Water, water everywhere... and purified drops to drink!

[LesHall 95]

HI all, I'm into water these days, specifically water purification. I combine that with my goal to help minimize human suffering from a global perspective, and what percolates is simple water purifiers.

I am writing to see if this topic takes root here, as 3D printing is one helpful part of the solution. I have come up with a gizmo that can be 3D printed and solves water purity problems for hopefully many people. I also work for free helping a small startup non-profit get off the ground.

Well that's all for now, please feel free to ask questions and I'll answer accordingly!

Les

[SandervG 1,521]

Hi Les, thanks for sharing.

I believe I read about this recently, perhaps a post you made?

Didn't you say something like adding aluminum foil?

I didn't quite understand how that worked. Care to explain?

About your solution, what will it filter?

Dirt, pollution?

Did you give it any thought on how your solution would reach those areas?

[LesHall 95]

It was in the contest as an entry.  Well, I can certainly understand the misunderstanding, as everyone seems to not "get it" right away.  All it does is turn a soda or glass bottle into a little water distillation device, solar powered by the heat of the sun's rays.  

You see, if you take an ordinary soda bottle and put some water in the bottom of it, then put it out in the sun, and wait long enough you will notice evaporation occur which rises and collects on the upper part of the bottle as droplets, right?  Well this gizmo uses that phenomenon, providing a way to collect the water droplets and thus harvesting cleaner water from the dirty water.  

A lot of work remains to be done to figure out exactly how well it does it's job.  What is the yield?  Does it kill bacteria?  Does it filter bacteria?  How does it affect all these other impurities that may exist?  What about related technologies?  

So I gotta start somewhere.  I went to Thingiverse but there is no forum (or wasn't hmm there is now isn't there?), I'm trying here next.  Basically I want to introduce this simple technology to like-minded individuals who also want to help out.  Maybe someone can point me to an existing forum on the topic also?  

Les

[SandervG 1,521]

Ah yes, you are totally right. Of course.

I get quite an amount of information presented a day, so sometimes I need to think twice, or in this case thrice to remember where I read it

Ahh ok. So basically you want to grab the condensation from the vaporized water tank?

Wouldn't this require a way bigger container than a bottle? How would you grab it?

Even though you may not have all the questions yet, by asking them we may become more aware and perhaps someone else who reads it does have an answer

I actually don't think they have a forum. I think they are not very fond of communities, as they closed all of them. Have you ever heard of tech for trade?

[LesHall 95]

Ah yes, you are totally right. Of course.

I get quite an amount of information presented a day, so sometimes I need to think twice, or in this case thrice to remember where I read it

Ahh ok. So basically you want to grab the condensation from the vaporized water tank?

Wouldn't this require a way bigger container than a bottle? How would you grab it?

Even though you may not have all the questions yet, by asking them we may become more aware and perhaps someone else who reads it does have an answer

I actually don't think they have a forum. I think they are not very fond of communities, as they closed all of them. Have you ever heard of tech for trade?

 

Sander, no problem about mixups, you are not a machine! Actually it's people like you that make a forum even lively or existing. You are key / core to it's very being so thanks for that!

I don't have an idea what the yield per bottle will be but certainly you would need more than one bottle per person.

I just had a look at techfortrade - wow amazing, exactly who i've been seeking. I sent them a message with a link to the Thingiverse listing. Hopefully this will help!

Les

[SandervG 1,521]

Nice! And thank

Let us know where it leads too.

And if the design is being adapted or if there is progress make sure to share it with us

[IRobertI 520]

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/emergencies/qa/emergencies_qa5/en/

7.5L per person, per day. I feel like you're going to need a hell of a lot of coke bottles to meet that requirement. Even if you cut it in half I'm having a hard time seeing how this would be practical.

I think I've also heard some "survivalist experts" say that the tiny little solar stills that are included in life rafts and the like are mostly pointless as the yield is just too low. The solar stills I've seen built for the purpose of emergency survival usually use a large(ish) tarp stretched over a decent amount of water, and even then you only get about a cup of water a day.

But I'd love to be proven wrong.

[LesHall 95]

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/emergencies/qa/emergencies_qa5/en/

7.5L per person, per day. I feel like you're going to need a hell of a lot of coke bottles to meet that requirement. Even if you cut it in half I'm having a hard time seeing how this would be practical.

