Solar still system and related solar driven irrigation apparatus

Abstract

The present invention is related to a solar driven irrigation apparatus for converting contaminated water contained in a contaminated water body into distilled water and using said distilled water for irrigating the vegetation grown on the said irrigation apparatus, the solar driven irrigation apparatus comprising a cover in the form of a geometrical projection comprising a wall, an opening, a semi-permeable mesh, a soil layer and a chamber. The present invention also related to a process for irrigating natural vegetation using the solar driven irrigation apparatus.

Claims

1. A solar driven irrigation apparatus for converting contaminated water contained in a contaminated water body into distilled water and using said distilled water for irrigating vegetation grown on the said irrigation apparatus, the solar driven irrigation apparatus comprising a cover in the form of a geometrical projection comprising a wall, an opening, a semi-permeable mesh, a soil layer and a chamber, wherein: the wall is adapted to be in thermal communication with the external environment for capturing solar heat and in optical communication with the opening for allowing passage of solar rays from the external environment to the opening; the top of the wall is covered by a semi-permeable mesh which itself supports a soil layer and the vegetation to be irrigated, the opening is adapted to be in optical communication with the wall and the surface of the contaminated water body for allowing passage of the solar rays from the wall to the surface of the contaminated water body for heating the contaminated water to form a vapor, and adapted to be in fluid communication with the surface of the contaminated water body and the chamber for allowing passage of the vapor from the surface of the contaminated water body inside the chamber; and the chamber is defined by the wall, the chamber being adapted to be in fluid communication with the opening for receiving the vapor formed and allowing the vapor to pass through the semi-permeable mesh located on the top of the wall such that said vapor passes into the soil layer, which condenses said vapor forming distilled irrigation water.

2. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the opening is adapted to form a seal with the surface of the contaminated water body for sealing the chamber and restricting the formed vapor from exiting the chamber to the external environment.

3. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall is made of a transparent material for enabling the passage of the solar rays.

4. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the wall is made of a rigid material.

5. The solar driven apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semi-permeable mesh is made from at least one of fiberglass, wood, metals, composite or polymer materials.

6. The solar driven apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the semi-permeable mesh further comprises a soil layer on the top side which is in direct contact with the external environment wherein the soil layer supports growth of the vegetation on its surface such that the vegetation is irrigated with the distilled irrigation water formed in the soil layer by condensing the vapor received from an upper side of the semi-permeable mesh which is in fluid communication with the chamber.

7. The solar driven apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the semi-permeable mesh further comprises a soil layer on the top side which is in direct contact with the external environment wherein the soil layer supports growth of the vegetation on its surface such that the vegetation is irrigated with the distilled irrigation water formed in the soil layer by condensing the vapor received from an upper side of the semi-permeable mesh which is in fluid communication with the chamber.

8. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising one or more optical lens adapted to concentrate and direct the solar rays toward the opening.

9. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the one or more optical lens forms an integral part of the wall.

10. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a floatable base for supporting and enabling the cover to float over the surface of the contaminated water body.

11. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the floatable base comprises foam.

12. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an anchor device.

13. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover in the form of a geometrical projection is a dome extending along a vertical axis from a bottom end to a top end, the bottom end being in contact with contaminated water body when the apparatus is in operation.

14. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cover opening is defined by a circular cross-section of the dome orthogonal to the vertical axis between the bottom end and the top end.

15. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the cross-section is at the bottom end of the dome.

16. The solar driven irrigation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the opening defined by the cross-section has a circumference forming a cover base, the solar driven irrigation apparatus further comprising a floatable material jacketing the base for enabling the base to float over the surface of the contaminated water body.

17. A process for irrigating natural vegetation using the solar driven irrigation apparatus of claim 1, said process comprising the formation of water vapor inside the chamber by solar evaporation of water from the surface of the contaminated water body, followed by climbing up said vapor inside the chamber, passing said vapor through the semi-permeable mesh, and condensing said vapor into distilled water in the soil layer for irrigating the vegetation located therein.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention without restricting the scope of the invention's concept, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a solar still apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a solar still apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a solar driven irrigation apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) Solar Still Apparatus:

(6) Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided a solar still apparatus 2 for converting contaminated water contained in a contaminated water body 60 into distillate water. The contaminated water body 60 can be any natural water body or man-made/artificial water body such as an ocean, sea, river, pond and the like. The solar still apparatus 2 comprises a cover 8 in the form of a geometrical projection comprising a wall 12, an opening 16 and a chamber 20.

