Biomass Powered Desalination Year II: Combustion Tuning

Overview

Each year, millions of tons of municipal solid waste are sent to landfills and a lack of drinkable water plagues populations globally. In order to address these increasing issues, this project began with a rudimentary idea of a biomass powered desalination device and the goal to create a functioning prototype that would use steam from desalinated salt water to generate electricity. Previous testing was conducted to find energy densities of biomass using calorimetry. In this year of the project, combustion tuning was focused on to develop a consistent and efficient combustion chamber to power the desalination process. A setup was developed to allow for efficiency calculations using heat transfer to a water source. The chamber was constructed mainly using terracotta pots and plates, computer case fans, and a power supply unit. Programmed combustion tuning was also explored, involving the automatic adjustment of fan speed and airflow based on combustion gas output. This project reviews test results of tuning using several different airflow rates. The data showed the approximate efficiency of the chamber and the anticipated airflow relationship with heat released by combustion. Limitations in available materials and current setup warrant further improvements in efficiency using programmed combustion tuning. Thus, the test results will be used in further experimentation of the combustion chamber and prototyping the biomass powered desalination device with potential application in households.

Competition history

• JSHS 2022 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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