Water desalinization systems with heat collection element tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current desalination methods rely heavily on fossil fuels, resulting in environmental pollution, health issues, and high carbon footprints, while also failing to effectively address the accessibility of clean drinking water due to their reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
Innovation Solution
A concentrated solar-powered system that uses solar irradiation to convert seawater into drinking water through distillation and controlled pressure, minimizing fossil fuel consumption and generating renewable energy, which includes a tracking system to align solar concentrators with the sun's movement, heat collection elements with superheater tubes, and a process to separate steam from residual water, reducing biological contaminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If reverse osmosis processes are used to produce drinking water, then drinking water can be produced from seawater, but excessive amounts of fossil fuels are consumed and environmental pollution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the energy source parameter from fossil fuels to concentrated solar energy. The solar concentrator system focuses sunlight to generate high temperatures that drive the distillation process, eliminating the need for fossil fuel combustion while maintaining the ability to produce drinking water from seawater.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of water (liquid to vapor to liquid) as the core mechanism for desalination. Seawater is heated to produce steam, which is then condensed to produce fresh water. This phase change-based approach replaces the membrane-based reverse osmosis method and is powered by solar energy instead of fossil fuels.
2Quantity of substance
If fossil fuels are used for water desalination, then drinking water can be produced, but carbon footprint and environmental pollution increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the abundant solar energy (a natural resource that would otherwise be unused) into useful thermal energy for desalination. By using solar concentrators to focus sunlight, the system transforms a natural phenomenon into a powerful heat source that drives the water purification process without creating harmful emissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The solar-powered system uses free, naturally occurring solar energy to perform the desalination process. The tracking system automatically follows the sun's movement to maximize energy capture, making the system self-regulating and eliminating the need for external fuel supply chains and associated environmental harms.
3Use of energy by moving object
If solar concentrators are tracked to follow sunlight, then energy collection efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic tracking system that allows the solar concentrators to move and adjust their position throughout the day to follow the sun's apparent motion. This dynamic adjustment maximizes the concentration of sunlight on the target, improving energy collection efficiency while using mechanical linkages and orientation devices to manage the complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system is divided into separate functional components: support structures, orientation devices at each end, and the solar concentrator array. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies maintenance and adjustment of the overall system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system produces high-purity drinking water with minimal environmental impact, operates continuously using stored thermal energy, and reduces the presence of pollutants, effectively addressing water scarcity and health concerns associated with contaminated water.
Implementation Method 1
a solar concentrator that receives a sunlight and directs the sunlight toward a plurality of locations by bending a plurality of rays of the sunlight and focusing the plurality of rays of the sunlight onto the plurality of locations
Implementation Method 2
heat collection elements positioned at the plurality of locations... The process heats sea/ocean water and converts a portion of it into wet steam
Implementation Method 3
The process heats sea/ocean water and converts a portion of it into wet steam... separates steam from residual water
Implementation Method 4
converts a portion of it into wet steam that minimizes biological contaminants
Data Source
AI summary
A water purifying and desalination system includes a solar concentrator that receives a sunlight and directs the sunlight toward heat collection elements. The collection element absorbs and converts a solar radiation into thermal energy. A tracking system selectively rotates the solar concentrator between a first position and a second position. Orientation devices maintain an upper chamber of a superheater tube of the heat collection elements orientated above a lower chamber of the superheater tube when the tracking system rotates the solar concentrator between the first position and the second position.