This is off-topic so I'll apologize in advance and take all further discussion off-list, but water filtration is not strictly a mechanical process. Plants are very good at filtering for toxins and could be your post solar still filter. Ionizing the water pre-still or uv filtration could help cut scaling and bacteria buildup. If your using tap water your de-chlorination will probably happen in the still. I would probably inject a little chlorine bleach into the system occasionally to flush it and kill excessive bacteria buildup or a flexible wire w/a stiff nylon brush like used from cleaning gun barrels could be snaked through the solar still to aid in removing excessive bacteria. Although you could probably find organisms that live off that bacteria and/or provide food for the flora downstream.
I'm not a plant expert but I have seen some nice hydroponic setups that cleaned water to beyond any levels I've seen on a strictly mechanical system. [Completly off-grid.] From there depending on how stringent your standards are you can run it through a <insert micron level> gravity fed charcoal filter and voila potable water. This is not new technology as it was part of the biodome project. I have also seen a grey water (shower and sink water) recycling plant in Mexico. Comlpletly gravity fed complete w/solar still and used to irrigate lawns. The flora is one of the final stage of the filtering process before the water hits the aquifer. At which point it contains less toxins than the rain that falls in Mexico. I have pictures and probably the hard facts in my files somewhere. The problem is they are in Spanish and "Yo no habla espanol". Alta-vista doesnt do scientific terms. So now for the big tie-in. I know this isnt exactly bio-fuel for the car. But it is biolfuel for nature from waste. Reclaiming grey water is a great start for irrigating flora and ultimatly replenishing the aquifers. Its like liquid compost. Why waste tap water on a lawn when we have plenty of grey waste water? On another note I find that less industrialized countries are more open to alternative energies then are more industrialized ones. Industry with the support of the government is shifting the balance of nature. Mr Bush what good is technological advancement if we kill ourselves off w/the by-products? I dont want missle defense I want ozone defense. *end of sermon* cheers, cordain From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [biofuel] Water vs Energy Importance Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 11:38:41 +0900 Hello Kirk >Hello all > >Just joined the group a day or so ago. >Am semi retired former aerospacer. Have been interested in alternative >energy for over 25 years. >Ham, KC7THL, and read a bit. Live in North America, central Montana to be >more precise. > >The post below regarding potable water is worse than you know. You're quite right. It's hard to describe how serious it is. I just skimmed the surface because it's a bit OT. I didn't mention Europe, for instance, where most of the rivers are in a state of crisis. There are two issues here, water availability, and water quality, very much a double crisis, with very few countries exempted. Might help a bit if Mr Gates had had to pay $24 million instead of just $24,000 for squandering all that precious water, the stuff's way too cheap (like fuel). >70% of >drinking water in US is undrinkable in my estimation. Chemicals, hormones, >drugs and fertilizer to name a few. Many taps produce a head on the glass >due to soap residue. I have looked at solar stills and have come to the >conclusion only cement, glass, butyl and neoprene, and painted steel are >reasonably permanent construction. Efficiency is low and in the North >freezing stops operation. > >I thought a flat plate powered multistage might perform better. Imagine a >series of nnnnn shaped containers. They are in an insulated box. Source >water goes in left leg of n. insulation in between the 2 legs. Good themal >contact to next n and ech one in turn. Allowing a delta T of 15-20 degrees >per n the same BTU transports 3 times as much if 3 n deep. >Heat one end of stack and cool the other. Needs some thought re cleaning. > >*<The next comment is re fuels.>* > >I am told the acid hydrolysis is a reaction where you recover your chemicals >except for a bit of makeup. >Opens up a lot more options for fuel. If anyone has hands on with this sort >of thing I would like to hear their comments and critique of the website. > >http://www.arkenol.com/index.html#top > >Specifically I want to know about the Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis >methodology they describe at http://www.arkenol.com/tech01.html > >websites/businesses that are trying to create >non-petroleum besed fuels would be a good database to construct. Yes, big hassle to do though, and to maintain. But there are some plans afoot for useful db's, and this is a good suggestion, thanks. >All the best >Kirk Arkenol won't tell you much, none of them will. These references should help - especially the first, "Wood-Ethanol Report". From: Ethanol resources on the Web: Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link.html Ethanol from cellulose "Wood-Ethanol Report: Technology Review", Environment Canada 1999 -- good overview of the problem and the current solutions on offer. http://www.pyr.ec.gc.ca/ep/wet/section16.html Fuel From Sawdust -- by Mike Brown (from Acres, USA, 19 June 1983): Conversion of cellulose, such as sawdust, cornstalks, newspaper and other substances, to alcohol -- "a fairly uncomplicated and straightforward process". Go to the Biofuels Library. http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html Arkenol Inc. is a pioneer in processing cellulose biomas into ethanol: agricultural wastes, straw, leaves, grass clippings, sawdust or old newspapers. The company uses proprietary concentrated acid hydrolysis technology and is in the final development stages for a 48 million litre per year biorefinery in Sacramento, California processing rice straw. http://www.arkenol.com The Iogen Corporation of Canada is "the leader in developing and manufacturing ethanol-from-cellulose". The Iogen process is an enzymatic hydrolysis process for converting lignocellulosics to ethanol -- uses steam explosion pretreatment pioneered by the company and Iogen's proprietary enzymes. http://www.iogen.ca/fuels.htm BC International Corporation uses a genetically modified organism to produce ethanol from biomass wastes such as agricultural residues, municipal waste, and forest thinnings. Two-stage dilute acid hydrolysis process for the preparation of the sugar streams and two separate fermentations although both use the same organism. http://www.bcintlcorp.com/ "Ethanol Production in Hawaii", a "pre-feasibility" study who a focus on ethanol from cellulose. Includes comparison of the different processes: simultaneous saccharification and fermentation; concentrated acid hydrolysis, neutralization and fermentation; ammonia disruption, hydrolysis and fermentation; steam disruption, hydrolysis and fermentation; acid disruption and transgenic microorganism fermentation; concentrated acid hydrolysis, acid recycle and fermentation; and acidified acetone extraction, hydrolysis and fermentation. http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/ethanol/ethano94.html Good list of references: http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/ethanol/refs.html Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ >-----Original Message----- >From: Keith Addison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2001 11:11 AM >To: biofuel@yahoogroups.com >Subject: Re: [biofuel] Water vs Energy Importance > > >Hi Derek > > >Keith, > > > >Not to belittle your concern about water, its importance, and the >likelihood > >of wars being fought over it, but I still tend to feel that energy in one > >form or another is of utmost importance. > <snip> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! 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