CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the conceptual and research literature about solar power generating a water purifier device for home use.

Conceptual Literature

Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids and gases from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification)

In disinfection options, when large community-wide water treatment and distribution systems are not available, people may treat water individually or for their families. There are several water disinfection options available for small-scale use. Water disinfection methods can be divided into two categories. The first category is chemical disinfection. Chemical disinfection includes methods such as chlorination. Chlorine is the most common method of drinking water treatment due to its effectiveness at inactivating several types of pathogens and its low chemical cost. Chlorinated water also retains a residual that further protects from recontamination after the water is treated (Burch and Thomas, 1998).

According to a 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) report, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved drinking water supply, 88 percent of the 4 billion annual cases of diarrheal disease are attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene, and 1.8 million people die from diarrheal diseases each year. The WHO estimates that 94 percent of these diarrheal cases are preventable through modifications to the environment, including access to safe water.

Physical treatment methods such as boiling water and UV treatment may also be used to treat drinking water. Boiling water is a simple process, but requires resources that may not be readily available. This is especially true for areas concerned with the effects of desertification and deforestation because boiling one liter of water requires approximately one kilogram of wood. The process is also time consuming and boiling water has been found to impart a disagreeable taste (Acra et al., 1984; Ellis, 1991). UV radiation is the process where water is exposed to a lamp generating light at a wavelength of approximately 250 nm. This wavelength is in the middle of the germicidal band and is responsible for damaging the DNA of bacteria and viruses. However, UV treatment is only effective for low turbidity waters and therefore pretreatment such as filtering is required for poor water quality sources. Also, developing and maintaining UV radiation treatment requires the initial cost of purchasing equipment, a knowledgeable operator to properly use the equipment, and sufficient funds for maintenance. For areas that are unable to financially support such a treatment scheme, UV radiation is not a viable treatment option (Burch and Thomas, 1998).

Sunlight can be converted directly into electricity using photovoltaic (PV), or indirectly with concentrated solar power (CSP), which normally focuses the sun's energy to boil water which is then used to provide power.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power)

The sun is a giant nuclear furnace in space, constantly bathing our planet with a free energy supply. Solar heat drives wind and the hydrologic cycle. (Cunningham, et. al)

There are many ways to gather solar energy according to William Cunningham in his book entitled Principles of Environmental Science Passive, one of this is the Heat Absorption or Passive Heat, the simplest and the oldest use of solar energy, using natural materials or absorvative structures with no moving parts to simply gather and hold heat. For thousands of years, people have built thick-walled stone and adobe dwellings that slowly collect heat during the day and gradually released it at night to maintain a comfortable daytime temperature within the house. Another is the Active Solar Heat which pumps heat absorbing, fluid medium through a relatively small collector, rather than passively collecting heat in a stationary medium like masonry. It can be located adjacent to or on top of buildings, rather than being built into the structure. Alternatively, water can be pumped through the collector to pick up heat for space heating or to provide hot water which consumes 15 percent of the energy budget of the respective area. A simple, flat panel with about 5m of surface can reach 95 degree Celsius and can provide enough hot water for an average family of four almost anywhere in the particular area.

Solar power is produced by collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity. This is done by using solar panels, which are large flat panels made up of many individual solar cells. (http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/solar-power/)

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists: the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power)

In solar disinfection, a potential alternative to the common disinfection methods mentioned previously is solar disinfection. Solar water disinfection is a process that entails filling a transparent bottle with water and placing it in the sun for several hours. For over 4000 years, sunlight has been used as an effective disinfectant (Conroy et al., 1996).

Ultraviolet light (UV) is very effective at inactivating cysts, in low turbidity water. UV light's disinfection effectiveness decreases as turbidity increases, a result of the absorption, scattering, and shadowing caused by the suspended solids. The main disadvantage to the use of UV radiation is that, like ozone treatment, it leaves no residual disinfectant in the water; therefore, it is sometimes necessary to add a residual

disinfectant

after

the

primary

disinfection

process.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification)

Natural sunlight has been shown to have germicidal properties. Rijal and Fujioka (2001) observed the effectiveness of heating using a modified Family Sol*Saver System (FSP). The FSP is a high-density, black polyethylene double-walled collector that was designed for liquid pasteurization. The solar radiation and pasteurization sample heated to 56C, with the same log inactivation in 2 hours. Therefore, solar radiation and heating acted synergistically to inactivate the bacteria.

With regard to pasteurization, a water sample exposed to sunlight increases in temperature due to the red and infrared components of sunlight.

Using sterilized reagent grade water samples spiked with E. coli, Kehoe et al. (2001) found that foil-backed samples averaged almost 1C higher than non-foil-backed samples when exposed to sunlight for 3.5 hours. Over 6-log inactivation was reached in less than 1 hour of exposure time when aluminum foil was placed partway around sample bottles, versus more than 3 hours needed for 6-log inactivation of non-foil-backed samples.

