Finding potable water can often be an ongoing struggle, and BMW Group designer Stephan Augustin has come up with an effective solution in the form of his waterproof and mobile watercone.
Simply place it over any water source, and it distills it. Made of Bayer Makrolon polycarbonate material - ultra-rugged, UV resistant and 100% recyclable!
Evaporation
Watercone is an inexpensive solution that utilizes solar energy to condense freshwater. When set on still water, wet ground, or the ocean, its transparent plastic cone produces a greenhouse effect, heating both air and water within it but preventing any escape into the atmosphere through its cap. As hot air and water evaporate into condensable droplets which condense on its inner surface and then gradually collect in its base trough; eventually this pure drinking water can be collected in containers for consumption or collection.
Early tests in Casablanca, Morocco revealed that the watercone produced between one and 1.5 liters of clean drinking water each day. Being an all-in-one device capable of distillation with sunlight as its only input source makes this device useful practically anywhere.
The Watercone is an ingenious, simple, self-supporting unit made of transparent yet hardwearing Bayer Makrolon polycarbonate fitted with a screw cap spout at its tip and circular collecting trough at its base - designed to last a lifetime, non-toxic, non-flammable, and fully recyclable!
Easy to operate and requiring no special training, the Sun and Salt Water Filtration Device is portable and designed to be used anywhere around the world where there is sun and salt water. UNICEF estimates that every day approximately 5,000 children die due to drinking polluted water sources.
Condensation
Condensation is an essential component of the water cycle, producing cloud condensation and raindrop formation for eventual rainfall. Teaching children about condensation helps them better comprehend this aspect of Earth's ecosystems as well as why rainfall is necessary for plant life to exist on our planet.
The Watercone uses solar power technology to convert salty or brackish water to fresh drinking water. It features a cone-shaped solar still which can be placed anywhere - lakes, rivers or oceans - and can process up to 1.5 litres per day of salty or brackish water into potable drinking water. Made from Makrolon polycarbonate material by Bayer Polymers for ultimate durability and UV resistance.
Once soaked with water, heat from the sun evaporates any remaining moisture and it condenses against the side of the cone, producing water droplets which then drip down to collect in an easily accessible trough at its base. Unscrewing its cap at the tip can then quickly empty this device of its contents.
This device could be an invaluable aid for coastal residents in developing countries without access to clean drinking water, providing an alternative solution to digging holes and using tarps for shelter, which takes up valuable work hours in these regions.
Desalination
The Watercone is an easy-to-use, mobile solar potable water harvester designed for easy operation that purifies saltwater (ocean water) or brackish water (mixture of fresh and salt water) via one step condensation via solar distillation. Constructed from Bayer Makrolon material with UV resistant qualities which is 100% recyclable; designed to produce up to 1.5L per day in clean drinking water production.
Desalination plants provide essential drinking water supplies worldwide, but can consume excessive energy and have adverse impacts on marine life. New technologies are improving energy efficiency while simultaneously decreasing impact to sea life and making renewable energy-powered desalination plants competitive with those powered by fossil fuels.
Another drawback with these plants is that their brine discharges back into natural bodies of water, lowering oxygen levels and suffocating marine life. According to Scientific American, some animals like fish have special glands for expelling excess salt while birds may drink water to flush it away; but these methods won't suffice when demand increases globally - brackish and oceanic aquifers will need desalinating more cost-effectively and with reduced environmental impacts than traditional centralised plants. With its innovative design features NIROBOX from Fluence technology can help desalination more cost effectively while having less environmental impacts than traditional centralised plants.
Storage
Stephan Augustin created an ingenious solar water distiller called the Watercone that harvests up to 1.5 liters per day of fresh water from sunlight using thermo-formable polycarbonate called Makrolon and features an attractive screw cap spout at its tip and an inward circular collecting trough at its base.
This watercone rests on the ground and is heated by sunlight, condensing droplets of water onto its walls that run downhill into its bottom trough. Distilled water collected here can then be easily emptied out by unscrewing and turning over its cap at its tip - an efficient, lightweight and portable system designed to generate freshwater in all forms - from salty or brackish environments! It's light, mobile and simple to use!
The device was created to meet the needs of those living in developing nations who don't have access to clean drinking water, including field hospitals, mobile hospitals, first aid and emergency medical units. Equipped with twelve of these devices, a field hospital in a sunny climate could harvest 15 liters per day - enough water for saving lives!
Augustin says his device is ideal for rural communities who spend hours traveling to source drinking water - Africa alone loses an estimated 40 billion working hours annually due to water-seeking activities.