An apparatus to make water drinkable includes a tank (12) for the water to be made drinkable. A lower part (12a) of the tank contains the water to be made drinkable and an upper part (12b) is configured to accumulate the damp air. The tank also includes a hot air inlet (21) positioned in correspondence with the lower part (12a) and an exit pipe (19) for the damp air. The apparatus also includes a condensation unit (16) located in cooperation with the tank (12).

An optimized system creates potable water from water vapor in the atmosphere, or purifies salt water or contaminated water. The system employs a condenser having multiple metal condensation surfaces. These condensation surfaces are cooled by coolant passing through conduits attached to the condensation surfaces. The coolant is cooled by a cooling unit. Power is supplied to the cooling unit by solar photovoltaic panels, or wind turbines, or the electric grid. The system can be mobile or fixed and can produce potable water at remote locations. The system may employ an evaporator which evaporates non-potable water into an air stream. The evaporator includes a solar or gas heater which increases the temperature of the air. Metals may be extracted from the salt water. If sewage is used, solid organic waste may be processed into combustible gas which is burned by an engine running a generator to power that system.

A potable water producing system for disposition at a salt water body and methods of producing potable water are provided. The system includes a wave energy conversion system (AWECS) and a portable filtration-anchor system. The AWECS forms a floating articulated barge having a desalination system including a reverse osmosis membrane. The filtration-anchor system is submerged in the salt water body and includes a sand filter to filter the adjacent salt water for providing the filtered salt water to the desalination system on the articulated barge. Wave action on the articulated barge provides energy to pump the filtered salt water from the sand filter to the reverse osmosis member to produce potable water. The wave action on the articulated barge effects the shaking of the reverse osmosis filter, thereby rendering it self-cleaning. The potable water can be used for various applications, e.g., bottling, replenishing aquifers, ground and/or aquifer remediation, irrigation, etc.

Various implementations of a system that addresses the need for clean drinking water, improved solid fuel combustion and convection of the heat resulting from the combustion, exhausting of gases and air-borne particulates resulting from combustion, and provides electricity for lighting and charging of battery-operated devices are described herein. The system may include at least one solar panel, a battery, a fan assisted exhaust hood, a fan assisted cooking device, and a water purification device. Such a device could not only save millions of lives, but the quality of life for millions of people living in impoverished areas or refugee camps could be improved dramatically.

Various implementations of a system that addresses the need for clean drinking water, improved solid fuel combustion and convection of the heat resulting from the combustion, exhausting of gases and air-borne particulates resulting from combustion, and provides electricity for lighting and charging of battery-operated devices are described herein. The system may include at least one solar panel, a battery, a fan assisted exhaust hood, a fan assisted cooking device, and a water purification device. Such a device could not only save millions of lives, but the quality of life for millions of people living in impoverished areas or refugee camps could be improved dramatically.

A portable fluid-sanitizing system and assembly configured for personal use are provided. The system and assembly combine mechanical and electrical methods for removing and/or deactivating harmful chemicals, molecules, atoms, ions, and even microorganisms from fluid. The system and assembly comprise a hand-holdable container that is sized to receive a filter, such as an activated carbon block capable of adsorbing or otherwise capturing a variety of undesirable contents from the fluid. Ultraviolet lights may be disposed along an inner or outer portion of the container and placed so that their emissions penetrate any fluid contents of the container. Finally, means for electrically powering the lights may be provided. The means may be mechanically operated, such as by mechanically inducing a current in a coiled wire, or by hand-cranking a dynamo in electrical communication with the lights. Thus harmful or undesirable contents may be physically filtered and further irradiated to provide potable water.

A purification system can provide for efficient heating of liquid via film heating, which, rather than heating a large volume of liquid, can heat a thin layer of liquid thus reducing the amount of energy required to evaporate the liquid. Film heating can enable evaporation of liquids using less energy than other methods. In addition, when liquids (e.g., seawater) having dissolved solids (e.g., salts) are heated, both the liquid and the solids must be heated. As evaporation occurs, the concentration of solids increases and more energy must be supplied to the liquid in order to cause evaporation. Because purification system can heat only a layer of liquid, less energy is required to heat the solids, which can allow for higher energy efficiencies in purifying liquids. These efficiencies can lead to decreased cost of potable water. Related apparatus, systems, techniques, and articles are also described.

A very low pressure and entirely mechanical sea water desalination device is described, which may be built and operated at a fraction of the current costs for the desalination of sea water. The desalination device is used to purify polluted or otherwise impure water and is a device is easily scaled and can be used in a very small facilities up to the largest facilities for desalinating or purifying water. The device operates with sunlight and ambient heat, and therefore will be very inexpensive to operate in desert and tropical regions; and slightly more expensive to operate in cooler regions, yet still substantially less expensive than the existing systems. The device reduces the cost of potable water made from sea water or other polluted sources to a level which is comparable to or less than the cost of such water received from traditional local fresh-water sources.

The invention discloses the design of an improved household solar still with enhanced output and high recovery. The output and recovery are enhanced by (i) aligning the top glass and basin so as to maximize the input solar radiation, (ii) using North-South reflectors in V trough configuration to further raise the incident radiation, (iii) employing metallic condensers on sides to maximize condensation efficiency, (iv) using suitably heated and cooled saline water by taking advantage of ambient temperature differential during a day and using such water as feed water and condenser water respectively. Use of detachable top glass assembly and teflon cork at the bottom allows for easy cleaning of the interior of the still and discharge of concentrate, respectively. The still is also demonstrated to be useful for other applications where, besides producing distilled water, the concentrate is a more value added product than the feed.

A portable assembly for extracting water from air for provision of potable water includes a housing that defines an internal space. The housing is vented. A plurality of grasps is coupled to the housing. A power module, a condensing unit and a reservoir are coupled to the housing and positioned in the internal space. The condensing unit is operationally coupled to the power module. The reservoir is positioned below the condensing unit and is fluidically coupled to the condensing unit. The grasps are configured to couple to a user, such that the housing is coupled to the user for transport. An evaporator coil of the condensing unit is configured to contact air that enters the internal space. Water vapor in the air condenses on the evaporator coil and falls to a bottom of the condensing unit. Liquid water that is positioned on the bottom of the condensing unit flows to and is collected in the reservoir.