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Inflatable Water purifier

Inflatable Water purifier
 
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For mountain climbers and people adrift in life boats, this simple inflatable water purifier requires only sunlight and a source of water – ideally brine.

Imagine an inflatable rubber ring, approximately 12” across. Now imagine it laying flat, and a thin, black rubber floor across the lower surface of the ring. Next add a clear dome on the opposite side of the ring – possibly with a ring to hang it from a ceiling at the top.

I did an ACSII art of it here, but the editor put it onto one line.

The brine goes on the black floor of the inflatable, possibly through a valve in the bottom. The sun heats it, and causes it to evaporate (thereby loosing the salt held in solution). The water vapour hits the clear dome, and runs down the side where it collects in the “v” shape between the dome and the ring. During evaporation, any salts will have remained on the black floor of the device.

Problems:

This would be difficult to clean. I suppose you could let the evaporated water run through it for a while, to clean the sides and the v ridge which collects the waters.

In a rough sea, if used in a life raft, it would be difficult to keep the brine from overflowing into the clean v channel and tainting it, even if the device was suspended from the ceiling.

bowman, Jul 11 2003

Inflatable Solar Still http://www.landfall...tion.com/memss.html
As used in all the best liferafts [oneoffdave, Oct 17 2004]

Solar Water distiller http://www.halfbake...20Water_20Distiller
[Micky Dread, Oct 17 2004]

[link]






       Baked I'm afraid [link]
oneoffdave, Jul 11 2003
  

       That's spooky. I must have seen this, forgot it and ripped it off.   

       Nice to know it's out there. And has been for the past 40 years.
bowman, Jul 14 2003
  
      
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