Contraption

Event Introduction

The water for which we may have to look
In summertime with a witching wand,
In every wheelrut’s now a brook,
In every print of a hoof a pond.
-Robert Frost

Despite the fact that water constitutes about 71 % of the earth’s surface, a surprising 3% alone figures as freshwater. Man’s rapid industrial growth and progress has depleted nature’s resources at a much higher rate than can be naturally replenished. Thus the seemingly insignificant amount of freshwater, in times to come, would fail to meet the alarming increase in the demands of mankind. Therefore, there is a necessity to develop a method that simultaneously resolves the problem and overcomes the current environmental concerns, to restore the balance.

A plausible solution to this crisis is desalination of seawater, which refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water hence making it suitable for human consumption. However, a major setback of this technique is the utilization of large amounts of energy coupled with expensive infrastructure.

Hence, there is a need for a desalination technology that strikes a balance between efficiency and economy, with minimum impact on the environment.

Event Format

Design a contraption to desalinate the provided 250 ml sample of 4% by weight sodium chloride solution.

Device specifications:

• Once the process starts participants will not be allowed to add or remove anything externally. All the necessary arrangements have to be done before commencement of competition.
• Use of readymade filtering mechanisms and commercially available desalination devices are not allowed.
• Machine will be thoroughly checked by the organizers of the event. Any team found violating any of the above clauses will be disqualified.
• Electric supply of 220 V will be provided if required for the process.

Sample: 250 ml of 4% by weight Sodium chloride solution.

Event rules :

• One trial run shall be allowed for each team during the event.
• The teams must adhere to the spirit of healthy competition. The teams must not damage the opponent's project/system in any way.
• The organizers reserve the right to change/update the rules of the contest at any point of time and will do their best to inform the participants of the same. However, it is ultimately the responsibility of the teams to keep themselves updated.

It is advisable for the interested teams to submit an abstract of their design to the organizers on or before 20th October, 2009

Rules and Regulations

• Team can have maximum of 4 students.
• No student can be part of more than one team.
• There is no restriction on the number of teams from the same college.

Judging Criteria

The contraption will be judged based on :

• Power consumption
• Time taken for the process
• Concentration of the desalinated sample.
• Economy of the design
• Substantial dependence on alternative sources of energy

The judging will also be based on the following salient touchstones:

• If an existing commercial technique is employed, an improvisation of the same will be given more credit
• Advantages in the form of spin offs
• Impact on environment

Contact details:

• Meera Mahadevan : +91-9902332981
• Spurti Akki : +91-9901724093
• You can email your queries to contraption@engineer.org.in