Device for Pumping and Desalination of Water at a Depth

Abstract

The present invention provides a device for pumping water from a depth. The device includes a pressure-containing conduit with a first end located at a depth within a body of water, an inlet portion in fluid communication with the pressure-containing conduit to allow water to enter therethrough, a float portion for maintaining the device at a desired depth, a boiler mirror for reflecting light at the pressure-containing conduit, thereby heating water contained therein, and an outlet portion for water to exit the device, preferably in the form of water vapor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The lack of water is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today, and the problem is expected to grow worse in coming decades. The United Nations estimates that by the year 2050 more than two billion people in the world will lack sufficient water. While the earth has vast quantities of water, most of this water is salt water rather than fresh water. Further, much of the fresh water supply in the world is frozen in glaciers or in the polar ice caps.

As these water supplies melt due to environmental effects such as global warming, the actual overall supply of fresh water on earth may decrease. Additionally, problems of pollution associated with industrialization and continued population growth negatively affects other sources of fresh water. While the world's population and associated demand for fresh water will continue to increase, the supply of fresh water will, at best, remain static and, at worst, actually decrease.

Existing solutions to the problem of water shortages includes desalination of ocean water by a variety of methods. Unfortunately, these methods tend to require large amounts of energy. Further, expensive infrastructure and specialized equipment is also often necessary, making methods costly not only in terms of capital expenditure but in terms of both land and resource use.

Reverse osmosis, for example, accounts for a large percentage of the desalination efforts currently underway on earth. The process is typically carried out in multi-stage flash plants. Reverse osmosis plants consume a large amount of electricity in order to produce fresh water. Thus, the plants are typically located in places like the Middle East, where the abundance of cheap oil for production of electricity makes such efforts more feasible than they would be elsewhere. Even in these locations, however, the electricity production required for the desalination plant produces significant quantities of pollution.

What is needed, therefore, is a simple, efficient, and non-polluting device for providing fresh water from a salt water source. What is further needed is an efficient, non-polluting device for pumping water from one location to another

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a device for pumping water from a depth. The device includes a pressure-containing conduit with a first end located at a depth within a body of water, an inlet portion in fluid communication with the pressure-containing conduit to allow water to enter therethrough, a float portion for maintaining the device at a desired depth, a boiler mirror for reflecting light at the pressure-containing conduit, thereby heating water contained therein, and an outlet portion for water to exit the device, preferably in the form of water vapor.

In one alternate embodiment, the present device further includes a filter portion to filter water entering the device through the inlet portion.

In another alternate embodiment of the device, the device includes a riser portion extending at an angle from the pressure-containing conduit, and the boiler mirror heats water within the riser portion rather than within the pressure-containing conduit.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, a riser mirror is included to maintain water within the device at a desired temperature along the entire length of the riser portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a water pumping device constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an alternate embodiment of a water pumping device constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present device is adapted to provide fresh water from either a fresh water or salt water source. The device establishes a flow of such water from an existing body of water, in effect ‘pumping’ the water through the device so that it can be distributed to a desired location. There is no pollution resulting from the use of the present device, which need only be situated in a body of water having a sufficient depth to create the needed pressure, and wherein the device is able to utilize an available energy source such as, for example, solar energy.

Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numeral represent like parts, the numeral 10 refers generally to a device for pumping and desalination of water at a depth in accordance with the principles of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as ‘pumping device 10’). The term ‘pump’ is used herein broadly, referring to the water-delivery function of the present device, although as will be seen below the device operates due to the effects of pressure, and in that sense the word ‘pump’ can be used in its more customary sense. The embodiment of device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes an inlet portion 12, a pressure-containing conduit 14, a buoyant housing 16, boiler mirror 18, and outlet portion 20.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a device constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Pumping device 10 is situated in a body of water such that inlet portion 12 of pumping device 10 is located at a significant depth beneath surface 30 of the body of water. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, inlet portion 12 is nothing more than an opening in pressure-containing conduit 14, which extends at an angle upward from the point at which inlet portion 12 is positioned. Because inlet portion 12 of pumping device 10 is open, water infiltrates the device and a pressure gradient is established between the water existing in the present device at a lower depth and that existing at a higher depth. The present device is able to exploit this pressure difference in order to pump water to a desired location.

