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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 100? 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 50? 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.
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