The
3rd World Water Forum that took place in Kyoto, Japan from 16- 23 March was a
major catalyst for creating a more aware Japanese public on issues related to
water.
The
Japanese in general have always had the impression that water is as air in its
availability due to the fact that they have been so well blessed with this
natural resource because of Japan’s warm climate and natural geological
structures. Only a few major Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and
Fukuoka have occasionally experienced short periods of water shortages. The
shortages are always short-termed and end as soon as normal weather patterns
return.
Having
personally endured a very difficult three years before the termination of WWII
and for a short time afterwards in terms of food shortage, I can very well
sympathize with those in this world that suffer from hunger. Nevertheless, I am
sure I can come no where near in comprehending what it must be like for those
who live in areas where water supplies are sparse.
Even
so, I felt it necessary for the developed world to help those less fortunate in
finding solutions to their problems. I recently came up with an idea for a
device, the prototype of which is currently being developed by a small group of
engineering professionals and small business people interested in protecting the
environment, that would hopefully provide people with safe, clean drinking
water.
Natural
Distillation
The
device produces distilled water from seawater and other natural water sources by
using natural energy. It is specially designed for areas that have a small
population and a weak economic base, but possess an abundance in natural forms
of energy. More specifically, tropical, subtropical and even temperate regions
would benefit.
The
device is based on the physical principle that water boils at less than its
normal boiling temperature of 100º C when placed under reduced pressure.
Devices employing this principle have been used in research laboratories and
chemical industries for a long time. Therefore, there is no need to create any
new technology at all.
The
device is designed such that it fulfills four preconditions. It should be:
1)
small in size and simple in structure,
2)
easy to operate without any special knowledge,
3)
easy and inexpensive to maintain and
4)
cheaply produced and installed.
It
has a black air-tight container into which raw water is pumped. A suction pump
is connected to reduce its inside pressure. A reflector under the device focuses
sunlight on its black bottom to heat the raw water inside. Before entering the
container, raw water is warmed while passing through a solar heating panel.
Because
of the reduced pressure, the water starts boiling to form steam at a low
temperature, say at about 50º C. The steam is sucked out, cooled down and
returned to water form once more in a condenser. This distilled water is then
stored in a tank.
To
maximize absorption of solar energy, the device always faces the sun by means of
a sun tracking mechanism. A computer controls the whole operation and maintains
it at optimum conditions, eliminating most of the manual handling.
Electric
power necessary for running the pumps, computer and other parts is supplied by
either one or a combination of solar cells, a wind mill and a fuel cell using
biogas. If the amount of solar energy is not enough to boil raw water, electric
heat may be used to keep the water boiling.
The
design in this way fulfills the first three conditions cited above, and as far
as the fourth condition is concerned, we are currently discussing various
technologies to produce the total system as cheap as possible.
After
installation, there is practically no running cost as electricity for moving
parts is supplied by natural energy.
In
order to transform the resulting distilled water - unsuitable for drinking
purposes due to its lack of essential minerals and nutrients - to more potable
water, the simplest solution would be to add the necessary minerals in chemical
form; a costly and cumbersome solution.
A
better option would be to wash locally available sand, soil and rocks and
sterilize them using fire. The rocks are crushed to a few millimeters in size.
They are all then tightly packed in a tank. The distilled water then slowly
passes through the mixture, taking up minerals with it just as rain water
dissolves minerals while percolating through the ground. This process should
provide the necessary amount of mineral elements to the distilled water to make
it potable and healthy.
To
supply safe and clean water, microbiological, toxicological and chemical
monitoring should be done. A laboratory facility with trained personnel for the
tests is required.
Irrigation
and Energy
Two
other equally important functions of providing water in this manner are that it
can be used for irrigating farm lands and that it may be used as raw material to
produce hydrogen, an alternative energy source.
Shortages
in potable water also means that there is a shortage in water for food crop
cultivation. This device would hopefully ease that problem in many places. Water
produced in this way can be fed to plants using a drip irrigation method to
maximize its value.
