Freshwater sourced offshore: Wave-powered desalination
S. Himmelstein | October 15, 2024
Source: Ocean Oasis
Coastal and island regions facing water shortage issues may soon find resource relief by focusing on the marine environment. Wave energy-powered desalination technology developed by Norwegian clean-tech group Ocean Oasis converts seawater into freshwater by use of floating desalination buoys.
These systems generate freshwater using membrane-based desalination technology powered directly by wave induced motion, eliminating reliance on grid power and attendant air pollutant. The technology developed for sustainable use of the oceans is being tested in the Canary Islands with the deployment of a pilot buoy to validate the technology at a site offshore the Port of Las Palmas. The device, weighing about 100 tons and measuring 10 m high and 7 m in diameter, performs desalination with an efficient reverse osmosis process. The Desalination for Environmental Sustainability and LIFE (DESALIFE) consortium led by Ocean Oasis plans to have the first pre-commercial buoys producing fresh water by mid-2026.
One of the three seawater desalination plants now serving Gran Canaria will contribute to the implementation and operation phases of the DESALIFE project by integrating the offshore freshwater produced by the desalination buoys with its own production. The water delivered via pipes along the seabed will increase onshore facility freshwater production capacity by 2,000 m3/day on average, the equivalent of the daily consumption of 15,000 people. This will be achieved without the need to expand the existing on shore plant, or increase its energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions or brine discharge from shore.
If ice bergs could be steered in an efficient manner,the fresh water would be worth billions of $. I know this is not currently practical,but icebergs are surrounded by fresh melt water.Perhaps this fresh water could be recovered by using floating suction lines,deployed like a giant spider web form around the berg,with density transmitters connected to suction tubes and cycling the valves according to the density.Perhaps some tubes even attached to the 'berg below the surface in a channel,like an upside down gutter to catch the melt water as it rises.I realize that the 'bergs will eventually flip,but sensors could detect an imminent flip and take defensive measures.
What would happen if controlled charges were planted in the iceberg,like with surface mining,where they pulverize many tons of material in a few seconds,but positioned in a manner to "cut" the iceberg?Would the ice absorb the heat and reduce the explosive power as it transitioned from ice to water,to steam( 3 phase latent heat transition)?
What if shrapnel of some specific shape was in the charge to increase the power of the charge,like a giant ice pick?