BoatBanter.com

BoatBanter.com (https://www.boatbanter.com/)
-   Cruising (https://www.boatbanter.com/cruising/)
-   -   Potable Water - The Third Way. (https://www.boatbanter.com/cruising/86430-potable-water-third-way.html)

Brian Whatcott September 21st 07 11:35 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 

You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

dlzc September 22nd 07 12:01 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Brian Whatcott:

On Sep 21, 3:35 pm, Brian Whatcott wrote:
You've heard all about distilling water, and you've
heard all about reverse osmosis, but you haven't
heard about low-cost, low energy stills: they are
brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at
the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is
about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed
40 ft column of water is near ambient. So, it
doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water,
and have it pass to the fresh column where it is
slightly cooled to hold the near vacuum conditions
at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]


There are ship-board distiller units that use an engine to pull a
vacuum, and the engine's waste heat to boil that water, to generate
drinking water. A little shorter...

David A. Smith


Larry September 22nd 07 02:21 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Brian Whatcott wrote in
:


You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!

Psst...Brian....40'? What about the lake above 40', it's 400' deep and
above 40' ASL. It hasn't boiled away in millions of years from all that
pressure and lack of pressure.

In Tehran, Iran, my apartment was about 7000' ASL. Water DID boil at a
lot lower temperature. Making a cake at 7000' altitude is simply
amazing! ONE little cake mix makes 4 cakes!.....er, ah, after you clean
out the oven from putting ALL the cake mix in the pan, filling the oven!

But, alas, even at 7000', the water in my glass didn't boil itself at
ambient temperature, even at 110F out on the lawn!

Every engineering firm across the planet is going to be a jolly place
after hearing about this on Monday...(c;

Larry
--
Sure glad it doesn't work that way! We'd all be DEAD!

Larry September 22nd 07 02:26 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
dlzc wrote in news:1190415672.506271.93890
@k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

There are ship-board distiller units that use an engine to pull a
vacuum, and the engine's waste heat to boil that water, to generate
drinking water. A little shorter...

David A. Smith



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_point

"The boiling point of water is 100 °C (212 °F) at standard pressure. On
top of Mount Everest the pressure is about 260 mbar (26 kPa) so the
boiling point of water is 69 °C. (156.2 °F)."

AT 40' ASL, the boiling point must be down to...to....211.95F!

Larry
--
Search youtube for "Depleted Uranium"
The ultimate dirty bomb......

Toller September 22nd 07 02:41 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Brian Whatcott wrote in
:


You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!

I think he is suggesting that the two tube be connected so that they form a
vacuum at the top. It wouldn't take much to make the sal****er evaporate to
fill the vacuum and condense over on the fresh water side. Productivity
wouldn't be very high though.



N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 22nd 07 02:48 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Larry:

"Larry" wrote in message
...
dlzc wrote in news:1190415672.506271.93890
@k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

There are ship-board distiller units that use an
engine to pull a vacuum, and the engine's
waste heat to boil that water, to generate
drinking water. A little shorter...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_point

"The boiling point of water is 100 0C (212 0F) at
standard pressure. On top of Mount Everest the
pressure is about 260 mbar (26 kPa) so the
boiling point of water is 69 0C. (156.2 0F)."

AT 40' ASL, the boiling point must be down
to...to....211.95F!


What Brian left to the reader's imagination, is that the head
space of the tubes is at a near perfect vacuum, flooded only with
water vapor. You might recall that a perfect vacuum will lift a
column of water about 32 feet, on a high pressure day. Or had
you not figured that out?

David A. Smith



Wayne.B September 22nd 07 03:00 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:41:21 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I think he is suggesting that the two tube be connected so that they form a
vacuum at the top. It wouldn't take much to make the sal****er evaporate to
fill the vacuum and condense over on the fresh water side.


Precisely right. I'm surprised Larry didn't catch that.

Andrew Erickson September 22nd 07 03:15 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
In article ,
Larry wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote in
:


You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!

Psst...Brian....40'? What about the lake above 40', it's 400' deep and
above 40' ASL. It hasn't boiled away in millions of years from all that
pressure and lack of pressure.


