desalination plants

Discussion in 'The big picture' started by lezstar, Nov 19, 2007.

  1. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: desalination plants

    We are just running out of fresh water on a world wide scale

    I live on the Central Coast of NSW surrounded by power stations that use mostly use salt water to cool the plants.
    I have often wondered (with 20% water in the local dam) why these power stations can't also desalinate water

    I talked to a Guy at a recent conference who worked for a big power Station up north.
    I ran the "de-sal at power plant?" idea by him and he thought it was a good idea.
    Power Stations, as you know, need to keep a base load going.
    At night, he said, they need to gradually "step down" their massive generators. CO2 wise, this is not very efficient use of the energy produced by burning the coal. A lot of energy is wasted by gradually stepping down the massive generators- over a period of hours, if not days.
    Sometimes they need to expend a lot of energy to get an extra power station on line to cope with peak demand. This then might take 24hours to take off-line.
    He also said that seawater used for cooling is warmed to 50C anyway, so it is not a lot more to get to 101C.

    :drinkers: :drinkers: :drinkers:
    I suppose it is a matter of economics, perhaps of perception, perhaps of conservative thinking; but the Professor's new technology (below) ALSO looks good.
    What do you think?


    Professor Discovers Better Way To Desalinate Water

    Science Daily — Chemical engineer Kamalesh Sirkar, PhD, a distinguished professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and an expert in membrane separation technology, is leading a team of researchers to develop a breakthrough method to desalinate water. Sirkar, who holds more than 20 patents in the field of membrane separation, said that using his technology, engineers will be able to recover water from brines with the highest salt concentrations. The Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of Interior is funding the project.

    Kamalesh K. Sirkar, PhD, is a distinguished professor of chemical engineering and the sponsored chair for membrane separations and the director for the Center for Membrane Technologies at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

    "Our process will work especially well with brines holding salt concentrations above 5.5 percent," Sirkar said. Currently, 5.5 percent is the highest percentage of salt in brine that can be treated using reverse osmosis.

    "We especially like our new process because we can fuel it with low grade, inexpensive waste heat," Sirkar said. "Cheap heat costs less, but can heat brine efficiently."

    ScienceDaily: Professor Discovers Better Way To Desalinate Water
    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 134405.htm
    On desalination and putting back the salt
    https://www.abc.net.au/science/expert/re ... ion/01.htm

    https://www.abc.net.au/science/expert/re ... alination/

    BTW
    One of the sad things for me last year was the WWF ? getting the environment prize for "Earth Hour" Such a con., the power stations still had to keep going at full-tilt. The Power Executive I talked to said it he did not know how the power stations coped. I note in recent advertisng 'Earth Hour' are playing down the "energy saving" aspects of earth hour- but people still believe they are saving GHGs When in fact they are producing more CO2 lighting candles gas cooking etc. The power station still has to keep going at full tilt and toss the power somehow???
     
  2. Jana

    Jana Junior Member

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    Re: desalination plants

    Regarding desalination...solar mirrored dishes could be used to generate steam (energy) and distilled water. No reason why our municipal power plants could not also produce our drinking water. The solar arrays could be established on pontoons off shore and fresh water and electricity piped to shore through the same cable/pipe system.

    I invented a passive solar heater comprising of a coiled tube of heat resistant glass shaped into a cone spiral...through which water flows from the bottom to the top...inside the hollow of the cone black iron sand is put. This both magnetizes and superheats the water, plus the water is vortexed naturally. I don't know about the engineering of this, but I suspected that this system might even run passively by itself...the superheated water exiting down the inside of the sand chamber might "pull" water up the cone exerting a slight antigravity effect. If need be water treatment or water for a building could be run through a series of these glass cones...perhaps even clockwise and anticlockwise rotations.

    One wonders what the effect on the water itself might be. I "saw" this in my head at a permaculture course; along with an antimatter coiled free energy devise.

    Of course Schauberger would say that "heating" water is bad for it...but I imagine this magnetite-vortex system might be very good at eliminating prior imprints from the water.

    Dan Reese Vortex system for removing iron and sulphur and salt
    Vortex Water Systems - Nature's Process for restoring water resulting in rain-soft water.
     
  3. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    A diffent look at desalination plants

    https://www.ceto.com.au/news/2008/Second ... 080304.pdf
    see diagram here
    https://www.ceto.com.au/ceto-technology/what-is-ceto.php

    I hope the Global Finacial Meltdown don't slow down these guys. what agreat invention!
     
  4. springtide

    springtide Junior Member

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    Re: desalination plants

    Don't forget most de-sal plants use reverse osmosis - which uses much less power than distillation.
     

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