A buoyant housing 16 is attached to pressure-containing conduit 14 to provide buoyancy to pump device 10 and to maintain the device at a desired depth within a body of water. Buoyant housing 16 may be fixedly or removably attached to pressure-containing conduit 14 by any suitable method. In the embodiment of pumping device 10 shown in FIG. 1, buoyant housing 16 is present as a structural trough that floats a body of water, thereby providing buoyancy to the present device. It is contemplated, however, that any suitable structure may be utilized in order to provide buoyancy to the present device, and that the structure used to provide such buoyancy need not be a housing in the sense that it contains other components of the present invention, but may simply include a float portion for providing the needed buoyancy to pumping device 10.

Boiler mirror 18 is shown in FIG. 1 as being situated along an interior surface of buoyant housing 16. Boiler mirror 18 is positioned such that solar energy 32 striking boiler mirror 18 is reflected toward a portion of pressure-containing conduit 14, thereby heating water contained within pressure-containing conduit 14. Boiler mirror 18 may be fixedly attached to a surface of buoyant housing 16, or may be suspended within buoyant housing 16 by an appropriate method (it is contemplated that any method of affixing boiler mirror 18 to buoyant housing 16 will be well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure). Alternatively, it is contemplated that an interior surface of buoyant housing 16 itself may be suitably reflective and serve as a boiler mirror 18. In addition, although a single boiler mirror 18 is shown in the drawing, it is contemplated that any suitable number of individual boiler mirrors 18 may be utilized.

In order for water within pressure-containing conduit 14 to be properly heated by the action of boiler mirror 18, it is contemplated that pressure-containing conduit 14 is preferably constructed from a material having a high thermal conductivity. Examples of materials with high thermal conductivities include, but are not limited to, copper, silver, gold, aluminum, beryllium, and tungsten. Further, carbon structures such as Buckytubes tend to have a high thermal conductivity. It is further contemplated that pressure-containing conduit 14 may be constructed of more than one material, present in layers or in other configurations, to aid in the transfer of heat from boiler mirror 18 to water contained within pressure-containing conduit 18. Further, portions of pressure-containing conduit 14 not being heated by boiler mirror 18 may be constructed from insulating materials such that loss of heat through pressure-containing conduit 14 is minimized.

Once water within pressure-containing conduit 14 is heated to the appropriate temperature by the action of boiler mirror 18, the water changes state and becomes water vapor (steam). This steam exits pumping device 10 via outlet portion 20, and from there is directed to a desired location. At or en route to the desired location, the water vapor is preferably condensed back into liquid water, whereupon it may be used as drinking water or for any other suitable purposes. Other suitable uses of this purified water are described in greater detail below.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, buoyant housing 16 prevents substantial amounts of water from accumulating around the portion of pressure-containing conduit 14 passing over boiler mirror 18. It is contemplated, however, that the present device may function even with water accumulated around the portion of pressure-containing conduit 14 passing over boiler mirror 18, so long as the level of water accumulated is sufficiently shallow to allow at least some of solar energy 32 traveling through the water to impact boiler mirror 18 and, by reflection, heat the appropriate portion of pressure-containing conduit 14.

FIG. 2 provides a schematic illustration of one alternative embodiment of a pumping device 100 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Pumping device 100 includes structural and functional similarities to pumping device 10, such as, for example, inlet portion 112, pressure-containing conduit 114, buoyant housing 116, boiler mirror 118, and outlet portion 120. Also provided are filter portion 122, riser 124, and riser mirror 126.

