Agricultural Hydroponic

Purifying System
BY LOREAL SMITH, JOCELYN HERNANDEZ, AND AARON JOHNSON.

Engineering Design | 04/03/2017

Phase 1
Problem Definition: Water contamination has become an increasingly difficult and
common trait of water supply around the world. Pollutants within water sources for
developing nations have especially been problematic to the health and safety of civilians
and inhibit economic growth and sustainability. In efforts to combat this dilemma, our
group has developed the idea of creating a water purifier to eliminate the contaminants in
water sources and distribute clean and drinkable water for the surrounding settlers and
crops.

Specifications:
Cheap - As high school students our funds our limited and therefore require low
expenditures.
Mobile Crafting the project will take time and therefore it must be able to move
from one location to the next without much effort to fit within our schedule.
Highly Applicable Our project must be able to be used by a large range of users
to be effective in resolving the problem of water contamination.
Simple Most users are intended to those suffering from low income and harsh
conditions
Affordable once finished the materials used to construct the project must be
relatively low in cost for the target users to be able to utilize the device.
Effective the success of the project is heavily dependent on the ability of the
purification process being reliable and efficient.
Expandable - establishing the device as versatile in functions allows it to fully
eliminate the problem of water contamination.
Durable the harsh conditions of impoverished countries must be taken into
account to prevent damage to water supplies

Alternative Methods: The production of clean distilled water from river or lake
can be accomplished through various processes however some are more effective for a
particular situation than others. For instance boiling water is a common option for
destroying the bacteria in the water from a lakeside, but if there are harmful pollutants
within the water as well a more tedious and complicated process is required. Extensive
water purification is necessary to provide drinkable water from most water sources that
are contaminated with such pollutants which is what our devise will utilize to provide
purified water for crops and people alike. Our devise will most likely use the slow but

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efficient process of sedimentation which eliminates impurities by slowly motioning water
through smaller and smaller natural sediment filters such as sand and activated charcoal.

In addition, water purification includes various processes which can be biological,

physical, or chemical where each process uses different methods of removing
contaminants. Physical process consists of processes such as filtration, sedimentation,
and distillation which use methods that remove particles from flowing water as it passes
through. The biological processes utilize active carbon, slow sand filters, and osmosis to
expel contaminants with absorption and membranes. Chemical processes such as
flocculation and chlorination kill bacteria by mixing inorganic material and rapid changes
in energy. Electromagnetic radiation and ozonation are additional methods for water
purification. In respect to this, there are still other candidates for water filtration such as
reverse osmosis and ultra-violet light which provide the necessary purification of water
and can fit within our design.

For starters, reverse osmosis is the process of osmosis in reverse which is a naturally
occurring phenomenon where a weaker saline solution will tend to migrate to a stronger
saline solution. For example, if you had a container full of water with a low salt
concentration and another container full of water with a high salt concentration and they
were separated by a semi-permeable membrane, then the water with the lower salt
concentration would begin to migrate towards the water container with the higher salt
concentration. To reverse this process, you need to apply energy to the less concentrated
saline solution since osmosis occurs naturally without the use of energy. To achieve this,
the water must be pushed through a reverse osmosis membrane by applying pressure that is
greater than that of the natural osmotic pressure to decontaminate the water. By using a high-
pressure pump to increase the pressure on the contaminated side thus forcing the water through
the semi-permeable membrane and leaving the contaminates behind.

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The water that carries the contaminants and impurities that did not pass through the
membrane is called the reject stream. As the feed water enters the membrane under
pressure the water molecules pass through the membrane the contaminants are not
allowed to pass though and are discharged through the reject stream. The reject stream
goes to drain or recycles back into the feed water system to save water. The water that
passes through the reverse osmosis membrane (RO) is labeled permeate or product water
and has 95% to 99% contaminants removed from it. RO system employs cross filtration
rather than standard filtration where the contaminants are collected within the filter
media. With cross filtration, the solution passes through the filter, or crosses the filter,
with two outlets: the filtered water goes one way and the contaminated water goes
another way. To avoid buildup of contaminants, cross flow filtration allows water to
sweep away contaminant build up and allow enough turbulence to keep the membrane
surface clean.