(7) The geometrical projection 8 can have any suitable form such as conical, domical, rectangular, square, and the like. A suitable geometrical projection 8 would provide a sufficiently spaced chamber 20 over the surface of the contaminated water body 60 to accumulate the water vapor, efficiently directs the solar rays to the water surface to enhance evaporation, and allows minimum loss of water vapor from the opening 16. The dimensions of the projection 8 may be scaled up or scaled down depending on the application.

(8) The domical form is suitable due to its stability and the geometrical structure of its external wall 12 suitable to bounce solar rays inside the structure towards the opening 16.

(9) The wall 12 is adapted to be in thermal communication with the external environment (atmosphere) for capturing solar heat and adapted to be in optical communication with the opening 16 for allowing passage of the solar rays from the external environment to the opening 16. The solar rays would pass through the wall 12 to the opening 16 via the chamber 20.

(10) The wall 12 is made of a suitable material for capturing the heat all in allowing penetration of the solar rays through the wall 12 inside the opening 16. The wall 12 is also adapted for preventing the formed vapor to evade through its structure to the external environment. The wall 12 may however be modified for a porous structure to enhance the condensation of water vapor through a capillary condensation mechanism.

(11) The wall 16 is preferably made of a transparent material such as transparent plastic or glass. It is preferable for the material to be rigid such as rigid plastic in order to maintain form and structure. The rigid plastic is easy to maintain and has a long standing life time. However a person skilled in the art should appreciate that the material can be a flexible material such as rubber. In this case, the flexible material can be inflatable to take a desired shape. The material is preferably transparent in order to allow the solar rays penetrate the wall 12 inside the chamber 20 in order to reach the opening 16.

(12) If the wall 12 is opaque, the solar rays (or at least a big part) will not be able to penetrate the wall for heating the contaminated water. The apparatus may still function, though less efficiently, as the contaminated water within the opening 16 may still be heated by the neighboring water located outside the opening 16 which is exposed directly to the solar rays. This is because the contaminated water within and outside the opening 16 is interconnected and heat can be exchanged therebetween.

(13) The opening 16 is adapted to be in optical communication with the wall 12 (or a part thereof) and the surface of the contaminated water body 60 for allowing passage of the solar rays from the wall 12 to the surface of the contaminated water body 60 for heating the contaminated water to form a vapor.

(14) Preferably, the optical communication is a direct optical communication in the sense that the solar rays are not interrupted by any other structure between the wall 12 and the opening 16. A domical form allows a good optical communication between the wall 12 and the opening 16. This is because a big part of the solar rays hitting the wall 12 will penetrate the cover wall 12 in the direction of the opening 16.

(15) The opening 16 is also adapted to be in fluid communication with the surface of the contaminated water body 60 and the chamber 20 for allowing passage of the vapor from the surface of the contaminated water body 60 inside the chamber 20. In fact, when the contaminated water is heated by the solar rays inside the opening, it evaporates and climbs inside the chamber 20 through the opening 16. The opening 16 is therefore adapted to allow the vapor passage from the surface of the contaminated water body 60 inside the chamber 20. When the cover 8 is a dome, the opening 16 is defined by a cross-section of the dome orthogonal to the vertical axis between the bottom end and the top end of the dome. The opening may correspond to the base level at the bottom end of the dome, or may correspond to any other orthogonal cross-section above the base level. This last scenario can happen when the base falls below the surface of the contaminated water body when in operation. When the base of the dome floats over the surface of the water body 60, the base should have a suitable structure to restrict the vapor from evading the chamber 16 from between the base and the surface of the water.

(16) The chamber 20 is the internal space of the geometrical projection located between the wall 12 and the opening 16. It is physically defined by the wall 12 of the cover 8. When the apparatus 2 is in operation and the cover opening 16 is emerged inside the contaminated water body 60, the chamber 20 is in fluid communication with the opening 16 for receiving the vapor formed at the surface of the contaminated water body 60 and for condensing said vapor for forming condensed distillate water therefrom.