The components of pumping device 100 that have analogous components in pumping device 10 operate substantially as described above with respect to pumping device 10. In other words, inlet portion 112, pressure-containing conduit 114, buoyant housing 116, boiler mirror 118, and outlet portion 120, all operate substantially as described above. These will only be described with respect to pumping device 100 as they relate to the additional components of the present device included in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

Filter portion 122 is preferably attached to inlet portion 112 such that water must past through filter portion 122 prior to passing into inlet portion 112. It is preferred that filter portion 122 be adapted to substantially prevent marine life from entering pumping device 100, and that it does so in a way that is not harmful to the marine life. Filter portion 122 may be adapted to fulfill a number of goals. For example, filter portion 122 may be adapted to filter a portion of the salt content from water entering pumping device 100. Further, filter portion 122 may be adapted to filter debris from water entering pumping device 100 so that the debris does not obstruct the flow of water through pumping device 100 or cause other problems by moving into pumping device 100. As mentioned above, filter portion 100 may be adapted to keep marine life from pumping device 100. It is contemplated that any given filter portion 100 may be adapted to fulfill any or all of these goals. It is further contemplated that methods and structures for accomplishing such filtration are known in the art, and that one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to identify a suitable filter portion 100 upon reading this disclosure.

Pumping device 100 also includes, attached to pressure-containing conduit 114, a riser portion 124 that extends away from pressure-containing conduit 114 at an angle. In this embodiment of the present device, pressure-containing conduit 114 preferably extends at an angle roughly perpendicular to and away from the surface 130 of a body of water in which pumping device 100 is located. Riser portion 124 then extends from pressure-containing conduit 114 at an angle and in a direction toward surface 130 of the body of water. This allows for a substantial pressure build-up within pressure-containing conduit 114 that can be used to pump water along riser portion 124, where it can be heated and released from pumping device 100 in the form of steam. This release of water within the device in the form of steam further facilitates movement of water under pressure through the device

Pumping device 100 may also include a riser mirror 126 positioned along a length of riser portion 124 not heated by boiler mirror 118 in order to maintain a high temperature along that length of riser portion 124. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, for example, riser mirror 126 is positioned near an outlet portion 120 of riser portion 124. Although a single riser mirror 126 is shown in the drawing, it is contemplated that any suitable number of riser mirrors 126 may be employed.

Thus an exemplary embodiment of pumping device 100 operates as follows: water enters pumping device 100 through filter portion 122, whereupon the water passes through an inlet portion 112 into pressure-containing conduit 114. A pressure head is created within pressure-containing conduit 114 due to the difference in depth between inlet portion 112 and an opposing end of pressure-containing conduit 100. This pressure head forces water into riser portion 124 and causes water to move along a length thereof. Once within riser portion 124, the water is heated by the reflection of sunlight onto riser portion 124 via boiler mirror 118. The heat causes the water to vaporize and maintain a vapor state, whereupon it rises through the remaining length of riser portion 124 and exits pumping device 100 at outlet portion 120. Riser mirror 126 ensures that the water remains in a vapor state when passing through that portion of riser portion 124.

The embodiments of the device described above, as well as other embodiments of the present invention utilizing the principles described herein, may be employed for a variety of purposes. For example, the present invention may be used to substantially desalinate water. Desalination occurs to an extent when the water within either riser portion 124 or pressure-containing conduit 14 or 114 is transformed into water vapor, which then exits the device. Condensation of this vapor produces water with a lesser salt content than prior to vaporization. Filter portions 122 may be utilized to reduce the salt content of the water prior to the water entering the present device, resulting in an end product of water with an even lower salt content (in fact virtually all of the salt may be removed, resulting in fresh water). Depending on the degree of salinity in the final product, the water produced may be used for irrigation, animal drinking water, human drinking water, manufacturing processes, or any other suitable use.

The present invention may also be utilized simply to transport water from one location to another without the need for inefficient electrical pumps. Once water exits the present device in the form of vapor, it can be condensed back into liquid water and directed to any desired location through, for example, a network of pipes. Alternatively, the water can be directed along a pipe network in vapor form and then condensed into liquid water once it reaches a desired location.

As water production via the present device increases along shorelines, the present device may be utilized to move water further inland, thereby effectively redistributing a portion of the available water on the planet. This water can be stored, for example, in open-air lakes or reservoirs, thereby decreasing the aridity of the surrounding area. This transfer of water can also be used to mitigate rising sea levels.

