Starkindler (MechaVerse Series Book 1)

by Jeremy Cunkle

  L.E.A.D.S.

  Low-Energy Automated Desalination System

  Summary:

  Global weather patterns are increasingly contributing to environmental factors making water resources in some regions unpredictable. Local water resources are being strained in their attempts to accommodate increased population growth combined with industrial scale farms. LEADS is a coastal based, supplementary source of fresh water for farmers and metropolitan regions from the only major untapped water source left, the oceans. LEADS excels in regions where current desalinization solutions are cost and energy-consuming prohibitive. LEADS can be modularly scaled to supplement production of fresh water to assist city planning authorities of all sizes and farmers with reliable reserves of fresh water, thereby reducing the variables of nature. Additionally, LEADs can be remotely operated and monitored as well as fully automated.

  Due to the likely remoteness of LEADS locations, in an ideal environment, this system can be one hundred percent powered by renewable energy and uses the largest renewable water source that exists with extreme efficiency by replicating natural processes of evaporation. With a focus on keeping costs low, mature technology such as water pumps and water towers will be used alongside natural processes, synergistically reducing the environmental impact. In times of emergency, LEADS can assist emergency planning authorities by rapidly reversing the flow of water from the reservoir to the city; thereby providing storm drainage for a flooded metro or water source. An additional benefit of the system is when compared to existing permanent reservoirs as the result of dams; LEADS can provide the same benefits using a fraction of the space and without having nearly the damaging effect on the local areas ecosystem.

  Objective:

  LEADS is a low-cost, minimal maintenance, automated and modular alternative solution that is scalable to near infinite quantities in order to supplement fresh water reserves in arid environments, serving as an additional reservoir for city planning authorities and farmers to count upon to even out fluctuations in weather patterns. LEADS is intended as a supplementary resource of fresh water.

  Overview:

  Utilizing tidal action to channel seawater inland, taking into account systems for both high and low tide, seawater will be collected into a large reservoir. Water pump(s) will draw sea water from the reservoir, transferring it to an adjacent water tower, which will then channel sea water farther inland using gravity. Sea water will arrive at a large glass warehouse (greenhouse) structure where it will distribute evenly across the base layer of the structure no deeper than ¼ inch. Mirrors outside of the glass structure will re-direct additional sunlight towards the structure, increasing the temperature inside by as much as possible, creating an ideal evaporation environment for the sea water.

  Along the perimeter of the structure will be a hydrophobic collection basin adjacent to the walls, set ½ an inch above the water line, to collect the evaporation that accumulates on the walls, and then channel it to a fresh water reservoir (enclosed) outside of the glass structure. In the center of the glass warehouse will be a hydrophobic structure in a shape loosely resembling an upside down triangle, hanging from the ceiling, that will collect evaporated water, depositing the now fresh water via gravity into a large funnel structure inset the greenhouse floor. The funnel will channel the fresh water into pipes underneath the glass structure and out into the second freshwater reservoir (enclosed) outside. A second pumping station ideally powered by solar and/or wind power will pump water from the fresh water reservoir (enclosed) to the destination metropolitan water treatment station or a reservoir such as a lake that farmers use for irrigating their crops.

  Nightly maintenance of the glass structure will have an automated boom that will slide slowly across the floor, pushing the salt and leftover waste deposits into collection points with the greenhouse where it will be mixed with leftover seawater and pumped back out to the ocean by a third pumping station that will ideally be powered by solar and/or wind power.

  In time of emergency flooding in a nearby metro or destination reservoir, all of the intakes from the ocean can be stopped remotely, and the flow of water to the metro can be reversed, allowing LEADS to continue serving as a reservoir and balance out the metro’s water supplies as needed thereby helping alleviate or prevent flooding.

  Technical details:

  Using natural tidal actions and gravity, sea-water will flow through enclosed concrete tubes multiple feet in diameter around one or two miles inland to be collected by a man-made reservoir. The reservoir must be far enough inland to avoid damaging storm surge and must be large enough to accommodate several hours’ worth of draw by the water pumping station and water tower. There will be two channels, one for high-tide and one for low-tide, along with sluice gates that can close both channels during times of storms. Each intake channel will be protected by fences that will keep out large matter.

  The reservoir will feed an adjacent water tower via use of water pump(s). The size of the water tower will depend on the distance needed for the water to travel to the glass evaporation structures as well as to accommodate the necessary volume of water to supply the glass evaporation structures. A concrete tunnel several feet in diameter will transport water from the water tower to the glass evaporation structures utilizing gravity.

  Ideally, offshore wind generators will combine with solar panels to minimize the environmental impact of LEADS as much as possible. Diesel generators are recommended as backup power sources. LEADS will primarily operate during daytime hours, and be most productive in direct sunlight and high temperatures that promote the greatest evaporation rates.

  Each glass evaporation structure will be several acres in size, approximately 20’ ft in height, and scaled to width and length as needed. The glass structures can be modularly scaled to desired output of fresh water. Example: A new car manufacturing plant proposed by Nevada for Faraday Futures will cover 900 acres or 3,000,000 million sq. ft. As the ideal location for a LEADS facility is an arid, desert environment, availability of little used land should be achievable allowing for the productive use of acreage.

  The glass structures will act similarly to greenhouses, promoting the greatest amount of evaporation possible in order to turn salt-water into fresh-water. As the water within the glass structures evaporate, droplets will condense and form along the outside perimeter walls, ceiling, and the primary collection device. The primary collection device will be a lightweight hydrophobic surface hanging from the center of the ceiling in an upside down three dimensional triangle shape that will allow the water vapor to collect on it and then run down to the point which will be directed at a funnel set within the base of the glass structures several inches above the water line so as to avoid contamination by salt water. The fresh water will be collected and dispersed out to an enclosed fresh water reservoir from which it will travel to either a metropolitan water treatment plant or reservoir. A second pump will be needed to transport the water from the fresh water reservoir to the final use destination.

  Nightly maintenance of the facility will be conducted by a boom sweeping across the floor of the glass structure, pushing the salt and waste products into collection points where it will be mixed with salt water to create a slurry. A third channel will be present allowing for salt and other waste products to be collected, mixed with salt water to the point of creating enough of a slurry that it can be pumped back out to either the ocean or an open pit where it can evaporate off.

  THANK YOU!!

  I would like to express my sincerest thanks to you, for reading Starkindler, book one of the MechaVerse series. You can only ever truly guess at my desire hoping that you have enjoyed reading this novel, and my ardent hope that you will choose to read the next book in the series,

  NEMESIS

  which will be released October 2016. I will be posting many updates on the website jbeverhart.com where I hope to interact with any readers who wish to do so. Please, if you enjoyed this novel at all, head over there or to Amazon
.com, or the website where you purchased it, and leave a review as well as a star rating. A simple sentence expressing your opinion means the world to artists such as myself, it does not need to be long or detailed (but more power to you!) just a quick note that you enjoyed the story, goes such an incredibly long way to helping others enjoy this novel as well. Again, I cannot begin to express how important that simple five minutes of honest feedback are, but once again, allow me to express my humble thanks.

  Thank you again for reading!!

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