(17) The chamber 60 is adapted to be enclosed between the wall 12 and the surface of the contaminated water body 60 when the apparatus 2 is in operation in order to form a seal for restricting the vapor from exiting the chamber 20. When the surface of the contaminated water body 60 gets heated, the water evaporates and the vapor climbs up inside the chamber 20 and condensates at the internal surface of the wall 12 inside the chamber 20. This is due to the fact that the temperature of the external environment is lower than the temperature at the surface of the wall 12 inside the chamber 20. The condensed water is distillate water free of any contamination. The contaminants (e.g. salt, etc) stay back inside the contaminated water body 60 which avoids any maintenance in recuperating and cleaning these.

(18) In an embodiment of the present invention, the solar still apparatus 2 further comprises an optical lens 32 adapted to concentrate and direct the sun rays captured from the external environment toward the opening 16. The optical lens 32 is preferably a concave lens secured to the wall 12 of the cover 8. The optical lens 32 can be an independent component or alternatively can form an integral part of the wall 12. The optical lens can be made of plastic, glass or any other suitable material.

(19) The solar still apparatus 2 is adapted for use in deep water bodies such as oceans and seas. The projection structure (cover 8) therefore needs to be floatable in order to have a part of the projection extending outside the water and another part inside or at the surface of the contaminated water body 60. The part outside the water is for capturing the sun rays and heat and for forming the chamber portion 20 for receiving the vapor and forming the condensed water.

(20) There are different manners to enable the cover 8 to float. In an embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the base 24 of the cover 8 can be made of a floatable material such as foam. The base 24 can also be made of a non floatable material but supported by an independent component having such a property in order to enable the cover to float over the surface of the contaminated water body 60. It can for example be in the form of a floatable jacket adapted to enrobe the base 24.

(21) In another embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, there is provided a floater 5 adapted to receive and support the cover 8 for enabling it to float all in allowing fluid communication between the opening 16 and the surface of the contaminated water body 60. The floater can have an opening providing access of the cover to the contaminated water body 60. The floater can for example be a floating vessel or ship.

(22) In an embodiment of the present invention, the solar still apparatus 2 further comprises an anchorage device 30 adapted to be anchored to the ground of the contaminated water body 60 for restricting the base (and the cover) from moving/drifting over the water.

(23) In an embodiment of the present invention, the solar still apparatus 2 further comprises a condensed water collector 28 for collecting the condensed distillate water. Preferably, the condensed water collector 28 is secured to the wall 12 inside the chamber 20. The condensed water collector can be in the form of a gutter running along the wall inside the chamber 20. As the vapor gets condensed at the wall 12 of the chamber 20, the condensed water drops inside the gutter. The condensed water collector can take any other suitable form as a function of the form of the cover 8.

(24) In an embodiment of the present invention, the solar still apparatus 2 further comprises a conduit 36 in fluid communication with the condensed water collector 28 for directing the condensed distillate water outside the chamber 20. The conduit 36 can be in the form of a tube, pipe or any other water transport medium. In one embodiment, the conduit 36 is adapted to be in fluid communication with a network of reservoirs and pipelines for collecting, directing and storing the collected distillate water. This may include pipes and valves located in proximity or remotely from the still solar apparatus 2.

(25) In an embodiment of the present invention, the conduit 36 is adapted to be in fluid communication with off-shore reservoir 40 for storing the collected distillate water. The off-shore reservoir 40 and the conduit 36 are preferably adapted to float over the surface of the contaminated water body 60. They can for example be supported or jacketed by a floatable material such as foam. The off-shore reservoir 40 can have an external layer 44 made of foam or any other floatable material.

(26) In an embodiment of the invention, the solar still apparatus 2 further comprises a pump 48 in fluid communication with the off-shore reservoir 40 for pumping the distillate water stored inside the off-shore reservoir 40 to a land reservoir 56 through long range conduits 52. These long range conduits can also be adapted to float by being made or supported by a floatable material.

(27) Solar Driven Irrigation Apparatus:

(28) Referring to FIG. 3, there is provided a solar driven irrigation apparatus 120 for converting contaminated water contained in the contaminated water body 60 into distilled water and using the distilled water obtained therefrom for irrigating the vegetation 136 grown on the irrigation apparatus 120. The contaminated water body 60 can be natural water body or man-made/artificial water body such as ocean, sea, river, pond and the like. The irrigation apparatus 120 comprises a cover in the form of a geometrical projection comprising a wall 130, an opening 126, a chamber 124 and a semi-permeable mesh 132 located along the top of the wall.

