2020 IEEE Region 10 Symposium (TENSYMP), 5-7 June 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Cost-effective Seawater Purification System Using

Solar Photovoltaic
Abid Ahsan
Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering
Chittagong University of Engineering
and Technology
Chattagram, Bangladesh
a.hasan1402128@gmail.com
Fasbir Sabran
Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering
Chittagong University of Engineering
and Technology
Chattagram, Bangladesh
fasbirsabran1402125@gmail.com
Md. Atiqur Rahman
Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering
Chittagong University of Engineering
and Technology
Chattagram, Bangladesh
u1402087@student.cuet.ac.bd

Abstract— The world is improving day by day. But besides
this improvement, pure drinking water and fossil energy
reduce at a significant rate. Access to basic drinking water and
energy is a daily struggle for billions of people around the
world. Bangladesh is one of these counties where power and
accessible pure water are one of the prime concerns which
rising worse in recent days mostly in the rural and coastal
regions. Salinity at the coastal areas increases at an alarming
rate due to climate change. Desalination facilities are
consuming a large amount of energy from conventional power
sources and its very expensive. To bring the cost down at an
economically sustainable level, renewable energy can be
considered which is the best way for alternative power sources
for freshwater production. In this paper, Chittagong is chosen
for the water purification system. Because this region has the
highest lack of access to fresh drinking water and vulnerable to
climate change. The average total dissolved solids (TDS) of
water are range from 3000 to 7000 mg/L in this region which is
much higher from the WHO (World Health Organization)
standard of fresh drinkable water (TDS < 1000 mg/L). This
research primarily focuses on supplying drinking water
according to the WHO standard and also providing basic
energy by a standalone solar system. This system is simulated
using HOMER and WinFlows software and found that the cost
of purification water reduces to $0.00191 per liter.
Keywords— seawater, solar, reverse osmosis, renewable
energy, TDS, PV-RO
I. INTRODUCTION
Water is life and also yielding pure consumable water is a
challenging job in the world due to pollution and worldwide
environmental change. Without dependable access to
consumable water, there is a slight opportunity for the
existence of human civilization. It is a very important
element of our lifecycle and an essential factor for the
economic evolution of any civilization. Water covers
approximately ¾ portion of earth’s surface but a vast amount
of water found in oceans as salty water, about 97.5%.
Remaining 2.5% is freshwater, 69% of them are frozen solid
in glaciers and ice caps. Only 0.78% of the total water
concedes as human consumption [1]. This situation pushed
us to discover innovative technologies to satisfy human
desires.
Water and energy are closely related, because two of
them are the planet's greatest valuable commodities. For the
enormous development of our civilization, we need more
energy than ever before. The critical solution to this
situation is to use additional fossil fuels or build more
nuclear plants. we will run out of Oil/Gas, ranging between
20 years and less than 50 years and coal by following 100
years [2]. Though these fossil fuels have limited reserves, the
price of fossil fuels skyrocketed day by day. The greenhouse
gas from fossil fuels has been responsible for global
warming, climate change and the unanswered question of
harmless dumping of radioactive waste from nuclear plants
raises several issues.
Bangladesh is a developing country. For sustaining this
development, Bangladesh needs a vast amount of energy.
Bangladesh almost fulfills own energy demand. About 72%
of total populations stay in rural and remote areas, therefore,
they have a lack of access to electricity [3]. Freshwater and
electricity shortages are the biggest crisis in the countryside
and remote region. A massive amount of energy and money
is needed for running a water purification system in remote
areas. Therefore, renewable energy can play a great role in
providing a water purification system with clean energy at
minimum cost.
There are many forms of renewable energy souses such
as photovoltaic solar cells, geothermal, wind power, biomass,
hydropower, and so on. Hydroelectric has limited potential
and economically not feasible. Wind power is irregular and
relatively scarce. Geothermal, tidal and wave power are short
in supply. On the other hand, the power of sunlight incident
on the earth is about 125,000 TW, which is over 6,000 times
more than the world's current demand [4]. The sun will be
available for a very long time for all of us. In recent years,
the overall efficiency of a solar cell is 46% for multi-junction
solar cell and worldwide average module prices have an
incredible dropped to $0.30 per watt [5]. For long life and
low cost, the popularity of solar cells soared in many
countries.
The water purification system is a solution that can assist
to decrease present and future water scarcity. Desalination,
however, is an energy-intensive process. Various techniques
of desalination involve distinct quantities of energy. There
are various methods in water desalination systems like RO,
EDR, MSF, and VC. Reverse Osmosis desalination system is
the most economical system for brackish water or seawater
purification system [6].
The aim of this work can be brief as follows: a) to supply
drinking water to coastal communities, b) to provide water at
an affordable price and c) to provide basic lighting systems
in rural areas.
In this paper, we propose a water purification system for
rural communities. Not only water this system also provides
a basic lighting system. There use PV cells for operating the

