How to get water on a desert island, if you suddenly find yourself on one? This question comes and should come first to you in organizing your leisure time in conditions of survival on a desert tropical island. How you ended up on the island is another question, some came specially, some were shipwrecked, etc. The extraction of water remains the most important issue, everything else - then, the main thing - water!

And it's only in films that people immediately find a life-giving source of water on it, which is shown in the photo on the right. In real life, such cases are extremely rare, so you should not rely on such a source at all!

Such a source can only be found on a volcanic island, besides, it must have mountains that trap clouds and give rise to all these streams and rivers. But on a coral island or a volcanic one, but without large mountains, such a source cannot be found. So, you have to rack your brains over the question. how to get water on this island...

The very first and simplest option for extracting water is. If there are no coconut trees on your beach, then you should go to another one where they are. It's only in the movies that everyone has a bunch of resources - palm trees and streams are all around, but in fact palm trees do not grow everywhere on the islands, and there are islands where there are none at all! I myself have met such!

If you are still lucky with palm trees, and you probably will, then you have a source of drinking water. Among other things, coconut water contains a wide variety of salts that your body needs (after all, salts come out with sweat), as well as sugars and vitamins. But remember that coconut water is weak and you should not drink a lot of it. 2-3 green coconuts a day is enough. You don’t need to lose excess moisture with diarrhea!

Young coconuts can contain up to 1 liter of water, but you should not risk your life by climbing a coconut palm, you can also eat fallen, ripened coconuts. At the same time, you can use coconut copra and other parts of it.

young coconuts

In addition to coconuts, solar distillers can and should be used. With the help of such a distiller, you can extract water from almost any other non-fresh water. For example, from sea water or your own urine, as well as from plant leaves.

Homemade solar watermaker

The solar watermaker is simple. Here is one of his examples:

• A hole breaks out
• A container is placed in the hole in which we will collect fresh water.
• At the bottom of the hole, on the side of the container, put the leaves. If instead of a hole we use a larger vessel (which is more desirable), for example, a bucket, a large jar, etc., then any water can be poured into the vessel.
• We tightly close the hole / large vessel with plastic wrap. In the center of the film, right above our container, we place a weight so that the condensate rolls down the film and enters the container.

Water processed through a distiller is practically distilled, so a small part of sea water can be added to it. But if you have an unlimited supply of coconuts, then you should not mix fresh water with sea water.

Solar desalination device

Well, if at the time of your stay on the island it will be the rainy season. Then you just need to collect rainwater! All the containers that you only have, all the polyethylene, everything that you can somehow pour water into, use it to collect rainwater!

Well, if you find bamboo on the island - this is an indispensable thing in terms of survival! You can make water containers out of bamboo, you can make a roof for your shelter, with water flowing in the right direction. Bamboo has many uses. It can boil water, store water. If you make a hole in a damp bamboo stalk, drinking water will pour out.

You can also try digging wells, which after a while can fill with water. This applies to both volcanic islands and coral ones.

Well on Coral Atoll, Marshall Islands

During the hot season, such wells can dry up, but the rest of the time the water will be in it constantly, thereby providing you with a constant source of fresh water. You no longer have to think about how to get water, and you can take care of other important things.

Sailors and shipbuilders were the first to think about how to desalinate the water of the seas and oceans. Indeed, for sailors, fresh water is the most valuable cargo on board. You can survive during a storm, endure the heavy heat of the tropics, survive separation from the earth, eat corned beef and crackers for months. But what about without water? And hundreds of barrels of ordinary fresh water were loaded into the holds. Paradox! After all, there is an abyss of water overboard. Yes, water, but salty, and to the point where it is 50 to 70 times saltier than drinkable water. It is natural, therefore, that the idea of ​​desalination is as old as the world.

Even the ancient Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote: “Evaporating, salt water forms fresh water ...” The first experience of artificial water desalination recorded in written sources dates back to the 4th century BC.
The legend says that St. Basil, who was shipwrecked and left without water, understood how to save himself and his comrades. He boiled sea water, saturated sea sponges with steam, squeezed them out and got fresh water ... Centuries have passed since then and people have learned how to create desalination plants. The history of water desalination in Russia began in 1881. Then, in a fortress on the shores of the Caspian Sea, near present-day Krasnovodsk, a distiller was built to supply the garrison with fresh water. It produced 30 square meters of fresh water per day. This is very little! And already in 1967, an installation was created there, which provided 1,200 square meters of water per day. Now more than 30 distillers operate in Russia, their total capacity is 300,000 square meters of fresh water per day.

