Design and construction of a solar powered salt electrochlorination system for water treatment:

Abstract

Access to safe and potable water remains a major concern in Uganda. An important step in ensuring water safety and potable water is through disinfection. Chlorine case in point NWSC- Luweero, is used as a disinfectant to inactivate disease causing micro-organisms in the water. However, the Chlorine used is imported from countries like India, Kenya and US (Volza, 2023). This tends to be costly, in terms of purchase, transportation, storage and handling. National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) aims at minimizing the cost of production and profit maximization in water treatment thus a need. To address this challenge, this research focuses on design and construction of a solar powered salt electrochlorination system for water treatment. Involving onsite generation of sodium hypochlorite solution by electrolysis process from a brine solution for disinfection using Grade 2 titanium plates due to high corrosion resistance arranged in a bipolar parallel arrangement. Sodium Hypochlorite was generated successfully with an initial investment of Ugx.1, 254,400 and annual savings of Ugx 5,266,000. Thus, a cost-effective alternative for water disinfection. KEY WORDS: Brine solution, Electrolysis and Water treatment