Introduction

The assignment takes place in Burkina Faso, a country in Africa. There is a water
pyramid in Senegal that makes clean drink water from dirty water. The
assignment is to improve the water pyramid in Senegal, the improved version
of this pyramid will be placed in Burkina Faso. We got the assignment from
Worldschool. There were a lot of assignments to choose from, but a lot of
students liked this assignment. There are 2 groups of 3 people working on this
assignment. Our group is going to accelerate the evaporation.

Contents

Chapter 1

Page 3-4

Occasion and relevance

Chapter 2

Page 4

Goal in the assignment

Chapter 3

Page 5-7

Theoretical exploration

Chapter 4

Page 8-9

Work method

Chapter 5

Page 10

Results and conclusion

Chapter 6

Page 11

Evaluation and discussion

Chapter 7

Page 11

Planning

Chapter 8

Page 11

Enclosure

Chapter 1

Occasion and relevance

The surface water in Burkina Faso is coloured brown due to the sludge and is
invested with bacteria. In order to create healthy drinking water, you have to
either boil the water for 15 minutes, add chlorine to it, filter it through activated
carbon, distillate, treat it with UV radiation or force it through a membrane filter.
A water pyramid distils the dirty water up to a point where you can almost drink
it. It only has to be demineralised. In Senegal, there are water pyramids that
take up 1,000 m2, are 9m high and the plastic sides are held up by a ventilator.
The costs for the project in Senegal were 40,000 Euros. The temperature rises
up to 70 - 75 Celsius and this causes the water to evaporate and condensate on
the plastic sides; it produces up to 1000 L per day.

Support Sahel Foundation projects would like a follow-up research with, for
example, the following aspects taken into consideration in the matching
measuring system that is derived from the idea of the water pyramid.

A. Concerning evaporation
- People living in the Northern, colder, areas can still grow vegetables using
underground heating from pipes that hold warm water. Is it an option to use a
similar process to heat the water in the pyramid utilising solar power? What
temperatures are needed / possible? How would we construct such a system?
How will the air humidity, temperature and pyramid be affected?
- Is it possible to drastically enlarge the water surface in order to create more
evaporation? Think about the size of the water plants, the filtering paper that is
positioned horizontally, etc. What materials and constructions would be required
and fitting and how will this affect the measured results? How would we maintain
the system?

B. Concerning condensation
- What materials simplify the process of condensation and the draining of the
water (hydrophilic/hydrophobic, coatings, type of plastic, structures, ridges,
cutters, etc.) and what angle gives the best result?
- What role does ventilation have in the pyramid: can Peltier elements be used
for the ventilation system?
- Are cooling systems such as thermal cooling systems on solar power, absorb
cooling, an option when cooling the system in order to create more
condensation? How would such a system need to be constructed inside the
pyramid? How can the natural nightly temperature drop be stored so it can be
utilised during the daytime?
- Do we need to use double layered plastic, just like insulated glazing, and if so,
what are the possibilities, the possible outcomes, what will stimulate
condensation? What affect will the double layered plastic with holes on the
outside layer have?
- Do we need to make a distinction between the northern and southern side of
the pyramid?
Try to think of suggestion for the improvement of the pyramid and use your
research, measurements, calculations, even scale models, to explain your
findings.

Chapter 2

Goal in the assignment

To do good research we made a research question with sub-questions

Research Question
How can we improve the already existing Waterpyramid, so it can be used in
burkina faso?
Sub-questions
How can we make sure the evaporation in the Waterpyramid goes faster?
How can we make sure the temperature in the Waterpyramid becomes
higher and stays high during the night?

Chapter 3

Theoretical exploration

3.1 How does the water pyramid work?

The water pyramid purifies the water. The temperature inside can rise to
approximately 70 degrees (Celsius).Because of this the water evaporates from
the brown sludge, the water is then collected and mineralised. After this process
its suitable for drinking. This image shows how it works

3.2
Important factors that affect evaporation are:
1. Wind assists evaporation; for example in clothes dry faster under a fan
(not usable).
1. Heat assists evaporation; for example, in summer clothes dry faster than
in winter (usable).
2. Increase in surface area exposed assists evaporation; for instance, a wet
cloth spread out dries faster than when folded. (usable)
3. Dryness assists evaporation; for instance, clothes dry faster in summer
than during the monsoon when the air is humid. (possible)
4. Rate of evaporation depends upon the nature of the liquid; for example,
petrol evaporates faster than water. (not usable)
5. Vapor pressure: if pressure is applied on the surface of a liquid,
evaporation is hindered; consider, for example, the case of a pressure
cooker.(not usable)

3.3 Carolus Clusius College research

The main question: How can we improve the Water pyramid in Senegal so that
it can produce more in Burkina Faso?
We have thought of various ways to research this, and came up with these
hypotheses. We have drawn conclusions from these hypotheses.
Hypothesis 1: A larger volume through adjusting the shape of the pyramid and
increasing the surface area.
According to our calculations, the shape of the pyramid has little influence on the
pyramid. The volume of a cone-shaped pyramid with a rounded surface is just as
large as the volume of a square-shaped pyramid. We conclude that the volume
does not increase when we use a different shape.
Hypothesis 2: The colour of the ground affects the temperature in the pyramid.
It has become clear from the data that the colour of the ground has an influence
on the temperature in the pyramid. The black colour makes the surface is
warmer. This heat is released into the environment, causing the temperature to
rise in the pyramid. Because the temperature becomes higher, there is more
water evaporation. The conclusion is that the black colour provides a higher
temperature inside the pyramid and therefore provides more clean water.
Hypothesis 3: A higher temperature in the pyramid can be achieved by applying
the principle of distillation.
Our conclusion from this hypothesis is that it could be feasible in theory, but in
practice it is not. There is not enough energy in the pyramid to get the vapor way
up, so that it passes through the tube in the top. This design needs more energy
than it produces. Burkina Faso is a poor country and there is just not enough
money. It is also a much more expensive system, because you need more
material. The water is more likely to condense on the walls, and that it was not
the intent of this design. This solution will not be a good alternative to the
current design.
Hypothesis 4: The process of condensation can be accelerated by flowing water
from the dam on the pyramid.
We havent tested this hypothesis, because it was not possible for us to carry out
in good measurements here. We also heard from one of the last mails from Mr.
Povel given that the dam from which the water is taken is 1.5 meters high. The
dam would be the highest object in our design and that is not possible if the dam
is not that high. We drew the conclusion that it is not possible to speed up the
process of condensation by letting the water of the dam flow over the top of the
pyramid.