The first large plants for the production of fresh water from sea appeared, of course, in the desert regions of the world. More precisely - in Kuwait, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Here is one of the largest oil and gas fields in the world. Since the early 1950s, several seawater desalination plants have been built in Kuwait. A powerful distillation plant in combination with a thermal power plant operates on the island of Aruba in the Caribbean. Now desalinated water is already being used in Algeria, Libya, Bermuda and the Bahamas, and in some parts of the United States. There is a seawater desalination plant in Kazakhstan on the Mangyshlak peninsula. Here, in the desert, in 1967, a man-made oasis grew - the city of Shevchenko. Among its main attractions are not only the world-famous powerful nuclear power plant, a large seawater desalination plant, but also a carefully thought-out water supply system. There are three water lines in the city. One is high-quality fresh drinking water, the second is slightly brackish, it can be washed and watered plants, the third is ordinary sea water used for technical needs, including sewerage.

Installation for water desalination at the Shevchenko nuclear power plant (1982).

More than 120 thousand people live in the city, and each of them has no less water than Muscovites or Kyivans. Enough water and plants. And to drink them is not such a simple matter: an adult tree drinks 5-10 liters per hour. But nevertheless, for every inhabitant there is 45 square meters of green space. This is almost 1.5 times more than in Moscow, 2 times more than in Vienna famous for its parks, about 5 times more than in New York and London, 8 times more than in Paris.

One of the most important problems of the modern world is the lack of drinking water. The issue of its shortage is relevant for almost all countries and continents. The essence of the task is not the extraction or delivery of fresh water, but its production from salt water (https://reactor.space/government/desalination/) .

Relevance of the problem

If the water contains up to one gram of salt per liter, it is already suitable for consumption in limited quantities. However, if this indicator approaches the ratio of ten grams per liter, such a liquid can no longer be drunk. There are also a number of restrictions for drinking water regarding the content of microorganisms and organic components in it. Thus, obtaining a pure liquid is a rather complex multilevel process.

The most popular way to obtain drinking water is desalination. Moreover, this method is relevant not only for regions with an arid climate, but also for Europe and America. Getting fresh water from salt water is the best way to solve the problem.

A variety of fluid deposits with a high salt content can be found in almost any region of the planet. There are no conditions for the reproduction of microorganisms. The brines lie at a relatively large depth, which excludes the occurrence of external pollution by hazardous chemical elements. You can also get fresh water from sea water. In this article, we will look at the most popular ways to solve this problem.

Distillation of water by boiling

This technique has been used since ancient times. There are several types of distillation in use today. The bottom line is to bring the liquid to a boil, and condense the vapor. The result is desalinated water.

Two popular technologies are used to produce a liquid in a significant volume. One of them is called multi-column distillation. The essence of the technology is to bring the liquid to a state of boiling in the first column. The resulting steam is used to transfer heat to the rest of the columns. This technique is effective. With its help, you can get fresh water on an industrial scale. However, this technology is very energy intensive. Therefore, in our time it is used quite rarely.

Flash distillation has been found to be more efficient. The essence of the technology is the evaporation of salty liquid in special chambers. In them, the pressure indicator is gradually reduced. Accordingly, to obtain water vapor, a lower temperature indicator is needed. That is why this technology is more efficient.

There are two more methods of distillation: membrane and compression. They arose as a result of the modernization of the first two technologies. Membrane distillation is based on the use of a hydrophobic type membrane that acts as a cooling coil. It retains water while letting steam through. Compressive distillation is based on the use of compressed (superheated) steam in the first column.

All of these technologies have the same drawback. They are too energy intensive. It takes four hundred and twenty kilojoules to heat a liquid from zero to one hundred degrees. And to change the state of water from liquid to gaseous, it will already take two thousand two hundred and sixty kilojoules. Equipment operating on the principle of the considered technologies consumes from three and a half or more kilowatts per hour per cubic meter of the resulting desalinated liquid.

Distillation by the sun

In southern countries, solar energy is used to carry out the distillation process. This allows you to significantly reduce the cost of desalination of salt water. To perform the distillation process, you can use solar panels or directly thermal energy from the Sun. The simplest in technical terms is the technology based on evaporators. The latter are special prisms made of glass or plastic into which salty liquid is poured.

As a result, solar energy raises the temperature of the water. The liquid begins to evaporate and precipitates in the form of condensate on the walls. The drops emerging from the steam flow into special receivers. As you can see, the technology is very simple. Of its minuses, it is worth highlighting the low rate of efficiency. It does not exceed fifty percent. Therefore, this technology is used only in poor regions. With its help, it is possible to provide fresh water at best to a small village.

