Floating solar still to create fresh water from salty ocean water and also can charge phones, run motors.

[Scott Downey]

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(24)02450-7

Actually looks promising, it runs continuously, as long as it is sunny and the heat generated sterilizes the fresh water it makes.
And it is not expensive to create.
The solar still remains permanently in the water.

Could be of great benefit to people with little access to fresh water along ocean coasts.

So then practical and useful, especially to poor nations. Something like this may also be scalable.

 

[JohnDB]

Until the weather intervenes.
Until boating accidents too.
Foggy mornings and afternoons .

Our planet's oceans are full. Same with lakes.

Coal or LNG are much more reliable.

And a lack of armed conflicts are even better for electric grid stability. Something that is in short supply at the moment.

 

[Scott Downey]

Highlights​

•
A 40% solar-to-freshwater vapor generation efficiency using a passive floating solar still
•
Efficient salt rejection, heavy metal removal, and decontamination of generated water
•
Cost-friendly freshwater production
•
Simultaneous thermoelectric generation to power small devices

Summary​

Floating interfacial solar evaporation offers a land-saving, eco-friendly, and low-infrastructure alternative for freshwater production. However, challenges include maximizing heat localization, preventing salt accumulation, and operating under harsh environmental conditions. This work demonstrates a plasmonic titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticle (NP)-based floating solar desalination system that produces clean water using sunlight on saline water sources. The components of the floating still were carefully chosen to optimize freshwater output, with TiC produced by upcycling tire waste. Outdoor experiments in Halifax, Canada, where solar insolation reached around 6 kW m−2 day−1, resulted in daily water yields of up to 3.67 L m−2, corresponding to a solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 40%. Water can be produced at a cost of $0.0086 L−1, and the still can be modified to generate thermoelectricity, enabling small onboard devices to test water quality without external electricity. This study contributes to the development of scalable floating solar desalination systems, providing potable water for water-stressed communities.

 

[Scott Downey]

Until the weather intervenes.
Until boating accidents too.
Foggy mornings and afternoons .

Our planet's oceans are full. Same with lakes.

Coal or LNG are much more reliable.

And a lack of armed conflicts are even better for electric grid stability. Something that is in short supply at the moment.

It is the fresh water production that is of interest to me.

yes, I am a fan of those too for electric.

Check out Bloom Energy, they apparently have decent efficient electrical generation technology that can approach 90% when also utilizing the generated heat production, Can use Natural Gas and hydrogen and or a mix. What helps is they also have several thousand employees, meaning this company is actually going to be an important electrical producer in the future. What tech they have is working well.

***************************

Tech companies are desperate to build new data centers to handle their AI ambitions, but they’re coming up against a severe bottleneck to get electricity for them. Major electricity grids have yearslong delays to get connected to power, leaving the tech players with few options. Ohio-based American Electric Power the fifth-largest utility company by market capitalization, announced a deal with Bloom Energy late on Thursday to use fuel cells to provide power to data centers.




AEP, American electric power just signed a major contract with them for AI data centers electricity generation.

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/b9cbdc09-2f3e-3f7b-8bd1-efdfb025626d/electricity-gridlock-is-a-big.html

 

[JohnDB]

It is the fresh water production that is of interest to me.

yes, I am a fan of those too for electric.

Check out Bloom Energy, they apparently have decent efficient electrical generation technology that can approach 90% when also utilizing the generated heat production, Can use Natural Gas and hydrogen and or a mix. What helps is they also have several thousand employees, meaning this company is actually going to be an important electrical producer in the future. What tech they have is working well.

***************************

Tech companies are desperate to build new data centers to handle their AI ambitions, but they’re coming up against a severe bottleneck to get electricity for them. Major electricity grids have yearslong delays to get connected to power, leaving the tech players with few options. Ohio-based American Electric Power the fifth-largest utility company by market capitalization, announced a deal with Bloom Energy late on Thursday to use fuel cells to provide power to data centers.




