily for the removal of hardness from the boiler
makeup
water. Makeup water is the water supplied from the municipal water system, well water,
or
other source for the addition of new water to the boiler system necessary to replace the
water
evaporated. Some filtering of the water may occur in the water softener but that is not
the
purpose of its design and too much of other pollutants in the water could actually foul
the water
softener affecting its operation. Hardness is composed primarily of calcium (Ca) and
magnesium (Mg) but also to lesser amounts sodium (Na), potassium (P), and several
other
metals. Hardness is measured in grains with one grain of hardness in the water being
17.1 ppm
of these elements. The purpose of using hardness as the unit of measure is that tests to
measure in parts per million (ppm) are much more difficult and expensive to use.
Hardness
varies from area to area. Usually near salt water the hardness is very low as the
limestone is
virtually non existent and in mountainous areas where limestone is everywhere
hardness is
usually very high.
All softeners soften or remove the hardness from the water. The primary minerals in the
water
that make "hard" water are Calcium (Ca++) and Magnesium (Mg++). They form a curd
with
soap and scale in piping, water heaters and whatever the hard water contacts.
Hardness is
removed from the water by a process known as positive ion exchange. This process
could also
be known as "ion substitution", for substitution is what occurs. Sodium (Na+) ions, which
are
"soft" are substituted or exchanged for the Calcium and Magnesium as the water
passes through
the softener tank.
The softening media is commonly called resin or Zeolite. The proper name for it is
polystyrene
resin. The resin has the ability to attract positive charges to itself. The reason it does so
is
SOFTENER DESIGN:
Water softeners come as single mineral tank units (simplex), double mineral tank units
(duplex)
and multiple mineral tank units. Since regeneration cycles can take approximately one
hour
simplex units are used only when this interruption can be tolerated. To avoid interruption
duplex
units are used so that the regeneration of one unit can be accomplished while the
second unit is
on line. Triplex or other multiplex units usually are the result of need for increased
capacity and
units can be added to keep soft water available. The reliability of new electronic
metering/controls for regeneration have allowed users to depend on smaller units with
more
frequent regeneration.
Simplex Softener
Duplex Softener
Triplex Softener
REGENERATION PROCESS
BACKWASH:
The flow of water through the mineral bed is reversed. The mineral bed is loosened and
accumulated sediment is washed to the drain by the upward flow of the water. An
automatic
backwash flow controller maintains the proper flow rate to prevent the loss of resin.
FAST RINSE:
A high down flow of water repacks the mineral bed. Any trace of brine not removed in
slow rinse
is flushed to the drain.
The unit is then returned to SERVICE the brine maker is refilled with fresh water to form
salt
brine for the next regeneration. The total regeneration time is approximately 60-90
minutes
C = M * T * H /R
C = Capacity of softener in cubic feet of resin
M = Makeup water volume per hour in gallons; the volume needed to be softened (8.34
pounds
per gallon)
T = Time in hours desired between regeneration cycles
H = Hardness of water in grains (17.1 ppm per grain hardness)
R = Resin Capacity per cubic foot (this is virtually always 30,000 grains
Feeding chemicals into the system can be done using several methods or a combination of
methods. Continuous feed pumps are the best and most reliable method for high pressure steam
systems. Continuous feed pumps offer a smooth, even flow of chemicals without high or low
swings or residual. To get the best performance and reliability, the feed pumps must be properly
set-up and adjusted as the need varies. A typical system uses a pump to feed treatment chemicals
into the steam drum or in the boiler feedwater line. Another feed pump injects amine into the
steam header using stainless steel quills, and a third pump injects an oxygen scavenger into the
deaerator
Further information
1 Malik A S et al - 'Solar Distillation' - Pergamon Press - 1982. Provides a comprehensive technical text.
2 Waterlines Journal Volume 7 No 2. Developing Appropriate Technologies in Peru 1988.
Useful Addresses