Many engineers continue to work on modernizing the considered technology. Their main goal is to increase the output of such systems. For example, the use of capillary films can significantly improve the performance of solar distillers.

It should be noted that systems powered by alternative energy sources are not the main tool in obtaining fresh water. Although, their use does not require significant costs for the distillation process.

Other technical solutions can be used to remove salts from the liquid. A fairly popular method of water purification is electrodialysis. To implement the method, a pair of membranes is used. One of them is necessary for the passage of cations, and the second is used exclusively for anions. Particles are distributed over the membranes under the influence of direct current. Such a solution is often implemented in conjunction with solar and wind generators.

Reverse osmosis

Water desalination technologies are constantly improving. Reverse osmosis is becoming more and more popular these days. The bottom line is the use of a semi-permeable membrane. A saline liquid passes through it. As a result, particles of salt impurities remain on the side where the pressure indicator is excessive.

The reverse osmosis method is the most economical. Especially if it is used for desalination of water with non-critical salt content. In this case, one kilowatt-hour of energy can be enough to produce one cubic meter of water. Therefore, reverse osmosis technology is considered the most promising.

Results

Each water desalination method has its own characteristics. To produce fresh water on an industrial scale, it is necessary to select the most economical and efficient option. The reverse osmosis method is by far the most effective.

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We live in a unique place - the Earth, which, although it has a lot of land, is still mostly covered with water. We swim in it, we navigate it, and most importantly, we drink it. Unlike many animals, we are unable to get enough fluid just from fruits and vegetables – we need to drink regularly to stay hydrated. But only the body of water has another unique property - it is almost all salty. The percentage of fresh water is surprisingly small. Yes, we are used to it, because such water enters our homes and is sold in stores. But what if we suddenly did not have access to fresh water, if we only have sea water? Then it needs to be refreshed. Let's see how this can be achieved.

You will need:

This method is also called sublimation. It is easy to implement even at home, although it will not provide a large amount of liquid.

Take an ordinary saucepan, into which salt water is poured. Next, you need to cover this pan with a lid and put on fire. Gradually, condensation will accumulate on its cover.

However, even when the lid is removed, most of the fresh drops will flow back into the pan, so this impromptu device needs to be slightly improved.

• A hole is drilled in the lid of the pot.
• A flexible tube is inserted into it, for example, a coil from a moonshine still.
• Its other end is lowered into an empty vessel.
• Next, you need to cover the tube with a damp cloth so that the steam in it cools.
• It will condense and fall into an empty vessel.

As a result, only salt will end up in the heated pan, and only distilled water will remain in the second vessel.

Please note, however, that there will be no salt in such a liquid at all, and therefore thirst will be quenched poorly.

It is better to pour a small amount of salt water into it.

With this method, special precipitating reagents are used. They interact with the salts found in sea water and form compounds that are insoluble. Therefore, they settle and they can be filtered out without any problems.

This approach has its disadvantages, in particular, the high cost of reagents, the slowness of the reaction, a large number of necessary reagents.

Therefore, this method is used very rarely, but in everyday life it is not used and almost never at all.

This method is predominantly industrial and has been used for a long time. It is based on the use of two semi-permeable membranes made of cellulose acetate or polyamide. Small water molecules can pass through them without any restrictions, while larger salt ions, as well as other impurities, are trapped and prevented further.


It is difficult to achieve desalination of a large amount of liquid in this way, and in everyday life such a method is difficult to implement - it is suitable for industrial enterprises.

This desalination method seems to be very simple in its idea, but in its implementation it is quite labor- and resource-intensive. The idea is based on the fact that salt does not get into the ice when frozen, because the formation of ice occurs only from water molecules.

The largest amount of fresh water in nature is found in all kinds of glaciers.

Usually the Eskimos resort to this method. They expose a container of salt water to frost, and then wait until ice crystals form there. This ice is collected and melted - and the water is drinkable.

Water- the source of life for all living things, but you need to distinguish which water is useful and which is not. Approximately 99% of all the waters of the earth is the water of the oceans and seas, that is, salt water, is unsuitable for consumption. Many people in the world need living, fresh water, and today we will tell you how to get fresh water from salt water.

How to make fresh sea water at home?

Fresh water differs from salt water in the amount of salt and other chemical elements. The most popular way is to separate salts from water by distillation.
This method consists in heating water to the boiling point, and collecting vapors in the form of condensate. This method is well described in the article - .

There is also another way, the so-called - desalination. It consists in the fact that salt water is passed through a membrane that can only pass pure water without salt components. But this type of purification is not very effective, since the membrane passes a very small amount of water over a long period of time.