978-1-7281-7366-5/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE

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system. Solar cells are the best choice for an off-grid system utilizing renewable solar energy. Reverse osmosis (RO)
for its portability, long life, low maintenance, simplicity and system uses to filter the brackish and ocean water into
cheap. There also use an energy storage system for drinkable water. Not only the water but also this system
increasing system efficiency. Reverse osmosis membrane provides basic energy needs, like a lighting system. The
uses for filtering brackish seawater. The system is simulated power generation system is made up of renewable sources
in HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric such as solar PV panels, charging devices and solar batteries.
Renewables) and WinFlows software. HOMER helps to Battery and solar panels have a longer life span. Therefore,
analyze the PV system and cost optimization. The the system estimated a life span of 25 years. The system is
purification system is simulated in WinFlows software for fully operated in DC system which increases the total
analyzing water production and also finding production cost. efficiency because there is no loss in power conversation.
The focus point of this proposed system is to fulfill the need The total overview of this proposed system represents by the
for drinkable water and basic electricity crisis in the off-grid block diagram in Fit. 1.
coastal region in Bangladesh.
In this paper, the related work of this research field is
described in section II. The advantages and disadvantages of
previously done work are discussed in this section. In section
III, the methodology of the system is presented in detail. The
simulation of the proposed model is described in section IV.
Simulation and laboratory test results are provided in section
V. At the end, the conclusion of this system is given in
section VI.

II. RELATED WORK

After the 2010 earthquake disaster, Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University students made a stand-alone solar
power water purification system in Haiti [7]. This project
called Cool Blue Water, run by the local community aimed Fig. 1. The proposed system block diagram
to purify 500 gallons daily. The total operating time was 6
hours and also have batteries for 3-day backup. They used There are several issues to consider when developing a
only ground and surface water, not the ocean saltwater for a PV-RO system. Which are water demand, availability of
complex process. renewable energy resources, project initial costs,
maintenance costs, operation cost, project lifespan, and
In Dubai, a model of Agriculture Farming with water interest rate. Also, in the solar cell energy system, the factors
purifier was simulated in Homer, powered by the utility and are energy consumption, efficiency, performance,
solar PV combine [8]. Dispatch control strategies were a part economically and less maintenance. PV-RO is chosen as one
of this model which helped to harvest maximum power from of the most efficient desalination and brackish water
a renewable source. The result of the simulation was, the purification system methods.
solar system provided 67% of total farm energy with less
greenhouse gas production. This model couldn’t supply its A. Site Selection
energy completely from renewable sources.
Chittagong is the commercial capital of Bangladesh, also
An administrative controller system by model predictive one of the longest sea beaches in the world. For the coastal
control (MPC) was simulated for optimal power harvesting region, salinity in groundwater is a big problem in this area.
from stand-alone solar and wind power combined for water Banshbaria sea beach, Shitakundu and Chouchala sea beach,
purification [9]. MPC integrated to synchronize the PV and Chittagong areas have been chosen for the proposed system.
wind arrangements for improving overall efficiency and Because solar irradiation is enormous in those areas, and
providing maximum energy to backup batteries which helped people are suffering more with leakage of basic electricity
to meet up expected water demand. These arrangements and drinkable water. Also, those areas have high TDS value
didn’t connect with the power grid system. Therefore, in water for salinity.
additional power from solar considers the loss of energy.
The author in [10] showed a configuration of a water
purifier plant powered by a photovoltaic cell. A detailed
analysis between the PV-RO system with backup battery and
without battery system was made. Using batteries in the
system increased plant total efficiency. Besides efficiency,
the overall system cost was high for the battery system. The
plant supplied sufficient drinking water consumption for 70
people per day and the optimal cost of the water production
was 10.32 US$/m3 or $0.01032 per liter.

III. METHODOLOGY
The proposed system providing a sustainable supply of
pure drinking water in the Bangladesh coastal region,
Fig. 2. Geographical location of the proposed system