The present device may also be used to increase the local humidity in the area surrounding the device. Water vapor exiting the device may, for example, be directed into the atmosphere. In cold regions, this water vapor, in sufficient amounts, can lead to increased snowfall, which can, if present on a sufficiently large scale, affect the environment. Increased snow-cover, for example, can increase the reflectivity of a given region of the planet, thereby attenuating warming in the region (such as around the earth's poles).

Another use of the present device is to transport masses of water from a lower elevation to a higher elevation. Once at a higher elevation, the water may be used by a variety of hydroelectric devices that rely on the effect of gravity on a mass of water at an elevation in order to product electricity. The present device can be employed to maintain a supply of water at an elevation, transporting that water from a lower elevation and utilizing solar power to provide the energy for transporting the water.

The present device may also be utilized to produce electricity directly. A steam turbine, for example, can be employed at or near outlet portion 20 or 120 of the present device. As steam passes from the present device through the steam turbine, electricity is produced. In such an embodiment of the present invention, the steam can be collected and condensed into liquid water after passing through the turbine.

Finally, the present device can be employed to maintain or replenish existing fresh water supplies, such as in areas where dwindling fresh water has endangered fresh water animal species. Using the present device, water from a salt water source such as an ocean or sea can be effectively desalinated and delivered to an existing fresh water reservoir.

The foregoing description is exemplary and is provided in order to illustrate and clarify the present invention. It is contemplated that various modifications to the present device will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, and that such modifications remain within the scope of the present invention. The foregoing description is not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present invention, which scope is defined by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A device for pumping water from a depth, the device comprising:

a pressure-containing conduit having a first end located at a depth within a body of water;

an inlet portion in fluid communication with said pressure-containing conduit and located at said first end thereof;

a float portion attached to said pressure-containing conduit, said float portion maintaining said device at a desired depth;

a boiler mirror in optical communication with said pressure-containing conduit for reflecting light toward said pressure-containing conduit; and

an outlet portion in fluid communication with said pressure-containing conduit and located at a second end thereof;

wherein water entering said device through said inlet portion travels through said pressure-containing conduit due to pressure contained therein, and further wherein said water exits said device through said outlet portion.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said boiler mirror heats the water within said pressure-containing conduit to a temperature sufficient to vaporize said water, and further wherein said water exits said device in the form of water vapor.

3. The device according to claim 1 further comprising a filter portion attached to said pressure-containing conduit at said first end, wherein water entering said device passes through said filter portion prior to passing through said inlet portion.

4. The device according to claim 1 wherein said float portion is a buoyant housing.

5. A device A device for pumping water from a depth, the device comprising:

a pressure-containing conduit having a first end located at a depth within a body of water;

an inlet portion in fluid communication with said pressure-containing conduit and located at said first end thereof;

a riser portion having a first end in fluid communication with said pressure-containing conduit and extending at an angle away therefrom;

a buoyant housing attached to said pressure-containing conduit, said float portion maintaining said device at a desired depth;

a boiler mirror in optical communication with said riser portion for reflecting light toward said pressure-containing conduit; and

an outlet portion in fluid communication with said riser portion and located at a second end thereof;

wherein water entering said device through said inlet portion travels through said pressure-containing conduit due to pressure contained therein, and further travels from said pressure-containing conduit into said riser portion, whereupon said water is heated by said boiler mirror, and further wherein said water exits said device through said outlet portion.

6. The device according to claim 5 further comprising a filter portion attached to said pressure-containing conduit at said first end, wherein water entering said device passes through said filter portion prior to passing through said inlet portion.

7. The device according to claim 5 wherein said boiler mirror heats the water within said riser portion to a temperature sufficient to vaporize said water, and further wherein said water exits said device in the form of water vapor.

8. The device according to claim 5 further comprising a riser mirror, said riser mirror in optical communication with at least a portion of said riser portion in substantial proximity to said outlet portion, wherein said riser mirror reflects sufficient light to said riser portion to maintain water therein in a vapor form.