There are several limitations to using solar disinfection to treat drinking water. The process of solar disinfection is best suited for regions having approximately 300 sunny days with clear skies each year, with areas between latitudes 35N and 35S

having the optimum exposure of sunlight (Acra et al., 1984; IDRC, 1998). However, any amount of cloud coverage reduces the intensity of sunlight that reaches the earth, thereby decreasing its germicidal effects. Despite this restriction, Acra et al. (1984) state that a longer exposure time more than compensates for the reduction in solar intensity. Another difficulty presented with solar disinfection is that the materials needed for the process may not be readily available. Clear, cylindrical bottles are most effective at allowing solar radiation to reach the water, yet these may be difficult to obtain for large-scale use by remote communities, where plastic containers are not sold. In addition, enhancements used by various researchers, such as foil (Kehoe et al., 2001), may be difficult to purchase. Devices such as solar panels, copper piping, and thermostat valves were required to construct the solar panel described by Jorgensen et al. (1998) to pasteurize drinking water. Because these materials are not readily available in many less developed areas, and knowledge of constructing a solar water heater is not widespread, this method of heating water for large-scale use is impractical in developing countries. However, small-scale individual use of plastic bottles is a treatment method that can be implemented with minimal resources and little training.

Research Literature

Studies have shown that visible violet and blue light have little disinfection capability. However, the other components of sunlight, UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C radiation, are able to inactivate organisms. UV-C radiation, at approximately 260 nm, has

the greatest potency because it corresponds to maximum absorption by DNA. Municipal treatment plants use UV-C (at 254 nm) to disinfect drinking waters and secondary wastewater effluents because of its germicidal ability to initiate changes in nucleic acids and other structures such as enzymes and immunogenic antigens. However, near ultraviolet (UV-A) light has been found to be the most significant component of sunlight that is responsible for the inactivation of microorganisms, with an increase in effectiveness due to the synergistic effects of UV-A and violet light. This is because the UV-C component of solar radiation does not reach the earth (Wegelin et al., 1994).

Acra et al. (1984) compared the germicidal effects of different wavelengths of light by measuring the average number of coli forms inactivated upon exposure to the varying wavelengths. They found that the most significant decrease in viable bacterial organisms occurred when they were exposed to wavelengths between 260 to 350 nm (compared to inactivation at wavelengths between 550 to 850 nm). Because wavelengths below 290 nm do not reach the earth, Acra et al. (1984) concluded that the most bactericidal wavelengths were between 315 to 400 nm, which corresponds to the wavelengths of the near-ultraviolet region that are not visible to the eye. The findings of Acra et al. (1984) are further supported by the research of others. Davies and Evison (1991) attributed half of the toxic effects of sunlight to wavelengths lower than 370 nm. Wegelin et al. (1994) concurred, stating that wavelengths between 300 and 370 nm have significant effects on inactivating bacteria and viruses.

Conroy et al. (1996) exposed water samples to full sunlight in Kenya and confirmed that sunlight has a bactericidal effect on turbid water, with reductions in the initial bacterial count of over 103 cfu per mL. The disinfection was attributed to pasteurization effects, rather than ultraviolet light. This was confirmed with laboratory experiments by Joyce et al. (1996), who heated contaminated water samples to a maximum of 55C in 7 hours and observed a 5-log inactivation of E. coli.

Joyce et al. (1996) reported that less than 1% of the total incident UV light is able to penetrate beyond a water depth of 2 cm from the surface in samples with turbidities greater than 200 ntu. Therefore, it may be necessary to filter turbid waters before sun exposure.

Impurities in a water sample that cause it to be colored also have an effect on the disinfection potential for a given drinking water sample. In highly colored samples, sunlight may not have a lethal effect because the colored water may absorb wavelengths in a certain range. In these cases, it is recommended that the water sample be treated to reduce coloration before sun exposure (Acra et al., 1984).

Synthesis

In the study entitled, Solar Power Generating A Water Purifier Device for Home Use, the most important terminologies to consider are solar power, for it will be the main

source because it is the important factor as a source of light and electricity, and the water purifier device, for it will be the instrument to be used of which will be the basis in determining its effectiveness.

It is very important for the researchers to examine first the main source for the study, the solar power. In its very simple definition, the solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Also, the researchers must also know how will the solar power can be an alternative means for generation which the researchers will be conducting. It is also stated in the literature that it is also for disinfection options which the UV lights and natural sunlight are the primary sources under solar power.

To determine the effectiveness of the study, the researchers decided to use a water purifier device as the instrument to be used. Its process will be water purification which the explanation was given in the conceptual literature. To be specific, solar power will be the source for generating a created device for water purification for home use only.