Final Blog Update

Tomorrow we get the pleasure of presenting our project to some of the engineering professors of Drexel University. Though the progression through our project was by no means perfect, the vast majority of the project went by smoothly.

As this was the first fully self-directed project of this group, there were a few flaws in design and mishaps the execution of our procedure. For instance, there was a minor issue (reported in more detail earlier in the blog series) where the ultraviolet light bulb burnt out only moments after receiving and testing it. Additionally, one of the more major of our issues came by the form of our reverse osmosis filter. It became readily apparent - after a few tests - that the filter was unreliable as far as performance. The initial test - consisting of running a few liters of Powerade through the apparatus - worked decently well. The sugar content and flavoring of the  product was significantly reduced from the initial liquid. The coloring of the product was more transparent to some extent, but lesser than was predicted. We decided this was a successful test and that the reverse osmosis filter was low-quality (for budget reasons). The second and third tests were far less successful. It came to our realization that the reverse osmosis filter had failed to work entirely, resulting in the failed filtration of Powerade and a protein shake.

The rest of the apparatus works as perfectly as expected, with no leaks appearing throughout the entirety of the system.

Our group is proud to present the product that our effort, time, and hard work has created. Even though it may not have ended up as a perfect representation of our initial idea, we are confident that the audience will be impressed by what they see: a finished purification system.

Final touches this week

As of now our water purification system is just about done. A few final touches is all we need and it should be working flawlessly.

Final Touches include:
     - Machining the waste water catch for the reverse osmosis filter. I have already gotten my measurements and made a CAD drawing for this part. This should get done in lab tomorrow.
     - Form a better funnel between the dirty water reservoir output valve and the PVC intake to the filter canister. This should not be a difficult process, we have used a heat gun on PVC for other applications and it makes the PVC quite malleable. We should be able to easily expand the PVC intake on the filter canister to form a better funnel.
     - Find a way to get the clean water out of the clean water reservoir. The most probable solution to this problem is to drill a hole in the side of the reservoir near the bottom and add a spigot so water can be tapped out as needed. Alternatively, we leave the reservoir as is and discuss this modification in our presentation. The only reason for doing this would be because so far this part has not been modified in any way and we do not necessarily need to drill a hole in it.
     - Cover up the areas where the UV light can be seen. Even though exposure to the UV bulb is virtually harmless, covering up the light will make sure more light is directed at the treatment of the water. Aluminum foil will be used to cover the bulb since it is highly reflective and we want the light waves to bounce around in the enclosure as much as possible.

Our final step in report presentation is finding a way to test our water quality before and after it is processed by the device. We have reached out to the chemistry department to request lab time to test the water, but they have not been returning our emails. If we do not hear back in the next day or two, our plan is to order a testing kit from McMaster-Carr.

Current Progress

Below are photos of the apparatus in it's current state.

Frame material Change

The original plan was to make the frame out of angle iron as it is easy to work with and I have a lot of MIG welding experience. Since then we have decided that getting into the machine shop to weld might be more of a hassle than it's worth and lumber is a bit cheaper. After making this decision we made a trip to Home Depot yesterday and bought two 12 ft length 2x4's. This wood should be a little easier to work with and I hope to get into the machine shop tomorrow to get it cut to length.

Updates for Today

As of today the filter container was sealed with the filter media inside. This system was then tested for leaks and no leaks were found. A drawing was also done for the specifications of an adapter needed to go between the hose for the water and the reverse osmosis filter.

UV Light System

Yesterday when we met we completed the UV light system. The system is managed by a controller to which the solar panel, the battery, and the power inverter is connected. As long as the voltage coming from the solar panel is higher than the current charge of the battery the controller will send power to the battery to charge it. As long as the controller detects enough power from the battery it will show an icon on the display to indicate there is a sustainable output from the controller. Power is then output from the controller to the power inverter. The power inverter converts the DC power to AC. The light fixture can then be plugged into the inverter and send power to the UV light. The picture below shows this system.

Daily Post 14: New Developments

We have had some of our components customized in order to fit into our design better. For example, over the past week we have had both our reservoirs adjusted. The first reservoir's top has been cut off in order to improve access to the inside so that filters may be placed within. The second reservoir's threads (on the cap) have been sanded off in order to help our valve fit on top. Within one of our reservoirs, we have cut filter material to put appropriately. Photographs are below. 

Flow chart

Flow chart for the flow of water through the water purification system.

Week 6 Progress

We now have all of the different parts we need. We have our activated carbon, our UV light, and our reverse osmosis filter. The challenge now becomes how do we install each of these things. We must research certain tubing sizes for the openings in each of our reservoirs and stages of our filter. After that, then assembling and testing is last.

Daily Post 13

Now that our member has returned with both the caulk gun and reverse osmosis filter, we've done work to observe the filter. The first thing we noticed was that it didn't work as we initially thought it did, since it had a tube in the center that led directly out the other side. At first we thought it may have been a mistake, but upon further research we have determined that the pipe through the middle is the output, while the membrane was surrounding the tube itself. Therefore, water must be pumped into the outside layer of the filter, and the clean water will be produced through the pipe in the center.