IBRI COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING SECTION

FABRICATION OF SOALR DESALINATION PLANT

A PROJECT REPORT
Submitted by
LIYTH MATTAR JAMILAL-GHAFRI (76J1370)
GAITH MATTAR JAMEEL AL-GHAFRI (72J13142)
MOHAMMED SAID SALIM AL-GHAFRI (72J13172)
ALI SAIF SAID AL- MQBALI (72S14293)
HAMED MOHAMMED MUSALAM AL-BALUSHI (72J13155)
MOHAMMED HUMAID SALEM AL-YAAQOUBI (72J1311)

Under the Supervision of

Mr.J.Stephen Leon
in partial fulfillment for the award
of

DIPLOMA IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

April 2016

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

IBRI COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING SECTION

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project titled FABRICATION OF SOLAR
DESALINATION PLANT is a bonafide record of work done by:
LIYTH MATTAR JAMILAL-GHAFRI (76J1370)
GAITH MATTAR JAMEEL AL-GHAFRI (72J13142)
MOHAMMED SAID SALIM AL-GHAFRI (72J13172)
ALI SAIF SAID AL- MQBALI (72S14293)
HAMED MOHAMMED MUSALAM AL-BALUSHI (72J13155)
MOHAMMED HUMAID SALEM AL-YAAQOUBI (72J1311)

and submitted as a partial requirement for the completion of Diploma in

Mechanical Engineering in the semester - II of academic year 2015-2016.

Signature of Supervisor

Signature of HoS/M & I Section

(Mr.J.Stephen Leon)

(Dr. K. Elangovan)

Signature of HoD/Engg.
(Mr. Nasser Al-Shammakhi)

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First, we thank Allah Almighty for helping us to complete this project properly.
Also, we would like to thank college administration for providing all necessary tools and
instruments which has enabled us to finish our project on time. We express our sincere thanks
to the Dean, Head of the Engineering Department, and the Head of Mechanical Section for
their constant encouragement and support.
We also give our thanks to Dr. K. Elangovan for the help in the workshop. Without the
generous help of these individuals, this work would not have been possible.
We would like to thank Mr.J.Stephen Leon for his support and guidance, throughout
the process of this project. His advice, direction, and identifying the necessary and suitable
instruments, were the key to the success of this project.

LIYTH MATTAR JAMILALGHAFRI

GAITH MATTAR JAMEEL AL-GHAFRI
MOHAMMED SAID SALIM AL-GHAFRI
ALI SAIF SAID AL- MQBALI
HAMED MOHAMMED MUSALAM AL-BALUSHI
MOHAMMED HUMAID SALEM AL-YAAQOUBI

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

ABST
RACT
There is almost no water left on earth that is safe to drink without purification
after 20-25years from today. This is a seemingly bold statement, but it is unfortunately true.
Only 1% of Earth's water is in a fresh, liquid state, and nearly all of this is polluted by both
diseases and toxic chemicals. For this reason, purification of water supplies is extremely
important. Keeping these things in mind, we have proposed a model which will convert the
dirty/saline water into pure/potable water using the renewable source of energy (i.e. solar
energy). The basic modes of the heat transfer involved are radiation, convection and
conduction. The results are obtained by evaporation of the dirty/saline water and fetching it
out as pure/drinkable water. Important Features: Parabolic Reflection is the main design
feature of this water purification. Copper coil spirally wound on a G.I. pipe is a unique
design which absorbs lot of heat. Thermal conductivity of copper is 400W/mK which is
very high when compared to other commercially available metals. Has 2 stage purification
system. We will be getting Purified water heated upto 60C and also gets cooled down to
35C after the condensation process.
Through this project work, we have learnt the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The working principle of desalination plant.

Application of solar heat.
The selection of materials required for the work.
The design aspect of the work.
The hands-on experience of variation manufactory process
and operation such as joining, bending, welding, drilling and

cutting process.
6. Assembly of various parts made.
7. Report writing.

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter No.

Title

Page No.

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES

10

PROJECT PLANNING

12

DESIGN AND DRAFTING

15

FABRICATION OF SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT

18

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

22

CONCLUSION AND SCOPE FOR FURTHER WORK

24

REFERENCES

26

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No.

Description of Figure

Page No.