Hypothesis 5: A higher temperature in the pyramid can be achieved by applying

the use of mirrors.
Also with this hypothesis, we didnt perform any measurements. It is a known
fact that the rays of a mirror can combine and be centered to a certain point. So
in theory we know that this concept will work, only the way how you install the
mirrors is unknown. We have deliberately not taken any measurements since the
results that would come from this would not correspond to the results in real life.
However, we still draw the conclusion that a higher temperature can be reached
in the pyramid by the use of mirrors.
Hypothesis 6: The lowering of the temperature overnight can be limited by the
isolation of the pyramid.
Our results were surprising here. We came out on data that proves that when the
pyramid is isolated, the temperature gets colder than when the pyramid is not
isolated. In both cases, the total temperature rise was 1.4 C and at a full
insulation, including the ground, this was only 1.5 C. This is completely
contrary to our theory. After some time of repeating the experiment, we decided
that this hypothesis doesnt work. The lowering of the temperature overnight in
the pyramid is not achieved by isolating the pyramid.
Answering the main question: "How can we improve the Water pyramid in
Senegal so that it can produce more in Burkina Faso?"
in our case was quite difficult. We have proved that when the colour of the
ground surface is black, then the final temperature will be higher during the day.
We also know that the use of mirrors possible gives a higher temperature in the
pyramid itself. The rest of the possibilities for improving the pyramid were not
successful.
Since the ground was already black in the current water pyramid, and we can not
really test the idea of the mirrors, our conclusion is that there are no
improvements to the Water pyramid.

Chapter 4

Work method

Ideas
There were two ideas to accelerate the evaporation, the first idea was the
collapsed top idea.
The collapsed top idea ensures that the water which condenses falls down at one
point. The water that falls down is collected in a tube which leads to a tank. The
top of the pyramid is turned inside, the water that evaporates will be transported
to the top in this way. When the water condenses the water will
go to the ''top'' of the pyramid and in this way the water will
flow to one point in the pyramid instead of different places in
the pyramid. In this way you are sure that all the water is
catched. The condensation space is seperated from the
evaporation space.

The second idea was to divide the pyramid in different sections. The theory
behind it is that a lot of energy is lost at the side of the pyramid that the sun
doesnt shine on. The current pyramid allows the hot air to move freely through
the pyramid. This means that energy is lost at the cold side. The different
sections traps the heat in one place, making that side warmer which results in an
higher evaporation rate. This solution makes starting the
pyramid up much quicker. It also retains a lot of warmth in
the evening because the pyramid is able to use the last
hours of sunlight more efficiently. Another benefit is that
maintenance is a lot easier. With the different sections you
only have to remove one section at the time instead of the
whole pyramid.

Prototype
There are connectors made to connect the sections, there is a top-connector with
8 parts, a base connector with 8 sides and one top part and there are 8 corner
connectors. The connectors are connected to each other with wooden sticks. The
base of the pyramid is black because it makes the surface warmer and the
temperature in the pyramid will rise. The section are made with plastic
screens/walls.

Experiment
There were first experiments done with the original pyramid without
sections. There were thermometers in the pyramid on each side (north,
east, south and west). A light shone on the pyramid and every five
minutes the temperature was checked for an hour long. Every
experiment is done two time, because it is more reliable. After this the
same experiment was done with the sectioned pyramid and finally the
results were compared.

Chapter 5

Results and conclusion

On the left side you can see the results of the measurement without the sections.
You can see that the meter on the front is hotter than the meter in the back, the
same goes for je measurement with the sectioned pyramid. When you compare
the two measurements to each other you can see that there is a big difference in
temperature. The temperature in the sectioned pyramid is higher than the
temperature in the original pyramid. While the temperature in the original
pyramid is 25 degrees after 15 minutes, the sectioned pyramid is 30 degrees.

Conclusion
After testing both pyramids we came to the conclusion that the sectioned
pyramid with a black base warms up quicker than the original pyramid without
sections and a black base.

Chapter 6

Evaluation and discussion

During the project it was possible to get the best results for our search . The
main questions and sub-questions are answered and there is a conclusion drawn.
But there are problems that are not solved, for example the acceleration of the
condensation. That part of the assignment was not included in our part of the
project. The sectioned pyramid idea did not bring any problems with it. Just like
in every project there are some parts that could be improved, for example the

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thermometers. The place of the thermometers could have been better, like this
the experiment would be more reliable.

Chapter 7

Planning

https://www.smartapp.com/gantterforgoogledrive/index.html?fileID=0B2MMPJgD0FrVXlReHh3UURuX0U#

Chapter 8

Enclosure

Eindrapport team Car Clus V037_Steun Sahel waterpyramiden

D010.pdf

https://prezi.com/1xltktt5v37o/edit/#3_63558683

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