Water Theater: a renewable energy solution to create fresh water
It would take a long while before words like ‘sustainability’ and ‘recycling’ find their way into the cliché bin, primarily because technology plays an integral role in their proliferation. For the residents of Canary Islands, the biggest challenge is to find potable fresh water, which seems improbable due to geographical reasons. Desalination is a feasible solution and with proper technological application, environmental stability need not be compromised. All of these, combined with an additional aesthetic benefit, make the ‘Water Theater’ quite an innovative idea, indeed. The desalination plant is essentially a solar convection driven dehumidifier. Cold water from the sea is passed through tubes (located on the inlet side of the Water Theater) and subsequently sprayed on to a membrane. Air heated with the help of solar energy flows through the membrane and thereby causes condensation around the water-filled tubes. The dehumidified fresh water is then collected in water troughs placed at the bottom of the plant.
The Water Heater is a good example of renewable resource management, wherein the sun and the sea are used to create fresh water. Methods like these eliminate the need to use power guzzlers. And when the supply is optimized, the Water Theater also doubles up as an art center for cultural activities. We certainly need more of these to fortify our future, don't we?
Source:Theseep