Ummm...there is quite a difference between atmospheric pressure at 40'
ASL and a (near) vacuum. Presumably the connection at the top is
airtight and made with as little air as possible entering the tubes, and
presumably also the bottoms of the tubes open and submerged in some sort
of a vented container At sea level, atmospheric pressure will only
support somewhere in the vicinity of 40 feet of water, so the top of the
tubes will be approaching a vacuum. (This is why wells water wells
deeper than 35 or so feet require a pump in the well, rather than at the
top.)

I see no reason why this wouldn't work, at least to some degree,
although I do wonder how using a still of any sort differs from
distillation. I also wonder how easy it would be to make an effective
vertical solar collector on a boat that doesn't need constant climbing
about to fiddle and adjust.

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot

Frogwatch September 22nd 07 04:49 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sep 21, 10:15 pm, Andrew Erickson
wrote:
In article ,



Larry wrote:
Brian Whatcott wrote in
:


You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.


Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.


The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C


The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.


[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]


Brian Whatcott Altus OK


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!


Psst...Brian....40'? What about the lake above 40', it's 400' deep and
above 40' ASL. It hasn't boiled away in millions of years from all that
pressure and lack of pressure.


Ummm...there is quite a difference between atmospheric pressure at 40'
ASL and a (near) vacuum. Presumably the connection at the top is
airtight and made with as little air as possible entering the tubes, and
presumably also the bottoms of the tubes open and submerged in some sort
of a vented container At sea level, atmospheric pressure will only
support somewhere in the vicinity of 40 feet of water, so the top of the
tubes will be approaching a vacuum. (This is why wells water wells
deeper than 35 or so feet require a pump in the well, rather than at the
top.)

I see no reason why this wouldn't work, at least to some degree,
although I do wonder how using a still of any sort differs from
distillation. I also wonder how easy it would be to make an effective
vertical solar collector on a boat that doesn't need constant climbing
about to fiddle and adjust.

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot


hmmm, I wonder what the rate would be? One could assume that you do
not have to put in any heat to increase the temp so any heat input
would simply go into latent heat of water vapor. You would hav o
maybe use solar to heat the salt water side and cool the fresh water
side by immersing it in the ocean. Then the max rate would simply be
power in (whatever the heat from the sun would be in watts/m2 times
the area of your collector) which is Joules/sec which is roughly 4
calories/sec. Somebody look up the latent heat of water (I dont have
my handbook handy) and then you have grams/sec of fresh water (maximum
rate).


Brian Whatcott September 22nd 07 05:53 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:21:39 +0000, Larry wrote:

[Brian]
The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!

...
Larry


They say if you give a fool half a chance, he will rush in.
And so he did. TWICE! Chortling, at that.

Brian W

cavelamb himself[_4_] September 22nd 07 07:04 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Brian Whatcott wrote:

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:21:39 +0000, Larry wrote:

[Brian]

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.



My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!


..

Larry



They say if you give a fool half a chance, he will rush in.
And so he did. TWICE! Chortling, at that.

Brian W



And your point was???

Brian Whatcott September 22nd 07 02:05 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 01:04:55 -0500, cavelamb himself
wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote:


The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.


They say if you give a fool half a chance, he will rush in.
And so he did. TWICE! Chortling, at that.

Brian W


And your point was???


Put this pointy hat on, and go stand in the corner
with that other fellow.
I'll tell you when to sit down again.

Brian W

jim[_2_] September 22nd 07 04:15 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 


"N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc)" wrote:

Dear Larry:

"Larry" wrote in message
...
dlzc wrote in news:1190415672.506271.93890
@k79g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

There are ship-board distiller units that use an
engine to pull a vacuum, and the engine's
waste heat to boil that water, to generate
drinking water. A little shorter...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_point

"The boiling point of water is 100 0C (212 0F) at
standard pressure. On top of Mount Everest the
pressure is about 260 mbar (26 kPa) so the
boiling point of water is 69 0C. (156.2 0F)."

AT 40' ASL, the boiling point must be down
to...to....211.95F!


What Brian left to the reader's imagination, is that the head
space of the tubes is at a near perfect vacuum, flooded only with
water vapor. You might recall that a perfect vacuum will lift a
column of water about 32 feet, on a high pressure day. Or had
you not figured that out?


