The Desalinator

Matt Marchand The Desalinator Adv. ID / 125

The Desalinator Adv. Ind. Design DSID 125 / 2017

Marchand

Objective Design a tool that makes it easier to live off grid.

Brothers Meet the Johnsons. Every year they do a trip together where they pack as little as they can and leave civilization for as long as they can. Designing for them means producing something that can handle the rigors of travel and the duresses of extreme conditions.

Needs vs Wants Everything began with Maslow’s heirarchy of needs.

This helped determine what areas were of actual importance to people outside the safeties of civilization. For example- what would keep someone alive days versus minutes? If it’s cold, a jacket. If it’s dry, water.

Research Into Technology Shelter / Warmth Earthquake Blanket: Used for post earthquake scenarios - Poron XRD high-impact foam gives Second Skin the unique ability to shield the user from small pieces of debris during aftershocks while also providing a level of comfort. Second Skin remains lightweight but rigid, and able to support the internal structure as well as the built-in stretcher.

Shelter Pop Up 1 & Shelter Pop Up 2 : Built to stay on ice and very cold conditions. Capable of generating heat, but conserving it too – producing a more efficient shelter and lasting warmth. The shell is made of a tough 600-denier fabric for incredible resiliency.

Batman Fabric: Jörg Weißmüller, a materials scientist in Germany has published his research on a new material which changes its strength, virtually at the touch of a button. This transformation can be achieved in a matter of seconds through changes in the electron structure of a material; thus hard and brittle matter, for example, can become soft and malleable. What makes this development revolutionary, is that the transformation can be controlled by electric signals.

Big Data / Internet to find Shelter: They used to have HAM radios in the future they could use data collection to help find shelter for people.

Tech in the next 10 years: Over the next few years the capabilities of robots are going to skyrocket as the AI and engineering technology are refined, making the possibility of shelter building robots more feasible. For example, a robot that digs a shelter out of the earth, similar to a roomba.

Smart Clothing: is another area where updating technology can impact survival. If clothing can adapt to warm it’s user then the probability of freezing to death in your sleep would be much less.

Biotech Breakthroughs that Will Change Medicine In the future biotechnology will be utilized not only to improve eyesight or missing limbs, but to enhance and accentuate many of the bodies natural functions. One example of this is a device or implant which would assist with regulating body temperature to help survival frigid conditions.

Shelter/Warmth Summary: Shelter or warmth necessary to staying alive. Without some form of shelter or warmth you’re going to get cold and die in your sleep. Technology in 2-3 years points towards materials that respond to electronic signals as well as ultra-light and ultra-strong materials with molecular engineered structures.

Energy / power Lithium-air batteries: Advances in materials technology is enabling the advance of high energy Li-air batteries which promise an energy density that rivals gasoline, offering a five-fold increase compared to traditional Li-Ion batteries. By using atmospheric oxygen instead of an internal oxidizer, these batteries could dramatically extend electric vehicle range.

Thermal storage: Accumulated from active solar collector or from combined heat and power, and transferred to insulated repositories for use later in various applications, such as space heating, domestic or process water heating.

Micro stirling engines: Micrometer sized power generators that transform energy into compression and expansion strokes. Could hypothetically be 3D-printed on the fly and cover entire heatgenerating surfaces in order to generate power.

Photovoltaic transparent glass: Glass with integrated solar cells which converts IR and some visible light into electricity. This means that the power for an entire building can be supplemented using the roof and façade areas.

Recycling Radio Waves: Electromagnetic energy harvester that can collect enough ambient energy from the radio frequency (RF) spectrum to operate devices

Water / Hydration Magic Stick: The magic stick allows someone to test the moisture content in soil. When placed into the ground it gives a simple indication; green for presence of water and red for none. This may be helpful for someone in a survival situation as it could help them locate an area to dig a seep for drinkable water.

Lifestraw: Charcoal filtration is a great way to filter out contaminants from suspect water sources. With products like the lifestraw, people have a better chance of survival because they will be able to get drinkable water.

Steripen: UV light that can kill bacteria in water. Useful for purifying a lot of water for a long period of time.

Water Bleach: Small amounts of bleach added to the collected water can kill harmful bacteria and make collected water safe to drink.

Water in the Wild: Digging a seep is a waste of energy if you can’t be guaranteed water is underground, this is where things like the magic stick would be useful Water out of Air: This is a good idea to have a plastic collection bag for collecting condensation. A bag is placed over a tree branch or plant and is then left out in the sun covered by the bag. Essentially sun heats the branch and cooks out the water within. The water is then collected in the bag. But in the how-to is not a product, but it can be...