To
provide hydrogen as a source of energy, water molecules can be split into
hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis. Seawater or water from other natural
sources could be used directly for the process. However, a facility for this is
costly. A cheaper way to produce hydrogen would be using distilled water
obtained from this device. The technology for this must be developed.
Only
rough estimates can be made as to the production capacity of the device until it
is actually tried out. According to our calculations, one unit will produce
about 500L/day. Several units would serve a community of 100-150 people. Our
hopes are that production will be even more than this, but this can not be
proven until the trial process is finalized.
Soaring
Oil Prices and a Need for Alternatives
The
idea for this device came to me on a visit to Hawaii. I wondered what the people
of Hawaii would do if oil prices soared. Being surrounded by the Pacific Ocean,
they have an infinite supply of raw material for hydrogen production.
“When
oil prices go up, people living in isolated areas are going
to feel the brunt of the situation. They need alternative
energy sources.” |
|
We
must keep in mind that industrial nations and rich countries such as the Gulf
countries have money to build large, sophisticated desalination plants for
producing water suitable for drinking and irrigation. Now they can afford to use
oil to run such plants, but when oil prices soar, even these nations will face a
very difficult situation.
We
can thus imagine what the situation will be in nations not as capable. We must
now start to prepare for a future not so far away. That’s why I want to
contribute some of my effort as small as it may seem.
When
oil prices go up, people living in isolated areas are going to feel the brunt of
the situation. They need alternative energy sources. Natural energies such as
solar, wind, hydraulic energy like waves, and biogas are obvious solutions.
However,
each of these forms has its own shortcoming. For instance, during the night,
solar energy is unavailable. Wind energy cannot be counted on during calm days.
They should thus be combined to compensate for each other's shortcomings.
Another drawback of natural energy is that it cannot be used directly to drive
vehicles due to its lack of portability.
To
deal with the problems that have resulted from our dependency on fossil fuels,
hydrogen is claimed by some to be the ultimate solution. Hydrogen energy does
not produce CO2
or any other hazardous
gases. It generates energy and water. It can be produced indefinitely due to the
availability of limitless natural energy and water on Earth.
Both
academia, industries and governments of industrial nations have been putting
their efforts and a tremendous amount of money into the research and development
of technologies that extract energy from hydrogen by the use of fuel cells for
example.
Hydrogen
is obtained from distilled water by electrolysis. It can be
prepared
directly from seawater. However, its facility and maintenance are expensive.
Countries with a weak economic foundation cannot afford such an expensive
system. Developing a cheap affordable system that uses distilled water produced
by the above explained device using natural energy thus becomes necessary.
In
summary, this distiller will supply not only safe and clean drinking water, but
may also provide water for irrigation and for hydrogen production. Our team
believes that even economically poor nations can afford to adapt it to their
basic needs. We also believe that we still have time to prepare for the
disasters that will face us in the not so distant future. We should invest in
the wealth still available to us on this Earth.
We
welcome your comments on this device and any suggestions where it might be
tested to demonstrate its usefulness.
IslamOnline.net’s
Health & Science page is interested in promoting appropriate technology for
the developing world. Scientists from around the world are invited to submit
their inventions in article form to the editor for possible publication. For
further information contact the editor at: ScienceTech@islam-online.net.
Hitoshi
Maruyama was born in Kobe, Japan in 1929 where he was raised until 1940 when
his family moved to Tokyo. After his father’s death in 1944, he decided to
work as a rice farmer after his graduation from middle school in 1945. After
working for four years in the rice fields, he went back to school to study
herbicides to further his agricultural expertise. He graduated from the
International Christian University in 1957 and went on to study biochemistry at
the Virginia Polytechnic Institute School of Agriculture. After graduation, he
attended a one year post-doctoral fellowship at New York University followed by
three years of nutritional research involving vitamin B6 and rat brain
development. From 1969 to 1983 he worked at a hospital near Washington, D.C.
including three years as a clinical biochemist and 10 years as a laboratory
administrator. He then returned to Kurume, Japan where he was the director of
the research and development section in a hospital until the age of 60. Since
then, he has opened a small class to teach English, Math and Science to
children. To contact him about his device and any possible suggestions or
invitations for trials, write to: mhito29@ybb.ne.jp.
