Off-grid Desalination System - Brine Busters
Background:
Many communities around the world struggle with water scarcity, relying on unsafe sources that pose serious health risks. Traditional desalination methods often require large-scale infrastructure and significant energy input, making them impractical for remote or underserved regions where access to reliable electricity is limited. The purpose of the Brine Busters is to provide a sustainable, off-grid desalination system for families of 3-4 who lack access to clean drinking water and dependable power sources. Our system is designed to be portable, energy-efficient, and easy to operate, ensuring that even those in the most isolated areas can produce safe drinkable water without relying on traditional utilities.
Goals and Objectives:
- Reduce sodium content to safe, drinkable levels in accordance with WHO drinking water guidelines.
- Compact and lightweight design for easy transportation and deployment in remote areas.
- User-friendly interface with simple controls for effortless operation, even with minimal technical knowledge.
- Produce at least 10-15 liters of clean drinking water per day, sufficient for a family of 3-4.
- Constructed with corrosion-resistant materials to ensure durability and long-term reliability in harsh environments.
- Operate entirely off-grid, powered by solar energy and battery storage, requiring no external electricity source.
Current and Previous Milestones:
- Problem Definition Presentation - February 3, 2025
- Preliminary Design Review - February 12, 2025
- Proof of Concept Presentation - March 12, 2025
- Working Prototype - Week 10 Spring Quarter
Subsystems:
- Pre-filtration: Responsible for removing large particles, sediments, and a portion of dissolved salts before the main desalination process. Also responsible for ensuring that incoming water is properly conditioned, protecting downstream components from clogging and excessive wear.
- Pumping: Responsible for pumping the water from the start of the system to the end. Must meet flow rate and pressure requirements for both filters, while staying below the power threshold.
- Power: The backbone of the project, ensuring maximum efficiency for the other subsystems, providing power to the pump and pre-filter. Must be efficient for consumers and the components, while staying within budget constraints. Requires tedious calculations to reach a very precise result.
- Filtration: Responsible for removing the bulk of the salt that remains after the pre-filtration. This will have up to 3 filters with different roles, usually for bacteria and other harmful contaminants, however salt is the focus and will determine the success of the project.
Team Contacts:
John Thompson - johnct2@uci.edu
Matthew Catalasan - catalasm@uci.edu
Nicholas DeGraw - ndegraw@uci.edu
Robert Ridenour - ridenour@uci.edu
Sponsor:
Abdelrahman Elmaradny - aelmarad@uci.edu
