Patent Application
20160076229
The present invention relates to use of artificial large scale structures for massive scale rainwater harvesting at high altitudes. More specifically, the present invention pertains to modular, mobile structures for harvesting and redistribution of rainwater.
The world's freshwater resources are unevenly distributed around the planet: over 60% of the Earth's freshwater supply is found in just 10 countries. Severe water stress affects 3 billion people, two-thirds of whom reside in the BRIC countries. Water needs are quickly increasing in emerging economies such as China and India, which together account for nearly 40% of global population and a third of global water demand. Moreover, water resources in many developing countries are becoming heavily polluted and unsuitable for human use. Inadequate water resources could be an impediment to growth as developing nations face rapidly growing demand for food and energy.
The global rainfall is about 500,000 cubic kilometers, 1% of which could sufficiently supply the global water consumption at about 4,000 cubic kilometers. Interestingly, the worldwide precipitation has increased by about 2% in the last century, while distribution of rainfall changes slowly over time, as influenced by the overall global climate factors, which contributes to regional floods and droughts. Hence, one novel solution to the global challenge and need for fresh water is a systematic, manmade, economical collection of rainwater in regions with a high precipitation rate and redistribution of the collected water to regions which do not have access to a sufficient amount of fresh water.
While rainwater harvesting at smaller scales, from small and large buildings' roof tops and in natural and manmade ponds for local use have been used for centuries, redistribution of massive amount of fresh water from one region to another, would require massive amount of energy, which would make such plans prohibitively uneconomical. Furthermore, more than 90% of rainwater occurs over oceans, so regardless of energy requirement, there are no current solutions for massive scale offshore rainwater collection and redistribution.
This energy requirement problem is, of course, solved in nature where rainwaters are collected at mountain tops, maintaining the potential energy of rainwater, which is then the driving force behind rivers flowing down the mountain tops and through far reaching regions. To mimic this natural phenomenon via manmade systems, one must then build harvesting systems which can collect rainwater at high altitudes, and use the potential energy of the collected rainwater for long distance transportation of harvested rainwater.
Furthermore, any rainwater harvesting system need to be able to deal with high winds, especially at higher altitudes, as normally high winds are associated with rainy weather. Finally, any rainwater harvesting system needs to be able to deal with very high winds associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, as such climates could be a normal part of operating conditions in regions with high precipitation rates. Given these challenges, today, there is no solution for massive scale rainwater harvesting at high altitudes.
The present invention addresses challenges related to massive scale rainwater harvesting from regions with high precipitation rates and long distance transportation of the collected rainwater to regions with low precipitation rates, and encompasses features and advantages which makes the system robust, scalable and mobile.
This invention comprises modular, lightweight, large scale structures for harvesting massive amounts of rainwater (millions of gallon per day) at high altitudes (100 to 1000 meters), and extracting the potential energy of the harvested rainwater. In essence these structures represent artificial mountains.
In one embodiment of this invention, each rainwater harvesting structure, or module, is made of composite modular building-blocks, which enables rapid assembly and disassembly of the structures to create a mobile solution.
In accordance with an advantageous feature of the present invention, the composite construction material is made of abundant and waste materials such as lignin and recycled plastics. The micro-structure of the composite building-blocks is a honeycomb structure, which provides super strong, lightweight construction material.
In accordance with additional features of the present invention, the potential energy of the collected rainwater is naturally converted to kinetic energy, as collected water flows from high altitudes towards ground level. This kinetic energy could be used for immediate long distance transportation of harvested rainwater or is converted to electricity using power generating turbines.
The invention description below refers to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, the present invention is generally characterized as artificial constructions that can be constructed and arranged as high altitude rainwater harvesting and energy extraction modules and systems.
The conceptual designs in
The building-blocks, and modular sections of the self-supported tower or guyed tower, which are also modular and built of smaller sections, are connected together via spring-loaded connections, or vibration-dampening connections, to allow a flexible structure, which could sway with wind for increased overall stability and robustness in high winds. For example, Duerr et al., “Variable stiffness smart structure systems to mitigate seismic induced building damages,” Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, vol. 42, no. 2, 2013, p 221-237, discuss the performance improvement because of the retrofitting of building structures using the variable stiffness devices.
One additional advantageous feature of the invention is that it could be used for onshore and offshore rainwater harvesting. While onshore each RHM is supported by the ground, or a concrete foundation on the ground, for offshore operations, each RHM, or a group of RHMs, are equipped with lighter-than-water craft bases, which are tethered to the sea floor, as illustrated in
The composite material for construction of modular sections of a RHM, as illustrated in
The composite is made of low cost, durable, strong materials. One advantageous feature of the present invention is the use of lignin reinforced composite polymer materials, which could be made of abundant waste products, including lignin and recycled plastics. For example, Thakur et al., “Progress in Green Polymer Composites from Lignin for Multifunctional Applications,” ASC Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2014, 2 (5), p 1072-1092, offer a comprehensive review of lignin-based materials for engineering applications, including strategies for modification of lignin and fabrication of composites. In another example, Setua et al., “Lignin reinforced rubber composites,” Polymer Composites, vol. 21, no. 6, 2000, p 988-995, discuss the advantages of lignin reinforced rubber composites.
Other examples of construction materials including but not limited to metals; metal foils; unreinforced polymers, such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylic resins, styrene resins, polyurethanes, polysulfones, and combinations thereof; reinforced polymers, such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, acrylic resins, styrene resins, polyurethanes, polysulfones, and combinations thereof, containing mineral filler, carbon fiber, glass fiber, nanomaterials, ceramics and combinations thereof; and combinations thereof. The structure could be covered, or coated, with flexible, light weight, photovoltaic material, so it could collect solar energy which is converted to electricity for use in operations or is stored for later use.
One additional advantageous feature of the invention is that each rainwater harvesting module can be used as a platform and foundation for wind energy convertors such as power generating turbines for high altitude wind power harvesting.
This application is in continuation of a U.S. provisional patent application, App. No. 61/953,853, filed on Mar. 16, 2014, entitled Commercial Scale Rainwater Collection and Redistribution, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
