“Futurists and climate change researchers agreed that after oil, the next great precious resource would be potable H2O.”
A design proposal for the city of Santa Monica, “The Pipe” is a floating water desalination plant which creates pure drinking water from the salty ocean water. The plant is completely self-sufficient and all of its required energy created by its solar outer shell. Not only is The Pipe a sustainable water purification plant, it also provides a public amenity, extending the Santa Monica pier out into the Pacific ocean.
The Experience
Wrapped in your bathrobe, you breathe in the pure ocean air, contemplate the beautiful blue sea, and listen to the sound of the waves. Multiple pools of hot and cold, crystal clear salt-water invite you to a ritual that will let you forget the stress of your daily life and live a blissful moment.
You relax on the pool deck looking out to the ocean. Around you, the seamless and clean magic of technology is at work. Above, the solar panels are powering this beautiful, gleaming island of bliss. Below, the seawater comes through the pipes and goes through Electromagnetic Filtration; quietly providing your salt bath with crystal clear salty water, and the city with clean pure water. What you are witnessing is a change in the future of pure water.
From the Beach, a gleaming pipe floats in the horizon. Its a testament to our time. It reminds us about our dire dependence on water and on our need to appreciate and value this vital gift. It also teaches us that water is plenty and nature is kind. We just have to learn to work with it, keep it clean and appreciate it.
The Context
One of the most pressing issues today is the issue of drought.
Many around the world have experienced the devastating reality of water shortage and climate change first hand and have wondered about the future, and questioned around for possible solutions.
The issue is simple. Water never leaves our planet. Its simply displaced. Changed from drinkable water to one that is unfit for our consumption, because of impurities.
The impurities in the water consists of visible impurities (i.e. mud) and invisible ones (aka dissolved solids). The visible part can be filtered with basic procedures. It is the invisible impurities that make it very hard and costly to filter.
Cutting-edge Technology
Conventionally sea water has been treated by the very unsustainable and cost heavy system of Reverse Osmosis [RO] which is over 60 years old. This process uses excessive electricity, generates unwanted industrial waste and polluted water, and requires very expensive machinery.
A quick study reveals that %97 of seawater is pure water and only %3 of it is dissolved solids. Moreover, all dissolved solids in water, become ionized. This means that all dissolved solids in the water can be controlled through electromagnetic energy.
In Electromagnetic Filtration [EF] we use an isolated electromagnetic field on pipes circulating the seawater, separating the salts and impurities. The process is very rapid and extremely efficient. This process creates two byproducts:
Pure drinkable water that is directed into the city’s primary water piping grid.
Clean water with %12 salinity. Which is redirected back to the ocean through a Smart Release system, which is an eco-friendly method for returning the saline water to the sea.
Working with nature + reducing our impact
The challenge of Old Technology
In the traditional methods of desalination, natural seawater with salinity levels around 30,000 ppm is filtered, producing clean drinkable water in one hand, and saline water (Brine) with salinity levels above 120,000 ppm on the other hand. The clean water is directed for consumption, but the brine has to be handled and reintroduced back into the ocean. What complicates the situation are a number of things:
First are the chemicals that have been added to the brine water in order to maintain the brine and prevent biofouling, scaling, foaming and corrosion.
Second is that from an environmentally responsible approach, the saline water cannot be simply added back to the ocean as it can adversely change the marine ecosystem below. Therefore, the brine is typically added to a power plant’s cooling water runoff and then added to the ocean. This presents another issue as the water from power plants have a much higher temperature than the ocean, and cause a local rise in the water temperatures, further affecting the marine ecosystem.
Introduction of new methods
In Electromagnetic Filtration, we have completely re-engineered seawater purification. As EF works with the ionic characteristic of dissolved solids in water, it simply uses the magnetic field to cause the separation. The process is swift and seamless. No chemicals are ever introduced to the sea and water temperature is unchanged. The salty water remaining is sent to our Smart Release system. This system dilutes the salty water with seawater in a controlled tank to reach natural salinity levels. The water is then sprayed over an area of 2000 squared meters, seamlessly reintroducing the water back to the sea in a slow and well distributed method, such that local water samples are indistinguishable from elsewhere in the pier.
Lastly, the electricity consumption for 300,000 Gallons of water, can go over 4,500 kWh for a traditional desalination plant. While for an EF plant only about 2,500 kWh is needed to produce the same amount of water
The BUild
The structure of the building is constructed of recycled stainless-steel. The maximum external dimensions of the building are 428 m x 60 m, with a max heigh of 50 m.
Photovoltaic panels line the roof and the sides, providing solar power to the entire building. Wooden Decks, located in the bottom tubes, provide lounge areas and a lookout in various directions. The water treatment facilities are located at the lower section of the building, with limited access.
The Pipe challenges the assumptions about how we consider energy, resource generation and consumption. It showcases that if we understand the characteristics of nature and work with it, we can attain what we want without causing damage. With alternative energies, new concepts and public spaces can emerge, to create spaces where leisure and learning can take place.
Essentials
Annual Water Produced: 1,200,000,000 gal/year
Electricity Consumption: 2,500 kWh
Dimensions: 60 m x 428 m x a max heigh of 50 m. (W * L * H)
Order-of-Magnitude conceptual cost estimate: $150 Million Estimated
Projected annual sales: $200 mil per year.
Technology used in design: Electromagnetic Filtration (EF), Photovoltaic Panels
Primary materials used in design: Recycled Stainless steel
august 2016
“Solar-powered Pipe desalinizes 1.5 billion gallons of drinking water for California.”
Inhabitat / Read Full Article
august 2016
“solar-powered 'pipe' sculpture generates 4.5 billion liters of drinkable water from the ocean”
Designboom / Read Full Article
august 2016
“THE SOLAR-POWERED SCULPTURE THAT COULD DESALINATE 1.5 BILLION GALLONS OF DRINKING WATER FOR CALIFORNIA”
The Independent / Read Full Article
august 2016
“A gigantic floating pipe covered in solar panels could help save California from drought”
Business Insider / Read Full Article
