Portable Water Purification System using Electrodialysis Reversal
Authors: Ira C. Valenzuela and Ronnie O. Serfa Juan
Abstract
The quality of drinking water is one of the factors that people consider before drinking it. Water is usually exposed to various organic and inorganic substances that are possibly harmful to one’s health. The main objective of this study is to develop a water purification system using electrodialysis reversal that can be carried in remote or rural areas and can be powered either by AC supply or solar energy. This system provides an easy way to treat brackish water by using electrodes and current to mitigate the impurities, including the bacteria present in the contaminated water. It is mainly composed of the power supply, photovoltaic cell, battery, treatment and test tanks, electrodes, carbon and resin filters, LCD display, numeric keypad and microcontroller. Three (3) microbiological tests are performed to determine the quality of water produced namely: fecal coliform, total coliform test and heterotrophic plate count test. Through a series of experiments with the support of an accredited Department of Health (DOH) water testing laboratory, it is proven that an hour of treatment is enough to produce five (5) gallons of potable water.