Reverse Osmosis can remove up to 99%+ of the particles, colloids, organics, bacteria and
pyrogens from the feed water but an RO system cannot be relied upon to remove 100% of
viruses and bacteria. An RO membrane rejects contaminants based on their size and
charge. Any contaminant that has a molecular weight greater than 200 is likely rejected
by a properly running RO system. The greater the ionic charge of the contaminant, the
more likely it will be unable to pass through the RO membrane. Therefore, an RO system
does not remove gases such as CO2 very well because they are not highly ionized
(charged) while in solution and have a very low molecular weight. Because an RO system
does not remove gases, the permeate water can have a slightly lower than normal pH
level depending on CO2 levels in the feed water as the CO2 is converted to carbonic acid.
Despite this, reverse osmosis is very effective in treating surface and ground water for
large and small applications which makes it an ideal alternative for water purification
device.

Furthermore, there are a handful of calculations that determine performance and design
considerations of a reverse osmosis system. To accurately measure the performance of an RO

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system you need the following operation parameters at a minimum: Feed pressure, permeate
pressure, concentrate pressure, Feed Conductivity, Permeate Conductivity, Feed Flow,
Permeate Flow, and Temperature. Additionally, equations such as salt rejection %, salt passage
%, recovery %, concentration factor, and flux are also used to determine the effectiveness of a
reverse osmosis system.

The second alternative method of utilizing ultra-violet light for water purification which relies on
electromagnetic radiation to eliminate the contaminants within water. Ultraviolet disinfection is
one of the two chemical-free technologies that are employed to ensure purified water is
completely free of microbiological contamination. In this process water passes through a special
chamber housing an ultraviolet light source where the ultraviolet light acts as a sterilizing agent
the light eliminates microbiological contaminates present in the water by destroying their genetic
material leaving no room for error. The organisms die quickly and are removed producing
completely safe and purified water.

The ability of this process to be so effective resides in the UV light at a wavelength that disrupts
the DNA in microorganisms. Ultraviolet is a type of energy found in the electromagnetic
spectrum produced by our sun which in fact is responsible for sunburns. These UV light waves in
particular are referred to as the Germicidal Spectrum or Frequency and are use in UV Water
Purification Systems that use special lamps to emit theses UV light waves. As water passes
through a UV water treatment system, living organisms in the water are exposed to UV light
which disrupts the genetic code of the microorganism and rearranges the DNA /RNA, eliminating
the microorganism's ability to function and reproduce. This process of exposing water to UV
light is simple but effective, destroying 99.99 percent of harmful microorganisms without adding
any chemicals to water.

UV purification have various models and design features but all share a select few basic
components: UV ballast or controller unit, UV chamber, UV lamp, UV quartz sleeve, UV sensor,
and an inlet for untreated and outlet for treated water. The UV ballast or controller unit acts as the
brains of the UV system controlling electrical output of the lamp and powers the UV light. This
part varies from a simple controller to a more complex mechanism based on design purposes. The
UV chamber houses the UV sleeve and Lamp while also controlling the flow of water through the
system. The UV lamp of a UV system produces UV-C, which is UV light considered to be
germicidal. The UV Quartz Sleeve is a long, cylinder-shaped tube made of quartz glass to protect
the UV lamp from the flow of water, allowing the lamp to transmit light through the tube into the
water. And finally, the UV sensor monitors and indicates the intensity of the UV light, triggering
an alarm if the intensity is too low.

