Desalination

Desalination

The main purpose of desalination is in providing water for growing food, primarily carbohydrates such as wheat and rice. It works during the growing season and only when an average ambient temperature over twenty-four hours is lower than 24o C (see James Lovelock on the subject). Otherwise, crop plants die regardless of water availability.

The amount of human energy from food spent on making and operating desalination facilities added to the human energy used to produce, distribute, and process food must be lower than the energy in these foods that our body uses. Otherwise, everybody dies.

This is why desalination processes must consume the smallest amount of energy through the lowest-cost (meaning shortest labor time and least intense) source—nuclear energy.

We are working on substantial improvement in energy efficiency of desalination by combining various known processes with a goal of getting as close to the thermodynamic limit as possible. The concept is similar to the Fuelcor idea.

We plan to use Pebble Bed Reactors, initially invented in Germany and commercialized in China, as an energy source. This is the best energy source for desalination. Website visitors are advised to research this subject independently.

We estimate that desalinated water using the desalinators we are currently in the process of developing, in combination with PBRs, will provide irrigation water for growing carbohydrates (wheat and rice) at a fraction of today’s desalinated water cost.

For residential consumption, we need only 15 percent of the water necessary for irrigation. Needless to say, a small portion of irrigation water can be diverted to city water utilities to fulfill this need. After adding sanitary additives to counter bacterial infection in the water-delivery infrastructure, this water will again cost a fraction of the existing price.

An even smaller portion can be diverted to make all kinds of mineralized water for drinking. Profit on this water can pay for all irrigation and utilities water usage.