1.1

Flat plate solar collector

1.2

Horizontal type parabolic solar collector

1.3

Vertical type parabolic solar collector

4.1

Assemble drawing of plant

16

5.1

Cutting operation

19

5.2

Cutting operation

19

5.3

Welding operation

19

5.4

Welding operation

19

5.5

Fixing metal sheet

20

5.6

Assembling all the parts

20

5.7

Assembled machine

21

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 1
`

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

1. INTRODUCTION
The high rate of population growth expected and the improvement in the standard living
required need a large quantity of fresh water. Desalination of seawater and brackish water is
one possible solution to safeguard supplying of fresh water, so that the tap does not run dry.
Moreover, drinking water of acceptable quality has become a scarce commodity and only
brackish or seawater is available. The water shortage problem is not only exclusive to
developing countries, but also appears frequently in certain regions of the developed
countries due to seasonal episodes of drought. In general, the production capacity of
desalination facilities reaches about 26.5 million cubic per day.
1.1. Solar Collectors without concentration (Flat plate collectors) :
These collectors are characterized by not having methodical concentration of solar energy, so
that the relationship between the collector and the surface is almost the absorption unit.
Generally, flat-plate collector acts as a receptor that gathers energy from the sun and warm up
a plate. The energy stored in the plate is transferred to the fluid. Usually, these collectors have
a transparent cover glass or plastic taking advantage of the greenhouse effect, consisting of a
series of copper tubes, which exposed to the sun absorb solar radiation and it is transmitted to
the fluid passing through its interior. Its application is the production of hot water, air
conditioning and heating of swimming pools
One type of flat plate collector is called air Collectors: Its main feature is to have the air as a
heat carrier fluid. They have a maximum temperature limit and work better for a normal road,
but in contrast with a low heat capacity. Another type of flat plate collector which is called a
vacuum collector: Those have a double deck envelope, sealed, insulated inside and outside.
They are more expensive, in addition to losing the effect of vacuum with the passage of time.
The third type is called heat-tubes flat plate collector. This type has a cylindrical symmetry,
consisting of two concentric tubes; a glass exterior and one interior painted with black paint
or selectively. The fluid flows through the internal tube which is used in the heating
application. Figure 1 shows the flat plate collector type, while figure 6 shows flat plate
collector with hot water storage tank.

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

Fig.1.1. Flat plate Solar collector

1.2. Solar collectors with concentration :
Concentration solar collector use special systems in order to
increase the intensity of radiation on the absorbing surface and thus
achieve high temperatures in the heat carrier fluid. The main complication
is the need for a monitoring system to ensure that the collector is
permanently oriented towards the sun. Its receiving area is conical or
spherical with a cover glass in the same geometry. Figure 2 shows a
parabolic trough solar collector (horizontal type), while figure 3 shows a
vertical type parabolic trough solar collector.

Fig.1.2.Horizontal type parabolic solar collector

Fig.1.3.Vertical type parabolic solar collector

8

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

1.3. Application of Solar Collector in Desalination of Saline Water :

Desalination of saline water has been practiced regularly for over 50 years and is well
established means of water supply in many countries. Challenges, however, exist to produce
desalinated water at an affordable cost. Most of desalination units operate under expensive
fuels like electricity, coal, oil, natural gas etc. To provide potable water at affordable cost, it is
imperative to convert fuel operated technology to solar operated technology. Flat-basin is one
of the techniques for desalination of water using solar energy. Although flat-basin solar still
has advantage of low installation cost, however low efficiency and problem associated with
the deposit of salt and scale and corrosion have limited its uses. The parabolic concentrator
was coupled with still in such a way that the solar radiations were made to focus at the base
of the tray of the still.

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 2

10

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

2. OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of the project are given below.
1. To study and understand the principle, application of desalination
plant.
2. To do literature review on the knowledge of solar desalination plant.
3. To understand the design considerations while designing a machine
like.
1)
2)
3)
4)
4. To make
5. To carry

Required dimension.
Machine cost.
Area of application.
Operational cost of the machine designed.
the appropriate selection of materials required for the work.
out various manufacturing operations and processes such

as joining, bending, welding, drilling and cutting processes, which

are required to fabricate the designed mechanisms.
6. To paint and assemble the various parts made.
7. To make a project report detailing all the above activities.

11

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 3

12

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

3. PROJECT PLANNING
To start this project, a meeting with supervisor in the first week was
done to manage the schedule of weekly meetings. The purpose was to
inform the supervisor on the progress of the project and to get guided by
the supervisor to solve any problem or difficulty. Briefing based on the
introduction and next task of the project was given by the supervisor.
Then we made research of literature review with the means of the
internet, available books, published articles and materials that are related
to the title of our project.
Designing phase started off by sketching few models using manual
sketch on A4 papers. We did comparison in order to choose the best
concept.
Following up, is the fabrication of make some method for this
project. Choosing the material, making some list for the material and
dimension is the next stage. Then planning of fabrication process for this
project is the final stage. After that, starting the fabrication processes. It
would take six weeks to get this design and fabrication process alteration
done. Making some analysis and testing for the project. Doing the
correction for any error in this project. Completing the fabrication process
with painting process.

13

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

Week 8

Week 7 Week 6 Week 5 Week 4 Week 3 Week 2 Week 1

Activities
Project

Proposal +
Acceptance
Searching
For

Information
+ Materials
Discussion +

Work
Dividing
Fabrication

Process
Testing

Process
Finishing

Process
Report
Writing +

Submission
Quiz +

Presentation

3.1. Project Plan

14

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 4

15

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

4. DESIGN AND DRAFTING OF THE MACHINE

A basic design was made first to get an idea of how much metal was
needed and what materials were available to be used to build the hoist. A
few rough dimensions were estimated such as the caster height, which
varies based on wheel material, and overall height of the hoist. Once a
basic design was drawn up and the available material was evaluated, the
design was drawn in AutoCAD and assembled. From the AutoCAD models
of each part the dimensions were drawn out and each part drawing was
used for a cut list. Parts drawings can be found in fig.4.1.
Parabolic solar collector is used in this project. Concentration solar
collector use special systems in order to increase the intensity of radiation
on the absorbing surface and thus achieve high temperatures in the heat
carrier fluid. The main complication is the need for a monitoring system to
ensure that the collector is permanently oriented towards the sun.

