Design and Development of a Smart Portable Water Purification System

Abstract

Access to clean drinking water remains a critical challenge for individuals in remote, off-grid, or temporary living situations such as travelers, campers, and emergency responders. This project presents the design and development of a Smart Portable Water Purification System that addresses this need through a compact, solar-powered, and IoT-integrated solution. The system utilizes a multi-stage filtration process including sediment, pre-carbon, reverse osmosis, post-carbon, and silver carbon filters to effectively remove physical impurities, chemical contaminants, and biological hazards. Real-time water quality monitoring is achieved using TDS and pH sensors, while a Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller enables wireless control and monitoring via a custom-built graphical user interface accessible through a local Wi-Fi access point. Performance evaluations showed a significant improvement in water quality, with pH values normalized to safe ranges. Despite low to moderate filtration speeds and unoptimized data handling, the results validate the system's effectiveness and usability in field conditions. Recommendations for future enhancements include improving power efficiency, filtration speed, communication protocols, sensor integration, and mechanical design for better portability and environmental durability. The final prototype demonstrates a reliable, user-friendly, and sustainable approach to decentralized water purification.