1. Most important source of water is rain.
Oceans form 70% of the earth’s surface and a good
amount of the rain falls in the sea and is wasted.
The proposed solution aims to harvest the wasted
rainwater which have been falling in the sea.
Sheets made of lightweight materials may be folded
and carried in boats.
The boats may sail in to places where rain is
expected in the sea, based on the weather reports.
When it is just about to rain, the sheets may be
quickly unfolded in the sea, to form a large floating
corrugated structure
When it rains, the rain water may be collected from
this corrugated structure and stored in floating
containers.
Around half a million cubic feet of water can be
harvested from the sheets spread across one sq.km
area in a 10-15 mm rainfall.
Embedded systems , software , electronic activators
… shall be designed for the fast expansion of these
folded sheets, to form the wide spread corrugated
structures floating over the sea surface.
The rain water thus harvested may be stored in a
cylindrical containers of 50-75 ft dia and 100-150 ft
length.
The differences in the densities of rain water and the
sea water ( 1 : 1.02 ) would give these containers
some good buoyancy.
These containers may be towed by small boats to
places where the water is required the most.
From the coast, the water may be pumped up to a
height to drain via natural water ways like rivers,
canals or be stored in water bodies like lakes .
To pump half a million cuft of water to a height of
100 meters, it may require about 2500 units of
electricity.
After the rain is over, the expanded corrugated
structure may be contracted and packed back in to
small size using the electronic activators and be
carried by the boat, to the next place where the rain
is expected.
The studies carried out by researches in Singapore
and Australia in the similar subject shall be looked at
in details for inspiration and Indianisation. ( for ref
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/025
08060.2010.533347 )
In India, with 1000 mm of annual average rain fallR ,
7500 km of coastline and millions of sq. km of ocean
surface potentially available for the exploration, this
technology, when perfected, can really be scaled up
to meet a major portion of the water requirements
Studies have to be instituted in material science
( best material to make the sheets, materials to make
the container ..etc ) sensors , activators, control
software etc ( to activate these structures faster for
best yields and with little or no impact to marine
biology)
These studies have the potential to make a deep and
meaning full impact in improving agriculture and
drinking water supply, particularly in the coastal
areas of India. Hence the Govt of India may please
offer support for deeper studies and building
prototypes & carrying out more experiments on this
subject, for the benefit of the nation.
Subramanian Ramasamy, . Email: rs2003@gmail.com : Ph : 9500072895
April 2016. Chennai.
Water – Rain water harvesting in Sea
Subramanian Ramasamy, Electrical Engineer with over 25 years of
Indian and International Experience in Research and Development.