Tuesday 19 November 2013

How to Make a DIY Desalination Kit

 


Sami Grover
           

BC Outdoor Survival/Video screen capture


Utility-scale desalination is incredibly energy intensive, making it a far-from-ideal source of fresh water. But with water shortages becoming more commonplace, we shouldn't discount the fact that we may one day need to tap into sea water just to allow ourselves a drink.
Solar desalination units hold a good deal of promise—especially in disaster relief situations—but what if you find yourself stranded without fresh water somewhere near the sea?
Paul Osborn of BC Outdoor Survival—the same guy who showed us how to cook a fish on a rock, and how to build a lightweight alcohol stove from a drinks can—explains how to build a simple still or desalination kit for use in emergency situations.


BC Outdoor Survival/Video screen capture


Sure, besides the use of a DIY drinks-can alcohol stove, there's nothing inherently green about this kit. In fact, from a purist environmental perspective it might be of most use as a demonstration of just how much energy it takes us humans to "manufacture" fresh water, and why we shouldn't take it for granted.
But as I've argued before, survival skills are sustainable even if you'll never need them, simply because they push us to reevaluate resources we might otherwise take for granted.


BC Outdoor Survival/Video screen capture


Anyhow, here's the component list and the full video. As usual, it's good to see Paul being fully transparent about what works, what doesn't, and what he might have done differently next time.
Thanks for another great video Paul!


 



Read More          

No comments:

Post a Comment