Life Raft Water Generator

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

Life Raft Water Generating Unit Enhanced by NBN Nano Technology

Story: Imagine you’re on a fishing boat out in the Atlantic Ocean near the equator when you find yourself facing a tropical storm. While riding out the storm your ship loses engine power and before you know it the ship is taking on water! You mayday for help and go unanswered. Now desperately of time you and your 3 shipmates are forced to abandon ship seeking sanctuary in the life raft.

The life raft is equipped with items to keep you sheltered and warm. It comes with a small ration of food and water for 4 people. The storm breaks and gives way to an even more deadly enemy, the hot sun of a summer day. Without a cloud in the sky and a breeze in the wind, you find your water rations will only last you about two days. You are hopeful that someone heard your mayday and that help will soon find you. Unfortunately unknown to you it will be 6 days since the disaster before anyone knows you are missing and 10 days before a search and rescue plane locates your raft.

As the days go by you become weak and delusional as hours pass like days. While laying there in your own filth praying for a drop of rain and the rumble of a plain, hope is quickly fading away. Some of your shipmates while dying of thirst turn to the ocean desperate for a moist mouth. Before their body is cast into the deep blue they will endure severe vomiting and hallucinations. Such a cruel way to die of thirst while surrounded by nothing but water. However what if there was a solution?

Combining the technology of a solar oven, nbn nano surface coatings, and a bit of elementary science; I have developed a system that can produce fresh water from salt water while fitted to a life raft so that no man my die of thirst.

How It Works:
The Shape: After being deployed the raft takes shape. Built into the raft is a water generating unit that takes it shape via spring steel rings at the radius extremities and the force of the canopy being pulled taught by the expanding air within its structural tubes. It contains a lower chamber, upper chamber, dehumidifying aluminum fins, and a system of hoses.

The Process:
1: Water is pumped via a 12v (<100W) low powered electric pump into the lower chamber. There a float is attached to a valve to stop the flow once the desired level is reached. An alternative solution to an electric pump is a wave powered pump, or a fibrous substrate that could absorb water delivering it to the lower chamber much like a candle wick. This model shows an electric pump powered by a flexible light weight (.5lb/ft^2) Solar Panel as designed by Xunlight in Toledo Ohio.
2: Sunlight enters the chamber heating the salt water.
3: Water evaporates humidifying the air.
4: Aluminum foil fins containing plastic pipes are cooled by ocean water provided by the pump system. *Note* the cooling ocean water is then cycled out of the system never contaminating the clean water supply. *Another Note* The surface water of the ocean can be warm one option is to extend a tube to deeper water that feeds the pump to provide cooler water. This is all in an effort to create a temperature difference between the contained air and the cooling fins. The greater the difference the more efficient the process.
5: The Humid air now hot due to its containment clashes with the cooler Aluminum fins. The water condenses dehumidifying the air. This process is greatly enhanced thanks to a special NBN Nano coating.
6: Water settles in the upper chamber flowing to the lowest point, where a plastic pipe then transfers the fresh water to a bottle waiting to be consumed by the survivors. Gravity does the work here.

The Math: This model contains 62 surfaces (31 fins) for a total of 1.86m^2. If my calculations are correct this could result in 5.58L/hr given a 70% humidity could be maintained.
Materials: The body is recycled flexible PVC plastic (black, clear, and orange colors) with steel inserts to reinforce its shape. The Fins are Aluminum foil for flexibility, heat transfer properties, and to be sanitary. The plumbing is composed of PVC flexible hose. The Electric pump is composed of Molded recycled plastics and a few steel / copper components. As for the Solar Energy, well how you power it is not part of the competition I simply added it to complete the design. Therefore this build it 100% made of recyclable materials.

Conclusion: This is one idea/design that is truly a life saver. If nothing ells I hope this or some technology like it can be developed to help people in their desperate time of need.

Thank You,
Michael Smith