How can one get an understanding and
appreciation of "what the world needs in a water system??
It seems to me that CLEAN WATER could be an easy add-on to
gasification. Clean water can be achieved at village scale with
activated charcoal and electric power.
Clean water is one thing, but
also, the salt content is a consideration also; how much or the World's water
problem would be solved if "dirty fresh water" could be made clean, in
comparison to the level of improvement if salt water could be cleaned and
desalinated?
Maybe there is a simple chlorinator that could make the chlorine for a
local water supply. However, oxygen is favored today over chlorine for
pathogen treatment and a simple ozonizer would achieve the same results - with
1 kW power maybe.
One benefit of distillation is the inherent sanitization of water.
The downdraft gasifiers we make for electric power (15 kW at CPC)
typically produce 5 to 10% of a black "char-ash" that has been to 700 C and
above. While not enough for GOOD activation (giving an iodine number of
>1,000) it does give activated charcoal (IN >300). If necessary I
believe a VERY simple activator could be added to the outlet of the gasifier
to achieve higher activation.
Is there a good Web Site, which tells "all
about activated clarcoal?
I hope someone with a bad water supply will grab this idea and
demonstrate it. Talk is cheap.
Cost of clean water is a vital consideration. Would anyone know what
would be a "fair target price per litre" for a system producing "clean potable
water from dirty fresh water," and for a system producing clean potable water
from brackish and from ocean water?
There are really strange attitudes toward water pricing. On the one hand
if a developer offers a system to produce potable water from ocean water for
say $.10 per litre, the "Customre" says "that is far too expensive", and then
goes and buys bottled water at $.50 to $1.50 per litre.
If we can get a handle on a "permissable cost range" for potable water
made from
a: dirty fresh water
b: brackish water
c: ocean water
we can perhaps determine if there is a potential for stove and charcoal
technologies to make a needed contribution to the resolution of the drinking
water problem.
Kindest regards,
Kevin Chisholm:
