Energy vs Water – Preventing Shortages with New Technology (Part 4)

While Singapore and Malta are taking steps toward preventing future water shortages, there are a few technologies that may be on the forefront of saving and recycling wastewater for a variety of applications.

An Eye on the Manufacturers

In one day, a semiconductor chip-making plant can use the same amount of water that a medium-sized city would use. Environmental Metrology Corporation has developed an electrochemical system that boasts reduction of water use by as much as half. This technology will help chipmakers verify when contaminants have been fully removed from silicon wafers.

The system operates using both hardware and software to sense when the wafer has been adequately rinsed through electrical impedance. This technology isn't just good for the water preservation, but also for companies who save money by having less water waste to process. A typical chip-making plant can use anywhere between 2 -to-4 million gallons of water a day due to the "more is better than less" philosophy when rinsing wafers.

So Crazy it Just Might Work

Atmospheric Vortex Engine

This energy-harnessing scheme relies on hurricane power, which releases enough mechanical energy to power Earth for several years. Louis Michaud, a Canadian engineer, plans on creating an Atmospheric Vortex Engine, a large cylindrical room filled with warm air and steam. Theoretically, once the whirlwind is created, the vortex should become stable and drive a turbine. This system is expected to produce 200 megawatts per 200-meter-diameter machine.

Urine Powered Cars

Gerardine Botte, a chemical engineer at Ohio University, has created a technology that effectively converts urine to hydrogen for fuel-cell powered cars. Urea, a component of urine, has four hydrogen atoms per one molecule. These hydrogen bonds are much easier to break than water. Water is usually used as the source of hydrogen in fuel cells. However, water requires 1.23V to split the molecules, whereas urea only needs .37V.

Studying Mangroves

Mangroves, a type of tree that thrives in saline habitats, trap 97% of the salt in their roots. The salt that does not get trapped in the root system is excreted by the leaves and eventually blown off in the wind as salt crystals. Humans believe that the best desalination method is reverse osmosis, which requires high energy and frequent changing of membranes. Don't get your hopes up too high. Technologies derived from mangroves have not yet eliminated the toxic brine by-product from all desalination processes.

Are these crazy schemes foolish ventures or innovative ideas?

Resources

infoTECH – Tech Firms Have an Eye on Water-Saving System

IEEE Spectrum – Powered by Crazy