AEP, American electric power just signed a major contract with them for AI data centers electricity generation.

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/b9cbdc09-2f3e-3f7b-8bd1-efdfb025626d/electricity-gridlock-is-a-big.html

Fresh water is the most easily obtained by the reverse osmosis process....it's the system most places with very limited fresh water can make fresh water. It is the most efficient process we have with as few problems as can be had.

Electricity generation?
We need to return to our Natural resources that make it the cheapest possible solution. Meaning coal and LNG.

Coal has two types:soft yellow and anthracite.

Anthracite is what is used for generational production. It's cheap to mine as well when found. Just needs bulldozers and dump trucks. (A little explosives as well) Then it is put on trains and hauled wherever.

Soft yellow was deemed to be worthless as it contains too much Sulphur to burn cleanly.
However "Clean Coal" tech can turn this type of coal into diesel and can burn very cleanly. (Old WW2 technology)

Both types of coal will expel mercury in the fumes when burned or in processing. This can be cleaned with scrubbing tech....but what do we do with the mercury? It is extremely detrimental to the environments it is unleashed upon. It must not be allowed to become aerosolized.

There is battery tech and fluorescent lights which use the material but these are not solutions either as batteries and light bulbs end up making landfills toxic which in turn makes water tables toxic.


Hydroelectric power.
Dams and reservoirs are dependent upon rain...and all is good until a dry year. Also these are crucial for "black starts" of our power grid.

When electricity was first introduced a 30 Amp service was all a house needed. It has steadily increased to 100-150 amps per 1,000 Sq ft. Of living space in a house.
In some areas it can be as much as 200 amps @240v per 1,000 square ft.

Currently, the quiet dirty secret is that as the USA has intentionally moved towards more "renewable" forms of "clean" energy we have inadvertently created a power shortage.

And it is curbing economic growth. (This news will soon make the headlines)

We need to either retrofit and revamp old coal burning electricity generating plants or build new ones.

Currently if someone wanted to build a manufacturing facility of any sort anywhere in the USA their first question is not the available labor pool (which is a major concern) or their logistics of materials in and products out....but one of available power.
Currently here in Georgia no subdivisions can be built for single family housing in many areas because of a lack of available power.

If you build a manufacturing facility the factory will need power but also the homes of those employed and the ancillary jobs and homes as a result of the factory. (Daycares, restaurants, warehouses, logistic centers, fuel stations, grocery stores and home goods)

And there is currently not enough power to be granted a permit for the construction. There's supposed to be a nuke plant coming online soon....but it's only been 15 years and it's incomplete....also the uranium fuel is on backorder. (Need a stable supply and reprocessing center for spent fuel rods)

 

[talons]

However "Clean Coal" tech can turn this type of coal into diesel and can burn very cleanly. (Old WW2 technology)

The Germans were still using "coal diesel" trucks in the 50's after the war a visitor to Germany told me . There are people building wood gasifier trucks today .

 

[JohnDB]

The Germans were still using "coal diesel" trucks in the 50's after the war a visitor to Germany told me . There are people building wood gasifier trucks today .

Gasifiers are largely problematic. They are one of the worst methods. Literally everything becomes coated in varnish and needs to be cleaned for it to work again after just a week. (The gasses are that dirty burning)

Diesel engines?
Some you just can't kill with a shotgun....literally. There are lots of old tractors still running because they are Diesel engines.
Blown engine? New sleeves and off you go again.
This is why most military combat vehicles use JP8 (diesel formula) to operate everything from jets to tanks. But in truth...some Diesel engines can burn most every oil type....just a matter of filtering out particles. (So the injectors don't clog or overheat)
Marine engines are Diesel...they just burn marine diesel (drying agents added) to cross the oceans. Some generate electricity which then provides for electric motors to create propulsion. Others use transmissions. Just depends on the boat.