(29) The geometrical projection can have any suitable form such as cubical, cuboidal, cylindrical, and the like. A suitable geometrical projection would provide a sufficiently spaced chamber 124 over the surface of the contaminated water body 60 to accumulate the water vapors, efficiently directs the solar rays to the water surface to enhance evaporation, allows minimum loss of water vapors from the opening and also allowing a sufficient size of semi-permeable mesh 132 to cover the top end of the geometrical projection such that the desired vegetation 136 can be grown on the top side of the semi-permeable mesh 132 and all the water vapors are received in the bottom side of the semi-permeable mesh 132 where said vapor pass through the semi permeable mesh 132 and then through the soil layer 134 thereby condensing said vapor for forming a distilled irrigation water which is then used for irrigating the vegetation 136 grown on the top side of the semi-permeable mesh 132.

(30) The domical form of the cover is suitable due to its stability and the geometrical structure of its external wall 130 is suitable to bounce solar rays inside the structure towards the opening 126. The domical form is covered by the semi-permeable mesh 132 on its top end.

(31) The wall 130 is adapted to be in thermal communication with the external environment (atmosphere) for capturing solar heat and adapted to be in optical communication with the opening 126 for allowing passage of the solar rays from the external environment to the opening 126. The solar rays pass through the wall 130 to the opening 126 via the chamber 124.

(32) The wall 130 is made of a suitable material for capturing the heat all in allowing penetration of the solar rays through the wall 130 inside the opening 126. The wall 130 is adapted to support the semi-permeable mesh 132 on its surface such that the wall 130 and the semi-permeable mesh 132 are sealed together to define the chamber 124 and allow all the vapors to be received in the semi-permeable mesh 132 without any loss to the external environment.

(33) The wall 130 is preferably made of a transparent material such as transparent plastic or glass. It is preferable for the material to be rigid such as rigid plastic in order to maintain form and structure. The rigid plastic is easy to maintain and has a long standing life time. However a person skilled in the art would appreciate that the material can be a flexible material such as rubber. In this case, the flexible material can be inflatable to take a desired shape. The material should be strong to support the semi-permeable mesh 132 and the vegetation 136 grown on its top side. The material is preferably transparent in order to allow the solar rays penetrate the wall 130 inside the chamber 124 in order to reach the opening 126.

(34) If the wall 130 is opaque, the solar rays (or at least a big part) will not be able to penetrate the wall 130 for heating the contaminated water. The apparatus 120 may still function, though less efficiently, as the contaminated water within the opening 126 may still be heated by the neighboring water located outside the opening 126 which is exposed directly to the solar rays. This is because the contaminated water within and outside the opening 126 is interconnected and heat can be exchanged there between.

(35) The opening 126 is adapted to be in optical communication with the wall 130 (or a part thereof) and the surface of the contaminated water body 60 for allowing passage of the solar rays from the wall 130 to the surface of the contaminated water body 60 for heating the contaminated water to form vapors.

(36) Preferably, the optical communication is a direct optical communication in the sense that the solar rays are not interrupted by any other structure between the wall 130 and the opening 126. A domical form allows a good optical communication between the wall 130 and the opening 126. This is because a big part of the solar rays hitting the wall 130 will penetrate the cover wall 130 in the direction of the opening 126.

(37) The opening 126 is also adapted to be in fluid communication with the surface of the contaminated water body 60 and the chamber 124 for allowing passage of the vapor from the surface of the contaminated water body 60 inside the chamber 124. In fact, when the contaminated water is heated by the solar rays inside the opening 126, it evaporates and climbs inside the chamber 124 through the opening 126. The opening 126 is therefore adapted to allow the vapor passage from the surface of the contaminated water body 60 inside the chamber 124. When the cover is a dome, the opening 126 is defined by a cross-section of the dome orthogonal to the vertical axis between the bottom end and the top end of the dome. The opening 126 may correspond to the base level at the bottom end of the dome, or may correspond to any other orthogonal cross-section above the base level. This last scenario can happen when the base falls below the surface of the contaminated water body 60 when in operation. When the base of the dome floats over the surface of the water body, the base should have a suitable structure to restrict the vapor from evading the chamber 124 from between the base and the surface of the water.

