Water distillation using waste engine heat from an internal combustion engine

Abstract

To meet the needs of forward deployed soldiers and disaster relief personnel, a mobile water distillation system was designed and tested. This system uses waste engine heat from the exhaust flow of an internal combustion engine to vaporize water for the purpose of removing impurities. The vapor is condensed back down to water in a finned condenser that experiences forced convection. The system pumps heat transfer oil through a 0.61 meter long, cross flow, annulus-type heat exchanger installed over a section of exhaust pipe where the oil experiences a AT of 7°C. The hot heat transfer oil is then piped to a boiler where it releases its heat to the water and returns to the exhaust heat exchanger to be reheated. Testing demonstrated that the system has a heat up time of 30 minutes, and a steady state distillation rate of 2 gallons per hour. In steady state, the system removes and transfers heat from the exhaust at a rate of 4600 Watts.