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B. Water Purification System Components
The photovoltaic water purification system consists of 4
main components. The PV panel converts sunlight into
electricity and efficiency depends on sunlight hit on the panel
surface. The battery is an optional component for this system
which increases the efficiency. The battery supplies
additional energy when a shortage of sunlight, store energy,
and provide energy at night time. The charge controller
maintains the battery charging system and provides a
constant voltage supply to the purification system and other
loads. The water purification system purifies the brackish
water from the ocean into drinkable water.
The main components of the purification system consist
of a high-pressure pump, low-pressure pump, RO membrane
and storage tank. Different areas of coastal surface brackish
water have been stored and used as input water. Water goes
through 5 stages filter. At first, water filters at sediment
filter, carbon filter, DI resin filter, eliminate various dirt, ash,
iron, and reduce the total dissolved solids (TDS) quality.
After that, water goes through an RO membrane which filters
out the salt in the water. Then the water store at the storage
tank. When the water needs, the low-pressure pump pumps
the water to a polish filter. Finally, water can be consumable.
C. Load Demand Profile
The System mainly designed for 20 families who have a
lack of access to freshwater. The water demand will be 200
liters/day and wants to provide one light for each family in
the evening. The operating time of the system is 5 hours/day
and the system will produce 40 liters/hour. The purifier
needs 24 watts per hour for its operation. The daily
electricity demand is 5 watts per hour for each family. The
purifier operates 5 hours daily and the light provides 4 hours
backup. The total energy demand is 520 watts daily.
IV. DESIGN AND SIMULATION
Design and simulation are an essential part of any
research. Designing a model helps to detect any problem at
early steps. Virtually trial of any model helps to predict the
system. In this water purification system, HOMER software
helps to analyze the system performance. WinFlows
simulation software uses for testing the system.
A. Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) System
Design
Fig. 3. BWRO purification system mode in WinFlows
A BWRO system supply 200 liters of drinkable water per
day for 20 families. The system recovery rate is 60%, so the
raw feed water is 66.67 L/hr in WinFlows simulation. Feed
pressure is 120 PSI and array recovery is 8%. Input 1 is
Chouchala beach raw water which total dissolved solids
(TDS) value is 6470 mg/L. Banshbaria beach is an input 2 of
this system and TDS is 3420 mg/L.
B. Renewable Power Generation System Design
Renewable energy generation is the best solution to meet
the demand for increased demand for electricity. Due to its
abundant availability compare to other renewable resources
such as wind, hydro, biomass. The PV system is an effective
option in Bangladesh to produce electricity.
Fig. 4. PV system schematic in HOMER
HOMER software used for renewable photovoltaic
power system development and optimization to saturate the
necessary load and demand for electricity.
V. RESULTS
A. Economic Evaluation Using HOMER
Price is one of the most important concepts for setting up
renewable power plants. But different factors include
economic parameters, initial cost, energy cost, location,
resource availability and transport. HOMAR (Hybrid
Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) software
defines the optimal system configuration with the minimum
cost and meeting the required demand. HOMER used to find
out the effective and cost economical system for the coastal
region. Which helps with power system design and cost
optimization.
Fig. 5. Economic analysis of PV system by HOMER
The initial cost of BWRO and PV System combine is
$1510.99, where the BWRO system takes a large portion of
initial cost, $855.80. In a 25 years simulation, operation and
maintenance cost is the highest expense, $3217.14
approximately. There is no fuel cost for choosing renewable
sources. The lead-acid battery will be change after 5 years
which costs an additional $1316.74. The total net present
cost of the system is $5966.97 for 25 years of operation.
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B. Economic evaluation using WinFlows the samples slightly change. Chloride value goes below 150
The system’s economic consideration by WinFlows mg/L for both samples and also reduce iron in the water.
software is shown in Fig. 6. The system's net freshwater There is no arsenic present in water samples. Those data
output is 40 L/h and the operating time is 5 hours/day. indicate that the result of this system is satisfying.
Therefore, the annual operating time is 76 days or 1824 In terms of energy consumption, efficiency, performance,
hours. Total initial cost, operation cost and maintenance cost economically, less maintenance, PV-RO is chosen as one of
combined are $1.69 per 1000 liters of freshwater, and the the most efficient desalination methods. Therefore, the
energy costs $0.22 approximately. Therefore, the cost of this proposed system is an effective brackish seawater
system is $0.00191 per liter. purification system.
VI. CONCLUSION
This research aims to explore and establish the different
adaptability and versatility of renewable technology in
numerous sections. The system is mainly developed for rural
and coastal communities who have a lack of access to fresh
water at an affordable price. The initial cost of this system is
a major barrier to execute it. To find out the effective and
cost economical system for the coastal region, HOMER
software was used for power system design and cost
optimization. WinFlows software was used for analyzing and
finding the operating cost of the system in the long run. The
Fig. 6. Economic analysis of BRWO system by WinFlows results show that the quality of water maintains the
international and national standards, and the optimum cost is
C. Water quality of the proposed system $0.00191 per liter. In the future, we will implement the
Study of pre-and post-purification water collected to system in Chittagong hill tracts and connecting with the
determine water quality and compare standard water like electrical grid.
WHO. All tests were conducted in the Environmental
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