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Page added on November 16, 2010
Water Crisis in the Arab World
The Arab world is heading for a huge water crisis in just five years. A recent report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) found that water levels are already dangerously low for the region, which contains 5% of the world’s population—about 360 million people—but only 1.4% of freshwater access. Today, the Arab region—including Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq—must manage with less than a quarter of the freshwater supplies available in 1960. The poorest Arab state—Yemen—is expected to literally run out of water in a few years. As population numbers swell—and they are expected to grow to nearly 600 million in the Arab region by 2050—the competition for scarce water resources will increase. Climate change will hurt water availability, too, and increase droughts. That, in turn, will impact agriculture yields. Already, some 85% of the Arab world’s water is used for agriculture—compared with 70% on average worldwide. “Without fundamental changes in policies and practices, the situation will get worse, with drastic social, political and economic ramifications,” reports the AFED.
Wealthier oil-producing Arab nations in the Persian Gulf rely mostly on expensive desalination plants for usable drinking water. But that’s less feasible for other nations, both because of the high cost and the need to power the plants. Egypt and Jordan have plans to build nuclear plants to power desalination facilities in the works, but those major undertakings will take years to achieve. The report urges the Arab world to act quickly, particularly in instituting better water management. A related article in Reuters notes that: “Governments, which often focus on seeking new supplies of water, should instead concentrate on improving water management, rationalizing consumption, encouraging reuse and protecting water supplies from overuse and pollution, AFED urges.”
2 Comments on "Water Crisis in the Arab World"
KenZ300 on Tue, 16th Nov 2010 9:59 am
“Reuters notes that: “Governments, which often focus on seeking new supplies of water, should instead concentrate on improving water management, rationalizing consumption, encouraging reuse and protecting water supplies from overuse and pollution, AFED urges.”
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They should also look at the ever expanding population. The elephant in the room.
A growing demand meets a shrinking supply..
Gerhard Laschober on Mon, 22nd Nov 2010 1:14 am
WATER INNOVATION Laschober Gerhard gml@aon.at
Drinking water by condensation from atmosphere air
in warm, dry regions with water shortages
using the waste heat from water production for CO2-free energy production
The region of use of this visionary idea, lies between 40th parallel of northern latitude and 40th parallel of southern latitude from the Equator, and includes hundreds of thousands of devices.
This vision is capable of solving urgent water shortage we are facing, using the innovations in the area of compressor-cooling technology, wind power stations, solar mechanisms and other technology, and also by using newly developed fabric for balloons. One device can generate approximately 300,000 liters of drinking water per day, at the same time it can generate electricity with output of 14MW – all of which would be sufficient for a community of approximately 10,000 inhabitants in dry, warm regions.
Device Description:
Chimney for air circulation made out of sheet metal with diameter of 30m and height of 100m, equipped with openings for light passage (on the metal chimney) made out of clear transparent glass on the side tilted towards the sun. A fabric chimney with the height of 700m and the same diameter of 30m is stacked on the top of the metal chimney.
Wind power generator working on the „Darius principle“ is attached to the chimney, and this generator is integrated around the metal chimney for the purpose of vertical paddle rotation.
In addition, a device for water condensation out of free air is installed here as well, capable of daily production of 300,000 liters, based on the principle of cooling machinery technology.
Wind turbine for utilization of ascending (anabatic) wind in the metal chimney is interconnected to the cooling compressor and the electricity generator via drive shaft, transmission and distribution device.
In addition to the above, parabolic grooves and/or optical hydraulic lenses, with grooves in its focal point are located here and are used for heating of air circulating upwards in the metal chimney, and these are located in the interior area of the metal chimney, in the area of opening for sun light passage.
Glass collectors for air heating are located at ground level in the surroundings of the metal chimney.
Fabric chimney is carried by the buoyancy force of the warm air balloons which are positioned in predetermined vertically distance about one another and are connected to the fabric chimney.
Operation Process
Rotor blades, installed around the 100-m-high metal chimney, permanently rotated by surrounded agitated wind drive the vertically positioned wind power device.
Output of the wind power device drives the several thousand KW powerful cooling compressors via drive shafts and gear.
During this process generated cold cools via conduits the condensation surfaces of the water condensation device. Large water quantity, being condensed from the warm, humid surrounding air on the cooled condensation surfaces are then stored for the consumer in the collector tanks.
Surrounding air flowing into the metal chimney is being heating in the heat exchanger by the large quantity of heat generated during the water condensation. This heat needs to be diverted into the metal chimney.
The air, warmed for free by the heat of the sun, from the glass collectors flows into the metal chimney as well. The total quantity of air flowing into the chimney is additionally heated by the outside metal walls of the chimney, specially engineered and heated by sun.
Parabolic mirror and/or optical hydraulic lenses in the areas of light openings of the metal chimney lead the sun rays into the focal point into the groves for air heating, where the circulating air is being additionally heated. The overall heat causes significant and intensive air circulation upwards in the metal and fabric chimney.
This free intensive air circulation through the chimney and out of the chimney is being utilized by the wind turbine, which subsequently powers the electricity generator and cooling compressor with the help of the drive shafts and transmission gear.
At night, the wind turbine in metal chimney is powered for free by the warm air circulating upwards. This air has already been heated by the heat from intensified water condensation and from surrounding air which has already been heated by the collectors’ heat accumulated during the day.
In order to minimize night-time heat loss, a fabric duct inside the metal chimney automatically is being activated to keep the air circulating upwards in distance from the cool metal wall.
Securing the chimney as prevention from common wind pressure is a matter of technology.
Inflow of warm air into the warm air balloons is automatically interrupted during the periods of unsafe force and speed of the wind, and the textile chimney is automatically folded down on the earth’s surface and will be secured. Ascending wind power turbine (for ascending anabatic wind) is then operating with reduced intensity of air flow in the chimney. Insufficient air flow energy is being compensated by increased wind effect on the vertical wind power device and balanced by transmission gear.
Three patents secure this innovation an can be bought. Proposals for buying out patent rights or for technical liaisons as well as other conversion proposals are welcome.
Gerhard Laschober
gml@aon.at