Well no, he obviously hadn't figured that out. Nor can anybody figure
out what is going to hold a column of water 40 ft high as was stated in
the original post. The tubes may be 40 feet but the column of water will
be considerably less. How much less will depend on how much energy is
heating on the hot side and how much energy is cooling on the cool side.
The total amount of energy needed is not going to be any different than
any other distilling method.
Unless you have the free or cheap sources of cooling and heating at
specific temperatures this isn't going to work any better either.

-jim




David A. Smith


----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Dan Best September 22nd 07 04:29 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Brian Whatcott wrote:
Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

....
The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water,


A nice idea, but unfortunately, the vast bulk of the energy used by the
distiller is not used in heating the water to the boiling point, but in
performing the phase change from liquid to gas. I believe this is a
constant regardless of the surrounding pressure.

The same principle works with ice keeping things cold. It is not so
much the fact that the ice is colder than your drink that keeps it cold
for so long, but rather that the energy required to accomplish the phase
change from solid to liquid requires a bunch of energy.

- Dan best

Brian Whatcott September 22nd 07 04:55 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:15:40 -0500, jim wrote:


What Brian left to the reader's imagination, is that the head
space of the tubes is at a near perfect vacuum, flooded only with
water vapor. You might recall that a perfect vacuum will lift a
column of water about 32 feet, on a high pressure day. Or had
you not figured that out?


Well no, he obviously hadn't figured that out. Nor can anybody figure
out what is going to hold a column of water 40 ft high as was stated in
the original post. The tubes may be 40 feet but the column of water will
be considerably less. How much less will depend on how much energy is
heating on the hot side and how much energy is cooling on the cool side.
The total amount of energy needed is not going to be any different than
any other distilling method.
Unless you have the free or cheap sources of cooling and heating at
specific temperatures this isn't going to work any better either.

-jim




Well, at least this respondent Jim, is operating at shall we say the
7th grade level of science/engineering insight. Like so many other
products of the domestic school system, he seems to have a severe
case of self-esteem syndrome.

Still, he may be retrievable, starting with a science demonstration
he may have missed. Place a beaker of water in a bell-jar and pump
the air out.

When 99% of the air has been pumped out, the water in the beaker is
boiling vigorously, until, in the usual way, the beaker boils dry.
The beaker feels cool to the touch, naturally.

To quote him: "unless I have a cheap source of heating this won't
work..."

For the $64 prize: NOW do you get it?

Brian Whatcott Altus OK



Brian Whatcott September 22nd 07 05:03 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:29:57 -0700, Dan Best
wrote:

...the vast bulk of the energy used by the
distiller is not used in heating the water to the boiling point, but in
performing the phase change from liquid to gas. I believe this is a
constant regardless of the surrounding pressure....


- Dan best


As it happens, you believe wrongly.

But you might be surprized if you took a moment to look up enthalpy of
water, or refer to steam tables, or whatever....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


BF[_2_] September 22nd 07 08:03 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Sounds neat, haven't seen that one before.
Thanks for sharing.


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
There's another neat way you can demonstrate this with minimal equipment.

Take a tight fitting jar and get the water boiling vigerously in it with
the cap on loose enough to let the steam out. When it is full of dense
steam and about 1/3 boiling water, remove instantly from heat and tighten
cap.

When everything is cooled to room temperature, put an ice cube against the
jar and the water will start to boil. The ice condenses the water vapor
further, reducing the pressure to the point where the water will boil at
room temperature.

I've seen it done and it looks like the ice cube is boiling the water.

My father won a science fair doing this back in the 1930's.

--
Roger Long




Keith Hughes September 22nd 07 09:07 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Brian Whatcott wrote:
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:29:57 -0700, Dan Best
wrote:

...the vast bulk of the energy used by the
distiller is not used in heating the water to the boiling point, but in
performing the phase change from liquid to gas. I believe this is a
constant regardless of the surrounding pressure....


- Dan best


As it happens, you believe wrongly.

But you might be surprized if you took a moment to look up enthalpy of
water, or refer to steam tables, or whatever....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


Actually, do a search on "triple point" and look at the phase diagram
for water. That gives a good graphical depiction of the
pressure/temperature/phase relationships.

But, as to what the original poster claimed, i.e. that:

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.


And that:

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.


is simply wrong as stated. If you filled each vertical tube with water,
venting the air at the u-tube connection, then sealed the u-tube *and*
allowed the water to drain down about 30 feet, then you'd pull a
sufficient vacuum. The water, however, would not be anywhere near the
"top of a sealed 40 ft" column.

