CLEAN FRESH WATER
Nearly a billion people lack access to fresh water. About half of the people of the developing world have disease and sickness due to insufficient amounts of fresh water. The US is approaching its reserve limits of fresh water. Only about 2 1/2 % of the world’s total water is fresh.
We have a design for a high rate sea water distillation plant for fresh water production. With a 20 million gallon per minute (Mgpm) of cold sea-water input, this plant will output 10 Mgpm of doubly flash distilled fresh water using fusion energy. This is is about the average flow rate of the Colorado River. Waste heat and brine would be discharged back into the ocean at another water level with salinity not exceeding 200% that of normal sea-water and a temperature not exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Output water quality does not even need to be tested. If it’s not of potable quality, it won’t be able to get out of the plant based on the plant’s hydraulic design. Dr. DeLuze designed wastewater treatment systems from 1972 through 1979 and is well versed in making such designs “idiot” proof. The water will be doubly vacuum distilled, high-quality, fresh potable water.
Fusion energy changes the relationships of all the engineering parameters. Free water is the fuel, so inexpensive construction and simple operation overshadow fuel efficiency considerations. Without inlet and outlet piping, this plant is estimated at a cost of about $15 billion in 2010.
Conservatively estimating evaporative and transport losses at 50%, the output of this plant would equal an irrigation capacity of about 8 million acre feet of water. Based on average US irrigation rates, 2.35 acre feet/acre/year (afay), this would irrigate about 3.4 million acres, around 5,360 mi.² about the area of the state of Connecticut. Based on US desert irrigation rates, about 5 afay, this would irrigate 1.6 million acres, around 2,520 mi². about the area of the state of Delaware