(38) The semi-permeable mesh 132 is made of a semi-permeable material which allows the movement of water vapors from the bottom side which is in fluid communication with the chamber 124 to the top side which is in communication to the external environment. Examples of semi-permeable materials are, but not limited to, fiberglass, wood, metals, composite or polymer materials. The semi-permeable mesh 132 is made of material which is of sufficient strength to support the vegetation 136 grown on top side of the semi-permeable mesh 132.

(39) Preferably, the semi-permeable mesh 132 is covered by a soil layer 134 on the top side. The soil layer should possess sufficient thickness and properties so as to support the growth of vegetations 136 over its surface such that the vapor received from the semi-permeable mesh 132 is condensed into a distilled water to be then used for irrigating the vegetation 136.

(40) In other preferred embodiment of the present invention, the semi-permeable mesh 132 should restrict the movement of soil layers 134 from top side to the bottom side and should not allow the soil layers to fall inside the chamber 124 thus blocking the overall operation of the irrigation apparatus 120.

(41) The term vegetation according to the present invention include all plants including but not limited to grass, herbs, shrubs, trees and the like.

(42) The term soil layer according to the present invention includes any form of fertile soil which may or may not be mixed with fertilizers of other chemicals which support the growth of vegetation.

(43) The chamber 124 is the internal space of the geometrical projection located between the wall 130, semi-permeable mesh 132 and the opening 126. It is physically defined by the wall 130 of the cover and the semi-permeable mesh 132. When the apparatus 120 is in operation and the cover opening is emerged inside the contaminated water body 60, the chamber 124 is in fluid communication with the opening 126 for receiving the vapor formed at the surface of the contaminated water body 60 and transferring the vapors to the bottom side of the semi-permeable mesh 132, where the vapors passes through the soil layer thereby condensing said vapor to form a distilled water.

(44) The chamber 124 is adapted to be enclosed between the wall 130, semi-permeable mesh 132 and the surface of the contaminated water body 60 when the apparatus 120 is in operation in order to form a seal for restricting the vapor from exiting the chamber 124. When the surface of the contaminated water body 60 gets heated, the water evaporates and the vapor climbs up inside the chamber 124 and are passed through the semi-permeable mesh 132 and then condensed into distilled water in the soil layer. This is due to the fact that the temperature of the external environment is lower than the temperature inside the chamber 124. The condensed water is distilled water free of any contamination. The contaminants (e.g. salt, etc) stay back inside the contaminated water body 60 which avoids any maintenance in recuperating and cleaning these.

(45) In an embodiment of the present invention, the irrigation apparatus 120 further comprises an optical lens 138 adapted to concentrate and direct the sun rays captured from the external environment toward the opening 126. The optical lens 138 is preferably a concave lens secured to the wall 130 of the cover. The optical lens 138 can be an independent component or alternatively can form an integral part of the wall 130. The optical lens 138 can be made of plastic, glass or any other suitable material.

(46) The irrigation apparatus 120 is adapted for use in deep water bodies such as oceans and seas. The projection structure (cover) therefore needs to be floatable in order to have a part of the projection extending outside the water and another part inside or at the surface of the contaminated water body 60. The part outside the water is for capturing the sun rays and heat, and also for supporting the semi-permeable mesh 132 which itself supports the growth of vegetation 136 on its top side.

(47) There are different manners to enable the cover to float. In an embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the base 128 of the cover can be made of a floatable material such as foam. The base 128 can also be made of a non floatable material but supported by an independent component having such a property in order to enable the cover to float over the surface of the contaminated water body 60. It can for example be in the form of a floatable jacket adapted to enrobe the base 128.

(48) In an embodiment of the present invention, the solar driven irrigation apparatus 120 further comprises an anchorage device 140 adapted to be anchored to the ground of the contaminated water body 60 for restricting the base 128 (and the cover) from moving/drifting over the water thus providing stabilization to the apparatus. The anchorage device can be in a permanent structure in the contaminated water body and may have a hook-like structure or a conical-like structure.

(49) While the invention has been made described in details and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various additions, omissions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.