16

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

17

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

4.1. Selection of Materials and Equipment
No.

Materials

Quantity

Square channel (10 m length)

Drilling machine

Cutting machine

Spray paint(silver)

Grinding machine

Bolts and nuts

Steel Rods

Measurement tape

GI sheet (1m X 1 m)

10

Copper tube ( 1m length)

11.

Plastic tube ( 1m length)

12.

Plastic cap

18

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 5

19

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

FABRICATION OF SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT

The step by step procedure followed during the fabrication of those four straight line
mechanisms are presented in this section.
5.1. Cutting square channel in to the required dimension:
The base of each models of mechanisms have been cut by cutting machine (Figs. 5.1 & 5.2)
and also we have cut the rods as per the dimensions in previous diagrams of each the four
mechanisms. Frame has been designed as per the dimensions given in the diagrams

Fig. 5.1. Cutting operation

Fig. 5.2. Cutting operation

5.2. Making frame:

After we have found the dimensions of each parts and we welded the square channel (Figs.
5.3 & 5.4) to make frame.

Fig. 5.3. Welding operation

Fig. 5.4. Welding operation

20

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

5.3. Fixing metal sheet :
In this part we have used grinding machine (Figs. 5.5) to have good surface for the rods
before we paint them and also to make them more beauty.

Fig. 5.5. Fixing meal sheet

5.4. Assembling of Parts
In this part we have assembled frame, parabolic collector pipe, tanks and plastic tube to
collect water..

Fig. 5.6. Assembling all the parts

21

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

5.5. Photos of Fabricated Mechanisms

Figs. 5.7 show the photographs of final machine.

Fig. 5.7. Assembled machine

22

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 6

23

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The desalination of saline water has become a sustainable and a reliable source of fresh water
and is contributing to tackling the worlds water shortage problems. This project has
reviewed

developed

number
during

of
recent

thermal

and

membrane

water

desalination

processes

decades. In recent years, there have been considerable

developments in membrane desalination processes, especially in terms of the design of

membrane module, energy recovery, and pre-treatment methods which have made it cost
competitive with thermal processes. The

use

of

desalination becomes a reasonable and technically

renewable sustainable energies

mature

alternative

towards

for
the

emerging solution for water scarcity. Currently, coupling desalination plants with clean
environment -friendly energy resources is a pressing issue due to the dramatic increase
in fossil fuel prices and the disadvantages of use of fossil fuels, such as environmental
pollution and climate change.
The use of solar energy for water desalination in countries in the Middle East region and
particularly in the Oman which enjoys plenty of solar energy is a promising
technology for meeting water demand. However the solar distillation may be
advantageous for seawater desalination, as solar-MED is recommended for large-scale
solar desalination other solar applications and renewable energy resources have to be
taken into account such as, solar collectors, wave and geothermal energy which could
be suitable for different desalination process at viable cost and are uniquely suited to
provide fresh water in the Gaza strip where water and electricity infrastructure is
currently lacking.
6.2. Adverse environmental impacts
1.

Desalination is potentially very energy intensive, depending on the energy recovery

system used.
2. Disposal of a large amount of deoxygenated, highly concentrated saline byproduct into the
ocean or estuarine ecosystem.
3. Desalination plants can be costly to construct and operate.
4. The facilities require large amounts of land.

24

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

CHAPTER 7

25

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

7. CONCLUSIONS AND SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

Solar desalination plant will be useful :

In remote areas where power is not available.

Ecofriendly processing.
Easy operation and maintenance.
Completely operated by renewable energy source
Mass production can be possible.
It is portable
Through this project work, we have learnt the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The working principle of different desalination plants..

Different types of solar collectors.
The selection of materials required for the work.
The design aspect of the work.
The hands-on experience of variation manufactory process
and operation such as joining, bending, welding, drilling and

cutting process.
6. Assembly of various parts made.
7. Report writing.
Frequent change of pipe lines is required due to the salt deposition.
A separate provision should be provided for the removal of salt deposition.
A separate tracking system is required to track sun light direction so that
the plant can work effectively. Evaporation can occur through the
collecting tanks. So perfect insulation is required to avoid evaporation.
This suggestion can be considered as a scope for further work.

REFERENCES
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_desalination
2. http://www.apricus.com/solar-thermal-collectors.html#.Vvje1zGj8R0

26

Fabrication of Solar desalination plant

3. Byrne, W. Reverse Osmosis. A practical guide for industrial users. Tall Oaks
Publishing. Littleton 1995.
4. Carta, J.A., Gonzlez J., Subiela V. Operacional anlisis o fan innovative wind
powered reverse osmosis system installed in the Canary Islands Solar Energy 75
(2003) 153-168.

27