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Solar Assisted Essential Oil DistillerSenior Design Project P15484

Vetiver

Abundant grass in HaitiRoots have important purposes:Erosion controlContain essential oilsUsed in weavingAggregate in concreteVetiver will be the primary distillation crop in Haiti.

AcknowledgementsSarah Brownell - Guide and CustomerDr. Stevens - Subject Matter ExpertDaniel Connell - SolarFlower Project

Solar Tracker

Part of the SolarFlower open-source projectTracks the sun without electricityBoiling ethanol turns gears to rotate the main solar collector to face the sunTesting resulted in successful rotation of the troughNext Steps

Test in Haiti with input of Haitian farmersScale-up the system to be a reasonable income source for HaitiansRedesign several components for robustness, longevity, and ease-of-useReduce system cost to be more economical on a production scaleTest extraction process on different plants and refine plant preparation processBackground

Farmers of the Cooperative KGPB in Borgne, Haiti are in need of a new source of income from their agricultural products.

An Essential Oil Distiller was identified as a potential soluntion to extract expensive fragrent oils found in many colognes and perfumes.

A solar-assisted distiller which relies primarily on sustainable fuels is feasible and economical for rural populations in Haiti.Team Members (Left to right)Benjamin Wolfe - Mechanical EngineerNathan Johnson - Mechanical EngineerJohnathon Wheaton - Industrial & Systems EngineerBruno Moraes Quintava - Mechanical EngineerPeter Coutts - Mechanical EngineerSolar Trough

Boils 3L of water in 30 minutes using solar energyOptimized parabolic shapeProvides 188W of solar energy, or 44% of power requiredExpected to produce 244W in Haiti, or 57% of the power required22% efficiencyPlant Matter Container

Pressure sealed chamber which houses vetiver rootSteam passes through chamber to extract essential oils from plantsCondenser & Drip Feed

Condenses steam into a water-oil mixture50 ft of stainless steel tubing suspended in waterLarge water reservoir to ensure all day operationWater reservoir also serves as water source feeding into the trough Burner

Supplementary source of heatProvides thermal energy when solar insolation is insufficient to power systemCommercial propane burner set up to be replaced with sustainable methane fuel in the futureSeparator

Water-oil mixture flows into the bucket from the condenserEssential oils separate from the water and rise to the surface due to a difference in densityWater is drained from the bucket and the remaining oil is extracted with a pipetteEssential oil is then ready to sellHaiti

The availability of intense solar insolation year round makes Haiti an ideal location for solar-assisted projects.

A small prototype of the solar collector successfully boiled water in Haiti in 45 minutes over winter break.

Borgne, Haiti

http://www.vetivernurseries.co.nz/uploads/images/3%20Months%20growth%202.JPG

Engr. Requirement (metric)Unit of MeasureMarginal ValueTarget ValuePass/FailFuel efficiencyMJ / lb of plant3015.128.8Percentage of total energy produced from a sustainable source%50100100Capacity of plant materialcu in160272339Recovers oil at a yield comparable to known industry values (0.3-2%)% of industry standard85900Able to relieve pressure above 5psiyes/noyesyesYesSystem Energy Flow

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