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Phase 2:
Solution 1: The minute farm will be contained by a glass or plastic box. There will be
two sections. The farm will be located in one while the filtering system will be placed in
the other. The filtering system will be bought, but it must be rather cheap, given the
consumers will be farmers in developing countries. In the farm, there will be patches of
soil for the crops. The soil will be hydrated by the water that will be deposited on the
side by the filtering system.

Solution 2: A DIY filtering system will be made for the farmers to make themselves. A
manual translated in various different languages will be given to the locals. Mass
distribution wouldnt be exactly possible due to the enormous quantity of dialects that
exist.

Solution 3: A self-filtering system that reuses its own water would be constructed in the
farms of farmers of developing countries. This filtering system would also be in steps for
the water go its natural course without the need of electricity.

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 Solution 4: Inspired by the irrigation system of the early civilizations, this system would
only require farmers to have soil and an incline apart from the filtering system. The
filtering system would be cheap and easy to repair with a low quantity of parts. It would
primarily be PVC pipes on an incline, the pipes would be connected to each other until
the water is pumped out from the end.

Idea I Idea II Idea III Problems

Solution I Two sections to Mass produced The soil will be The end product would be
help farmers filter for easy mixed with too expensive and difficult
avoid disrupting replacement. fertilizers for to repair if problems were
the farm. better results. to arise.

Solution Traduced in Simplistic in Would be Due to such a high amount

II various local its format. distributed where of dialects, it would be
languages. the farmers sell time consuming to nail
their crops. them all down. Thats not
counting the amount of
people who cannot read.

Solution No electricity Gravity does The system It would be difficult

III required for the job thanks reuses the used finding how to pump the
developing to the steps water and its water back on the top
countries. and/or incline. filtered once without the help of
again. electricity.

Solution Easy to repair. Limited It would only How would the farmers
IV amount Of include the filter know how to build the
pipes. and The pump. filter?

CHOSEN:
Solution IV has been chosen due to the lack of multiple parts required to build it and the
simplicity of the entire system. The group isn't looking for something awfully complex
that would only serve to confuse the customers. It would be easy to repair and easier to
build. The filter is quite simple, enabling the farmers find the available resources and
thusly be able to make new filters if the need arises.

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 Phase 3:
Materials (for the model, not the actual end-result):

1. PVC pipes
2. Tape
3. Glue
4. Soil
5. Filter
6. Activated charcoal
7. Coffee filters
8. Wooden planks

OLD DESIGN:

NEW DESIGN:

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Phase 4:

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PAGE 9
Phase 5:
It soon became apparent that it wouldnt be the best idea to industrialize a box of glass for
developing countries for obvious reasons. Shockingly, we did not come to this
conclusion at the start, despite the fact that it should have been clear that it would have
been not only complex, but expensive to build. Not truly ideal for the goal of making as
simple and cheap as possible for mass consumption. Nevertheless, we did find the error
in our ways when we were planning on how to construct this device and realized the
building process might be not worth the hassle.

Of course, before discarding the entire concept we spent all of our time brainstorming, we
attempted to salvage some parts of it. This allowed us to see what other problems the
first concept had. For example, the filtering system would have certainly not fit inside
the unnecessary dam we had placed inside the box. We also realized that somewhere in
the brainstorming process, we had forgotten the dam was actually supposed to be exactly
that. The box was meant to represent a portion of a much larger scale dam and farm
zone, not the product itself.

Alas, after this fiasco, we took the filtering and no-electricity ideas and used them as the
exoskeleton of our new concept. We decided it would be for the best to focus on one
idea at a time, rather than the entire concept at once. Given this would be hopefully used
for farmers in developing countries and thusly wouldnt have the resources for electricity,
or at least in such a large scale, it would be ideal it doesnt have electricity. Therefore,
rather than using electricity for pumping water, we resorted to a step farm. Gravity
would be doing the functions that would have required electricity.

This also made us opt for making a filter rather than buying one. Were this to be mass-
produced, it would be difficult for the process to be less expensive and there would be
problems compromising with companies that produced filters. We have yet to hash out
the design of the filter. Thus, we shall expand on this further on.