Tree Bark Filer: Xylem is the tissue in plants that allows them to transport water throughout itself. By using the same method an MIT scientist noticed that it was possible to filter 99.9% of harmful bacteria from water with tree bark, rather than chlorine, iodine, or activated charcoal. This shows promise for an apple corer type tool that would allow a person to use wood to filter contaminants from their water and then dispose of the dirty wood once they are done.

Communication/ Mental Health NASA Finder: Low-powered microwave checking or irregularities and changes. Can detect a heartbeat through 20 feet of solid concrete.

LADAR: Plane flies by and is able to make a rapid 3-d model of the area recorded.

MicroMappers: A system used to gather images, text messages, phone calls, geo-location, etc.

Telepathy: Companies like CISCO are working on technologies to create telepathy from human to human aided through technology.

InTouch: Translates my movements into a form of communication that typically requires us to share the same physical space.

Drones: Autonomous drones are able to gather information below.

They communicate with each other to determine flight paths.

Nanoradio: Nanotechnology that uses nanotubes to act as a radio transmitter and receiver.

Dogs: Advanced harnesses are being used to gather even more data while a dog is looking for victims of disaster.

Consideration There is a large amount of technology out there but most of it is fragile and out-of place in rugged survival scenarios. Relying on only technology can be a dangerous crutch in dire times. Incorporating solid, analog solutions with tech will be the most sound way to go.

Special thanks to the research team: Andrew Amador, Dustin Eaton, Taylor Pask

Inspiration Seeing extreme athletes and explorers in action made brainstorming solutions easier.

The scenarios that always seemed the most dire took place in locations with little to no freshwater. I began to focus on opportunities with that as a possible backdrop.

A One of two top choices for the final direction. Getting food in deserts is difficult, yet cactus abounds in some deserts and is eaten by indigenous peoples.

Could be a source of nutrition.

B The other top choice for a final direction. Staying hydrated is always essential, yet the largest source of water in the world is undrinkable. Could be a source of hydration with the right tool.

Plan Ahead Researching future environment scenarios showed how Earth is rapidly getting hotter. Every year 12 million hectares are lost to desertification which accelerates the process even more. Because so many activites take place in or near these dry bodies of land, the need for a hydration solution was clear.

Opportunity With hydration as the focus the question became turning the ocean into a source of potable water in a self contained, easy to use product. All you have to do is remove the salt - simple right?

MIT Approved Early on, research on desalination techniques revealed one revolutionary method in particular called “shock electrodialysis.” It’s a simple process that, as Dr. Martin Bazant of MIT says: “The salt doesn’t have to push through something, the charged salt particles, or ions, just move to one side.”

Form & Function Understanding how the technology would function was essential to playing around with different configurations.

The filter was key to the whole process, so making it integrated while standing out at the same time was a big challenge.

Final Design Comprised of four parts - a filter, a body, and a base and a cork.

As the project progress some details were changed but overall the concept remained the same.

The Filter Based off the tech at MIT, the filter uses electrodialysis to separate the salt from the water.

A frit in the neck catches larger debris, while UV lights and a fine filter in the clean spout catch everything else. By using gravity to pass the water through the filter, the whole process is very low-energy. Every part of the filter is designed to be easily cleaned and replaceable. Works with lake and river water as well.

Context Visualizing the design in context was a good way to see how the desalinator “fit� into the world it was designed for.

Mockup Testing Small enough to be comfortable in the hand, big enough to hydrate efficiently. Finding the right size meant playing with proportions while asking people “Hey can you hold this for me and let me know how it feels?�

1

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36

56.85

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27.72

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218.5

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144.85

56.85

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54.86

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1 F

Ite 1

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B

B

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Filter

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Base

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Body

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Cork

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Qty

8

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54

em

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Part Number Item Qty

Filter Separates the brine from Separates PPS thePlastic brine from the clean water. the clean water.

Base Aluminum 6061up Container for scooping Container up for scooping nonpotable water nonpotable T6 0 water Cold Formed Body PET Container for the clean Container for Plastic the clean water water Individual Cork cap for canteen IndividualAsh cap for canteen opening. opening.

Description Part Number Parts List

5 6

3

Description Material

E

PPS Plastic Aluminum 6061 T6 0 Cold Formed PET Plastic Ash

F

F

Material

Parts List 6 7

7 8

E

8

Clarity Getting a complex, transparent form for the canteen body that reflected blow-molding manufacturing was tricky, but possible by 3D printing in clear resin on a Form Labs 2 printer.

One of the biggest difficulties was cleaning the scaffolding off without leaving marks.

The Desalinator

Your new drinking buddy.

Cheers.