I think I've also heard some "survivalist experts" say that the tiny little solar stills that are included in life rafts and the like are mostly pointless as the yield is just too low. The solar stills I've seen built for the purpose of emergency survival usually use a large(ish) tarp stretched over a decent amount of water, and even then you only get about a cup of water a day.

But I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

Yeah, the yield is an issue, so I expect that this may prove to be more of a teaching tool than a sustainable provider of clean water. Then once the concept of solar distillation is taught, people are then free to create all manner of more productive devices. Plus if you were stuck in the path of a hurricane's aftermath, you could survive on the low yield of a dozen or so bottles.

It's very simple: we have to do something about the horrible conditions that the majority of humanity survives under. Here we sit in our air conditioned houses with our 3D printers and our diamonds and gold and devices and entertainment while every five seconds a child dies of poor conditions. Its sickening and I intend to do something about it. I also work for elequa but that's a whole other story.

And I know that I'm preaching to the choir, that you are likely just as compassionate as I am. Let's team up and do something!

Les

[jameshs 42]

Hi Les - love to know more about it.

Having been one of those people that goes off grid every now and then there is no 'killer' answer to providing all your water, but anything that can provide some in a passive way (while you are out doing other things like looking for food) is a boon (It is all about energy in for max output) - so ANY contribution that is energy neutral helps the equation.

Happy to test printing and try in a benign climate (UK) if that is helpful.

James

[LesHall 95]

Hi Les - love to know more about it.

Having been one of those people that goes off grid every now and then there is no 'killer' answer to providing all your water, but anything that can provide some in a passive way (while you are out doing other things like looking for food) is a boon (It is all about energy in for max output) - so ANY contribution that is energy neutral helps the equation.

Happy to test printing and try in a benign climate (UK) if that is helpful.

James

 

James!  I cannot thank you enough for this offer!  Together we can save humanity from itself.  Here is the link to the latest design, unprinted and unproven:  

new design

And here is the link to the 2014 stuff with the video and the magazine article:  

old design with media links

The new design is more of a mold for the aluminum foil, so that one 3D print makes many devices.  Please contact me by email or here with any questions or comments:  deltamodulator(at)gmail(dot)com. Supposedly and hopefully I'll get my new printer around the end of next week and I can catch up with you.

Les

Edited April 15, 2016 by Guest

[jameshs 42]

James!  I cannot thank you enough for this offer!  Together we can save humanity from itself.  Here is the link to the latest design, unprinted and unproven:  

 

Les - great idea ad nice and simple!

It triggers a few thoughts - so I will think aloud when I get a chance!

James

[LesHall 95]

 

James!  I cannot thank you enough for this offer!  Together we can save humanity from itself.  Here is the link to the latest design, unprinted and unproven:  

 

Les - great idea ad nice and simple!

It triggers a few thoughts - so I will think aloud when I get a chance!

James

 

good to hear James, although i know that |Robert| is correct in his practicality assessment, and I thank him for his assessment, the design does also serve to spark creativity and inventiveness in others. Hey, if i was trapped on Gilligan's Island with nothing but trash on the beach, I'd build these things and do whatever other McGyvering I could figure out to survive! Haha! At least in my imagination it's possible!

Les

p.s. looking forward to whatever you have to share.

[LesHall 95]

Here is an interesting video that teaches some powerful lessons:

 

This shows two things: first that more than one cell (0.6V each or so I recall?) can be connected in series within a single electrolyte, and second that enough current can be coaxed from a lemon to create a spark sufficient to make fire in tissue paper.

The tie-in here to water purification has to do with some experiments that I'm doing in the context of elequa, which is a small startup non-profit that i am helping to get off the ground. I hope that I am within forum rules to mention the company, am I Sander?

Anyway, elequa is getting it's start by applying electricity to water to accomplish electrocoagulation / impurity clumping of some sort and as a side project (bear with me, it's a bit complex this roadmap) I am planning to explore the Baghdad Battery.

The long and short of this is that I believe that we can create water purifiers with dissimilar metals arranged properly and a solution of impure water plus fruit juice poured into a container with the electrodes in place. Is it practical and possible that the cell will provide it's own energy source so that external electricity is not necessary? if so, there are a lot of people who would like to learn how to do this type of thing in the third world!

Les

[LesHall 95]

Oh, and the 3D printing tie-in is that a 3D print will be needed to hold the electrodes in place just so!

Les