So, this system will certainly work, but you need to heat the entire
length of the 40' seawater column (to prevent column refluxing). You
also need to cool the condenser side of the system if you want any
efficiency.

Bottom line, you can use a system like this to save energy, but you have
to run it very, very slowly. When the seawater evaporates, the
headspace pressure rises, quenching the process until the condensation
on the other side reduces the headspace pressure again, and that steam
has to travel 60 feet, so it's slowwwww. Diffusion is all you've got to
work with here.

There ain't no free lunch. You want to speed it up, you need more energy
input, either on the heating side, the cooling process, or in the
evacuation process.

Keith Hughes

Richard Casady September 22nd 07 09:48 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:35:02 -0500, Brian Whatcott
wrote:

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.


Fraid not. It takes the same ammount of heat to boil water as at 212F.
Approximately 1175 BTU/lb. You might save a little not heating the
water all the wqy to 212.


Wilbur Hubbard September 22nd 07 10:51 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 

"Brian Whatcott" wrote in message
...

You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.

Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.

The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.

[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]

Brian Whatcott Altus OK



Lame suggestion and unworkable on most boats. Ya gotta think outta the
box, man.

However, there is another way. I thought it up all by my lonesome. All
you need is a reverse osmosis membrane. You put it into a chamber that
is vented to atmosphere on the inside and to the ocean on the outside of
the membrane. You lower it into the ocean to a depth of only 500 feet
and the pressure of the water is enough to push fresh water through the
membrane into the chamber. When it gets full you haul it up and empty in
into your tanks. Reverse osmosis without any energy used to get it.
Ain't Wilbur brilliant?

Wilbur Hubbard


Larry September 22nd 07 11:44 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
"N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)" wrote in news:pv_Ii.42363$L_
:

What Brian left to the reader's imagination, is that the head
space of the tubes is at a near perfect vacuum, flooded only with
water vapor. You might recall that a perfect vacuum will lift a
column of water about 32 feet, on a high pressure day. Or had
you not figured that out?

David A. Smith


There's a limit to the vacuum boiling. After a certain point, water goes
from a solid straight to a gas with no liquid state, just like CO2 does at
atmospheric pressure.

You can't pull a full vacuum on it and get liquid water.
http://invsee.asu.edu/ed/phase/phasefeat.htm
(see graph this website, point t.p.)


Larry
--
Search youtube for "Depleted Uranium"
The ultimate dirty bomb......

Larry September 22nd 07 11:47 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
"Roger Long" wrote in news:46f53eef$0$5006
:

My father won a science fair doing this back in the 1930's.

--
Roger Long


Was his real name Don Herbert and he worked for GE?...

Larry
--
I don't think I ever missed a Mr Wizard TV show. Of course, if you put the
same shows on, today, Mr Wizard would be so far over the heads of the kids
with less than Master's Degrees.....they couldn't follow along...(c;

Larry September 22nd 07 11:48 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Keith Hughes wrote in news:46f575f5$0$512$815e3792
@news.qwest.net:

Actually, do a search on "triple point" and look at the phase diagram
for water. That gives a good graphical depiction of the
pressure/temperature/phase relationships.



http://invsee.asu.edu/ed/phase/phasefeat.htm

Larry
--

N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 23rd 07 12:19 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Wilbur Hubbard:

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in
message
anews.com...
....
Lame suggestion and unworkable on most boats. Ya
gotta think outta the box, man.

However, there is another way. I thought it up all by
my lonesome. All you need is a reverse osmosis
membrane. You put it into a chamber that is vented
to atmosphere on the inside and to the ocean on the
outside of the membrane. You lower it into the
ocean to a depth of only 500 feet and the pressure
of the water is enough to push fresh water through the membrane
into the chamber. When it gets full you
haul it up and empty in into your tanks. Reverse
osmosis without any energy used to get it. Ain't Wilbur
brilliant?


You are still displacing that much water... not a small feat.

David A. Smith



N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 23rd 07 12:24 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Larry:

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)" wrote in
news:pv_Ii.42363$L_
:

What Brian left to the reader's imagination, is that the head
space of the tubes is at a near perfect vacuum, flooded only
with
water vapor. You might recall that a perfect vacuum will lift
a
column of water about 32 feet, on a high pressure day. Or had
you not figured that out?


