Regions with scarce portable water often rely on desalination to obtain clean water, however, the process is too expensive and high on energy consumption and can’t be used at a mass level. However, a new gadget known as Desolenator may very well be the solution to the aforementioned problems. The mobile gadget is capable of providing clean water by making use of solar energy.
According to the developers behind this wonderful device, Desolenator can provide the minimal cost per liter of purified water when compared with currently active systems of comparable scale. The gadget is a flat screen TV sized device having a top comprised of skewed surface that has been lined with photovoltaic panels. It has been built to survive a total of 20 years while sporting wheels that are suitable for working on all terrains.
The current systems employ the process of reverse osmosis – specialized membranes are incorporated into the systems that can filter the unwanted particles out. However, the Desolenator doesn’t involve any moving part or reverse osmosis. In fact, it is even completely independent power-wise.
CEO and founder of Desolenator, William Janssen talks about his device saying, “What we did is we actually insulated the solar panel, we put double glazing on the top and we put foam all around, so the solar panel would get even hotter.”
Once the temperature of the panels has been increased, a thin film of water is made to run on the surface to collect energy in the form of heat. This water – after it has picked up the heat from surface – gets directed into a separate vessel that has a spiral heater. This spiral heater runs on the electricity that the device generates from photovoltaic panels. The water is boiled and the vapors are collected and distilled to get clean water. According to the team, the device is capable of generating 15 liters of water every day.
The team, as of now, has a functional prototype and is currently raising funds on Indiegogo with a target of $150,000. The funds will be used for designing the final product and initiating mass production. Pledges worth $450 are available and shall allow pledgers to get a Desolenator in October 2015 if everything goes as planned.