The majority of the changes come during the construction process, but we also must
polish our other methods of approaching the designed phases. We did not focus on
asking peers for opinions since our attention was placed upon creating ideas, but we did
ask teachers who have experience in engineering regarding our doubts and worries. One
of which made it clear it would be near impossible to reuse the water due to the height of
the steps.

Another problem we faced is the sketches of the ideas. Due to a lack of experience in art,
two of the members are unwilling to draw. This results in the group to not be completely
sure of the exact model of what they are thinking. Yes, there are images that clear some

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misconceptions of the verbal exchange; however, the images do not offer the precise form
of what the individual is attempting to communicate.

There is also a need for us to plan ahead, although this time it could be forgiven since the
instructor did not exactly give an early warning for the model. Due to poor planning, one
member of the group was unable to attend the construction of the first model. Everyone
is critical in this process. New ideas and input are prone to popping in such a time,
something that furthers and improves the end result of the construction and project as a
whole.

It cannot be forgotten that sometimes teammates will be missing and it is important for us
to inform the missing student of the advances we have made. This also means the
teammates must make some breakthroughs when at least two members are present, even
by simply researching. This isnt am impending issue due to being in an early stage of
the project, but it simply serves as a reminded if we were to be clogged up in the future
when reaching the final moments of our development. Of course, becoming stressed
wouldnt be beneficial nor healthy, so the current dynamic at the moment is ideal for now.

There must be more planning on our parts when it comes to the organization of visits to
the homes of others. There are times when the group members do not answer the phone
due to unnamed reasons that can be valid, but, at the end, never get back to the group
after checking missed messages or calls.

When the group members assign tasks, the members should complete them promptly,
something we have lacked.

There were a lack of sketches when it came to our newest design, we had come to a
consensus that they weren't necessary. We were wrong. Sketches are a must before the
construction to act as a guide.

There were a few issues with schedules and the cost of products, given all of the group
members had other obligations and the cost might have been too large for most. We
settled to split everything as evenly as possible, which still caused problems, but it at
least lessened the majority of the load.

The construction will be completed on the due day, which of course makes it difficult to
have the poster ready. There is also the issue with the website, it will hopefully be
completed before Monday, given we will not have enough time to finish everything that
day.

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Conclusion
Our team initially started out with the traditional engineering method of first asking
ourselves, What is the problem? and How can it be resolved. At this initial stage, we
identified a specific need based on a bit of research on general dilemmas in different
regions of the world. This is the point on which we found multiple problems that needed
a solution and could directly tie into engineering since one of the basic principles of this
field is that engineering is the bridge from a problem in the existing reality to the solution
in the desired reality. In short, finding various topics to discuss in the next stage was
simple and straightforward. After properly proceeding through the Ask stage of the
engineering method, we transitioned to the Imagine stage however for whatever reason
we decided to infuse the next stage Plan into this segment as well. Due to this, we as
openly exchange ideas for possible projects such as the original Jenga Tower, an
agricultural assist system, and other creative mechanizations that were unfortunate
beyond our grasp to forge. In addition to presenting new options for our project, as a
group we worked together to construct possible design for each concept we showed
interest in through sketches and calculated planning of possible layouts for their designs.
In accordance, our focus constantly shifted from one idea to another allowing creative
thought and comradery to flourish but inhibiting progress on any single concept. But as
fate would have it, the deadline was established and the time frame eliminated a large
chunk of possible options for the group which gave us the opportunity to go through the
remaining ideas in more detail and concentrate on selecting one that at best fit the interest
of everyone and the group. This is the point at which we choose our final concept of
building a water purification system since most the group wanted to design a project that
could benefit humankind in general except in this case focus was especially for small
developing countries. The primary reason we chose this concept in particular is because it
provides a much-needed solution that is for impoverished individuals, developing
countries, and troubled regions around the globe.

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