There's a limit to the vacuum boiling. After a certain point,
water goes from a solid straight to a gas with no liquid
state, just like CO2 does at atmospheric pressure.


It actually goes into this state at very high pressures too. But
you are talking "below" the triple point, which is 0.1degC:
http://www.sv.vt.edu/classes/MSE2094...es/triple.html
.... not much of a problem above this temperature.

You can't pull a full vacuum on it and get liquid water.
http://invsee.asu.edu/ed/phase/phasefeat.htm
(see graph this website, point t.p.)


Not a full vacuum, since water vapor does fill it. And if you
boil too fast, you lose your two columns of water. And if you
don't refresh the contents of the two columns then you start
having scaling issues.

Not a slam dunk, but not a bad idea either.

David A. Smith



[email protected][_2_] September 23rd 07 12:36 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 


Larry, I think you are confusing the pressure/pull of a standing/
suspended 40 ft water column and that of a 40 ft air column.

Chris


of a On Sep 21, 6:21 pm, Larry wrote:
Brian Whatcott wrote :





You've heard all about distilling water, and you've heard all about
reverse osmosis, but you haven't heard about low-cost, low energy
stills: they are brand new.


Briefly:
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with saline.
Take one forty ft vertical tube filled with fresh water.
Connect them with a little engineering help - at the top.


The boiling point of water at sea level pressure is about 100 deg C


The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.


[An engineering effort of a U of Utah group I think]


Brian Whatcott Altus OK


My deepest apologies to the engineers who may be rolling under their
desks, crushing their pocket protectors. It took me a while to stop
chortling. I nearly lost my Chinese dinner!

Psst...Brian....40'? What about the lake above 40', it's 400' deep and
above 40' ASL. It hasn't boiled away in millions of years from all that
pressure and lack of pressure.

In Tehran, Iran, my apartment was about 7000' ASL. Water DID boil at a
lot lower temperature. Making a cake at 7000' altitude is simply
amazing! ONE little cake mix makes 4 cakes!.....er, ah, after you clean
out the oven from putting ALL the cake mix in the pan, filling the oven!

But, alas, even at 7000', the water in my glass didn't boil itself at
ambient temperature, even at 110F out on the lawn!

Every engineering firm across the planet is going to be a jolly place
after hearing about this on Monday...(c;

Larry
--
Sure glad it doesn't work that way! We'd all be DEAD!




Brian Whatcott September 23rd 07 02:34 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:48:22 GMT, (Richard
Casady) wrote:

On Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:35:02 -0500, Brian Whatcott
wrote:

The boiling point of water at the top of a sealed 40 ft column of
water is near ambient.
So, it doesn't take much heat to boil the brackish water, and have it
pass to the fresh column where it is slightly cooled to hold the near
vacuum conditions at the boiling level.


Fraid not. It takes the same ammount of heat to boil water as at 212F.
Approximately 1175 BTU/lb. You might save a little not heating the
water all the wqy to 212.



When you contradict me, it is always better to check your facts.
I do.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

OldNick September 23rd 07 04:39 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:55:52 -0500, Brian Whatcott
wrote stuff
and I replied:

But what is the cheap source of getting the vacuum? I figured there
had to be a vacuum, although it was not said. But how do you get it?

Well no, he obviously hadn't figured that out. Nor can anybody figure
out what is going to hold a column of water 40 ft high as was stated in
the original post. The tubes may be 40 feet but the column of water will
be considerably less. How much less will depend on how much energy is
heating on the hot side and how much energy is cooling on the cool side.
The total amount of energy needed is not going to be any different than
any other distilling method.
Unless you have the free or cheap sources of cooling and heating at
specific temperatures this isn't going to work any better either.

-jim




Well, at least this respondent Jim, is operating at shall we say the
7th grade level of science/engineering insight. Like so many other
products of the domestic school system, he seems to have a severe
case of self-esteem syndrome.

Still, he may be retrievable, starting with a science demonstration
he may have missed. Place a beaker of water in a bell-jar and pump
the air out.

When 99% of the air has been pumped out, the water in the beaker is
boiling vigorously, until, in the usual way, the beaker boils dry.
The beaker feels cool to the touch, naturally.

To quote him: "unless I have a cheap source of heating this won't
work..."

For the $64 prize: NOW do you get it?

