In 2019, I started working on this idea and filled a patent application to create a floating desalination water apparatus and got it in August 2024. As I have the patent, I’m ready to share more information.

The system requires minimal maintenance, especially since it is made of easily available recyclable materials.

The idea was to enhance the evaporation rate with various methods and yet scale the project as we progress providing modularity. We developed a prototype, though rough, and found out that the rate of evaporation can be greatly enhanced from 3 liters with a simple solar still to 10-12 liters of water/m²/day when the seawater temperature is above 30°C.

Why I designed it?

• 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, which is 466 billion gallons of water, enough to sustain all life on the earth.
• Most of the fresh water is trapped in glaciers and icebergs underwater, with less than 1% of fresh water accessible.
• Severe water shortages are experienced in the Middle East, Spain, North Africa, and the Indian subcontinent.
• Water shortages impact human development and cause conflict.
• Desalinating seawater requires a lot of fossil fuels and results in salty brine.

Thus, I worked to design a module called Pressure Enhanced Scalable Desalination Apparatus ( PESDA).

The Benefits of PESDA

• PESDA is modular in nature and can be easily scaled up.
• PESDA uses solar panels to create a pressure differential and requires no additional land.
• PESDA can be moved if needed, making it resilient to climate change. Maintenance and Scaling.
• It generates more brine as the apparatus is always in touch with seawater, so no brine generated.

As materials have gotten cheaper and use cases have diversified, the design of the apparatus has changed.

Few learnings:

• Instead of a pyramidal structure, we found that an eight-sided structure helps increase the evaporation rate by 8 to 10%. Any gain is important.
• Instead of multiple smaller pumps, a single powerful pump calibrated at a certain height is sufficient to create a pressure differential. This means that a single floating platform is adequate to build it instead of multiple platforms.
• Air-cooled condenser works better in higher latitudes.
• There is no one-size-fits-all solution though we strive to achieve it. It’s mostly because of regulations, local conditions and economic considerations.

If you are an island dweller, village, or island community leader and looking for fresh drinking water solutions, we are looking to collaborate and build floating seawater desalination devices that islanders can run and maintain:

What we need is:
🪵 basic material such as coconut wood available on the island so that islanders can learn to build the edges of the platform.
🔨 local workshop to finish the installation of the platform.
🚣 support from fishermen to deploy devices offshore.

What we bring:
🔋 necessary equipment for energy, filtration, and storage.
🎓 knowledge and instruments to increase desalination speed.

NOTE: We cannot support industrial applications such as coal plants that want a consistent large amount of water irrespective of the season or weather. Our desalination efforts are focused on regions that experience seasonal water scarcity.

Reach out to contact@kdt.systems