inventing portable desalinizer

[saladtossser]

ok for the enterpernuership unit of business class, we have to make a 5 minute presentation on our own invention

i have come up with a portable salt water desalinizer as an essential tool for converting salt water to fresh pure water when you are stuck on a life boat or an island

all you need to use it is some sort of heat source:
electric (not always avaliable)
solar, using a collapsible parabolic mirror similar to an umbrella
fire
hot beach sand

here is how it works

CONTENTS REMOVED

what do you think? attempted patient worthy? oh and i am aware of the pressure built up, not an issue

copyright 2006 Frank Zhao

[Benny]

good, if i ever get stuck on a desert island......

[jrrdw]

If you could make it so it was easy to assemble and fairly inexpensive, you mite be able to get patended, but that takes time and money, plus you just gave your idea away for free, remember there's a pill that does the same thing same, it's been out for year's. But for your class idea A+++!

[rna_duelers]

Those pills are good,but cant be used of prolonged periods of time they can cause all sorts of nasty things like,kidney falure and such.Its a great idea go for gold!

[boilingleadbath]

The pills are KMnO4.... they kill bacteria and whatnot very effectivly, but will do nothing about salinity.

Operating in solar mode:
You don't need a parabolic mirror.
Footprint is too small... low output.

Otherwise:
It's not a very 'elegant' system, although I geuss it would work. You might want some way to protect the cooling water and the distilate from the heating source.

[dgr-c]

Nice idea. Add a couple heat exchangers. One at the bottom to heat the evaporation chamber and one at the top to cool the condensor.

A heat exchanger at the bottom lets you heat something external and send the heated working fluid through the evaporator. With the right geometry, convection alone should keep hot working fluid moving through the condensor. If that doesn't work, gravity and check valves might.

As for the evaporator. The application presumes a source of water at ambient temperature. Just keep pouring water through the exchanger inlet. It gain heat from the evaporator and may be a source of warmer than ambient working fluid for the heater.

Patentable? Seems likely but I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. Will it work well enough to be marketable? Off you go to the garage, er I meant lab, to start prototyping.

Good luck,
dgr-c

[spudmonkey]

if ur stuck on an island chances youll have (weather or not you want to use it or not) a flare with you if you'v got a first aid kit or survival kit

[saladtossser]

how easy can somebody machine this?
i wonder how much it will take for me to patent something in canada

[beebs111]

umm i see no link

[saladtossser]

i removed all useful info so no one can steal it from now on