Brian Whatcott Altus OK


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain

N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 23rd 07 04:43 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear OldNick:

"OldNick" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:55:52 -0500, Brian Whatcott
wrote stuff
and I replied:

But what is the cheap source of getting the vacuum?
I figured there had to be a vacuum, although it was
not said. But how do you get it?


Fill the tubes, with a small air bubble in between. Lift the
tube at the bubble. No small feat if you are looking to make
hundreds of gallons per day, but a one-shot expense...

David A. Smith



OldNick September 23rd 07 02:57 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:43:48 -0700, "N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)"
wrote stuff
and I replied:

Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so cool? It has to be a _lot_
cooler, not so?

Is this a continuous or pulsed process? How do you maintain stasis and
extract fresh water?

If you have a small air bubble, where does the extracted fresh water
go?

etc

Fill the tubes, with a small air bubble in between. Lift the
tube at the bubble. No small feat if you are looking to make
hundreds of gallons per day, but a one-shot expense...

David A. Smith


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain

N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 23rd 07 06:15 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Old Nick:

"OldNick" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:43:48 -0700, "N:dlzc D:aol T:com
\(dlzc\)"
wrote stuff


Fill the tubes, with a small air bubble in between.
Lift the tube at the bubble. No small feat if you
are looking to make hundreds of gallons per day,
but a one-shot expense...


and I replied:

Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so
cool? It has to be a _lot_ cooler, not so?


Likely, yes. You could use evaporative cooling (of brine) on
that side, and solar heating on the other side.

Is this a continuous or pulsed process?


I woudl assume it could be either, depending on the
sophisticatioin of your control process.

How do you maintain stasis and extract fresh water?


Ever seen a mercury barometer? The bottom end of the tube ends
in a "pan" open to atmosphere. The bottom end of both tubes can
simply be sunk... one in the ocean, and one in a wet well for a
pump station.

If you have a small air bubble, where does the
extracted fresh water go?


The air bubble expands when the vaccum is created.

etc


etc. Take your shades off, dude. It is coloring everything you
see...

It isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. But it is
another process, and a viable one.

David A. Smith



Brian Whatcott September 23rd 07 07:10 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:57:56 +0800, OldNick
wrote:
....
Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so cool? It has to be a _lot_
cooler, not so?



I'm probably going to regret responding, but I will anyway, with a
question:

What is the difference in temperature between steam and water,
both at the boiling temperature of water, whatever it may be?

Cooler means lower temperature, right?

OK you can now answer your own question.
I hope.

Brian W

N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\) September 23rd 07 07:29 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
Dear Brian Whatcott:

"Brian Whatcott" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:57:56 +0800, OldNick

wrote:
...
Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so cool? It
has to be a _lot_ cooler, not so?


I'm probably going to regret responding, but I will
anyway, with a question:

What is the difference in temperature between
steam and water, both at the boiling temperature
of water, whatever it may be?

Cooler means lower temperature, right?

OK you can now answer your own question.
I hope.


You don't happen to like bitters, do you? ;)

David A. Smith



Brian Whatcott September 23rd 07 07:35 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:29:46 -0700, "N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)"
wrote:

Dear Brian Whatcott:


You don't happen to like bitters, do you? ;)

David A. Smith


Angostura I can take or leave:
India Pale Ale works for me,
but not if I've gone for a Burton.

:-)

Brian W

OldNick September 24th 07 02:38 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:10:09 GMT, Brian Whatcott
wrote stuff

and I replied:

You are a rude and arrogant prick


On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:57:56 +0800, OldNick
wrote:
...
Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so cool? It has to be a _lot_
cooler, not so?



I'm probably going to regret responding, but I will anyway, with a
question:

What is the difference in temperature between steam and water,
both at the boiling temperature of water, whatever it may be?

Cooler means lower temperature, right?

OK you can now answer your own question.
I hope.

Brian W


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain

Jere Lull September 25th 07 04:47 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On 2007-09-22 16:07:27 -0400, Keith Hughes said:

Actually, do a search on "triple point" and look at the phase diagram
for water. That gives a good graphical depiction of the
pressure/temperature/phase relationships.


That just shows the phase vs temperature, not the energy required to
get the substance to pass that critical temperature.

