Helping the One Billion Without

Matthew Cheyne
Desalination

Water
Method

Across the globe almost one billion people do not have access to potable water[1]. The aim of this project is to show how engineering can provide safe ways of providing fresh water to those in need.

Aim/Problem

The process of desalination is where salt and minerals are removed from saline water to produce fresh water. The desalination process is easily summarised in figure 2 below.

In most cases the lack of potable water can be attributed to sourcing of water[2]. In the third world the majority of rivers, streams and lakes are high in pollution that renders the water useless for drinking. Figure 1 below is the distribution of potable water throughout the world. The red zones highlight areas where 25% or more of the local population do not have access to potable water. These areas occupy the majority of the third world and show the need they have. Through engineering skill it is possible to find new water sources. Three possible sources of fresh water are; desalination, rainwater capturing and groundwater extraction.

Background

Rainwater as a fresh water source is mainly dependent on two factors, weather and storage. Figure 3 below shows a rainwater capturing system.

Rainwater Capturing

Each of the three systems have positives and negatives which limit their suitability. For putting any of these systems into the third world certain criteria need to be met. In this case these are cost, maintenance, lifetime, energy use and efficiency. Table 1 below shows the outcomes for each of the criteria. Assessment was done by looking at the characteristics of each process with a focus on the implementing the system. Groundwater proves to be the best system as it provides the best trade offs for the criteria, whereas both desalination and rainwater have drawbacks that require further work to be successful.

Results

Groundwater as a source is tapped by accessing the water table and pumping the water to the surface. These pumps can be either electrically operated or manually operated. Figure 4 below shows a workable groundwater system.

Groundwater Extraction

Costs Desalination Ground water Rain water

High

Maintenance
High

Lifetime
Moderate

Energy Use
High

Efficiency
High

Low

Low

High

Low

High

Low

Low

High

Low

Moderate

Table 1: Outcomes of systems

Groundwater is the most suitable option for third world countries due to its suitability and usability. Desalination is not suitable due to its high cost and energy use. With further R&D both could be decreased allowing for its implementation. Rainwater is not suitable due to the level of variability and storage needed. Investment into more cost effective storage could provide a better platform for its use.

Conclusions

Figure 1: Distribution of Potable Water

Figure 2: The desalination process

Figure 3: A rainwater capturing system

Figure 4: Groundwater sourcing system

1: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. (2002). Access to Water in Developing Countries. Postnote , 178, 1-4. 2: Cosgrove, W. J., Rijsberman, F. R., & World Water Council. (2000). World Water Vision: Making Water Everybody's Business. London: Earthscan.

References