See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_databases_for_pure_substances
and search for "Enthalpy change of phase transitions" for some
explanation of the heat energy required to change phases, with a
diagram for zinc. (Thanks, Brian, for reminding me of the term I
couldn't remember.)

And also think a bit: If the difference between 32 and 33 were so
easily crossed, you wouldn't see so much ice in your drink so long.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/


Keith Hughes September 25th 07 07:10 AM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 


Jere Lull wrote:
On 2007-09-22 16:07:27 -0400, Keith Hughes said:

Actually, do a search on "triple point" and look at the phase diagram
for water. That gives a good graphical depiction of the
pressure/temperature/phase relationships.


That just shows the phase vs temperature, not the energy required to get
the substance to pass that critical temperature.


No, it shows the phase for temperature *versus* pressure, not the same
thing at all. And the point was to clarify the temperature/pressure
relationship.

See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_databases_for_pure_substances
and search for "Enthalpy change of phase transitions" for some
explanation of the heat energy required to change phases, with a diagram
for zinc. (Thanks, Brian, for reminding me of the term I couldn't
remember.)

And also think a bit: If the difference between 32 and 33 were so easily
crossed, you wouldn't see so much ice in your drink so long.


Saying the difference between "32 and 33" is misleading (or a
misunderstanding of the process). Actually, it's the difference between
Ice at 32° and Water at 32°. All the energy (enthalpy) change is used
in the phase transition (latent heat of fusion, or evaporation in the
case of distillation), and not change in temperature. Additional heat
input will raise the temperature of the water (or steam in the case of
distillation - i.e. 100°C water [at standard pressure] evaporates to
100°C steam, at the moment of phase change, and additional heat input -
and pressure - are required to raise the steam temperature further).

Keith Hughes

OldNick September 25th 07 04:54 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:38:16 +0800, OldNick
wrote stuff
and I replied:

and snickering, snide and childish as well

You are the sort of cliqueish dolt that spoils useful NGs like this.

If you have KF'd me, you simply prove your weak, childish nature.

It's shame. You do actually seem to have a lot of knowledge. IT's a
pity you have to use it to sneer and brag rather thatn help those
"lesser" than you


On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:10:09 GMT, Brian Whatcott
wrote stuff

and I replied:

You are a rude and arrogant prick


On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:57:56 +0800, OldNick
wrote:
...
Then how do you keep the freshwater tube so cool? It has to be a _lot_
cooler, not so?



I'm probably going to regret responding, but I will anyway, with a
question:

What is the difference in temperature between steam and water,
both at the boiling temperature of water, whatever it may be?

Cooler means lower temperature, right?

OK you can now answer your own question.
I hope.

Brian W


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain

Joe September 25th 07 08:02 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sep 22, 11:12 am, "Roger Long" wrote:
There's another neat way you can demonstrate this with minimal equipment.

Take a tight fitting jar and get the water boiling vigerously in it with the
cap on loose enough to let the steam out. When it is full of dense steam
and about 1/3 boiling water, remove instantly from heat and tighten cap.

When everything is cooled to room temperature, put an ice cube against the
jar and the water will start to boil. The ice condenses the water vapor
further, reducing the pressure to the point where the water will boil at
room temperature.

I've seen it done and it looks like the ice cube is boiling the water.

My father won a science fair doing this back in the 1930's.

--
Roger Long


http://www.metacafe.com/watch/414997/boiling_using_ice/

Joe


dlzc September 25th 07 09:28 PM

Potable Water - The Third Way.
 
On Sep 25, 8:54 am, OldNick wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:38:16 +0800, OldNick
wrote stuff
and I replied:

and snickering, snide and childish as well

You are the sort of cliqueish dolt that spoils useful
NGs like this.


.... "Go away" ...

If you have KF'd me, you simply prove your weak,
childish nature.


.... "Stay and argue with me" ...

It's shame. You do actually seem to have a lot
of knowledge. IT's a pity you have to use it to
sneer and brag rather thatn help those
"lesser" than you


.... "I will smear **** on you, if you don't argue with me" ...

Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain


Human bevaviour: Bestiality with a brain


How is it that you complain about other's behavior, yet you form not
one response but *two*, that show exactly the behavior your signature
talks about.

Is that signature line a complaint, an acknowledgement, or a promise?
Be good to know. Because it seems like we have a choice.

David A. Smith



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:41 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 BoatBanter.com