A Vancouver engineering firm’s solar-powered desalination pipe design has been shortlisted for the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI).
LAGI promotes human-centric design solutions for sustainable energy infrastructure. Based in Santa Monica, the initiative is inspired by the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURFF). The facility teaches vistors about stormwater, water-borne particulate, filtaration, and large-scale rainwater reuse, and it treats nearly 2 million litres of urban runoff water daily.
Submitted by Abdolaziz Khalili and Associates, a Vancouver engineering firm that specializes in liquid processing facilities, The Pipe uses photovoltaic panels to power its facilities and filters water by electromagnetic desalination to generate 10,000 MWh and 4.5 billion litres of drinking water annually.
In the project’s brief, the design team described the water filtration process, “All dissolved solids in water, become ionized. This means that all dissolved solids in the water can be controlled through electromagnetic energy. In Electromagnetic Filtration we use an isolated electromagnetic field on pipes circulating the seawater, separating the salts and impurities. The process is very rapid and extremely efficient.”
The byproducts of the process are potable water that can be directed to the city’s primary water grid and clean water with 12 per cent salinity that is used for public bathing inside the structure.
LAGI awards the winner of the competition with a $15,000 prize. Speaking to Business Insider, Aziz Khalili, the project leader for The Pipe, was hopeful that Santa Monica might build the design. More than that, Khalili said that he hopes the publicity around the project will hope bring the technology to reality.
The Pipe’s proposal can be read in full here: http://landartgenerator.org/LAGI-2016/alpi1919/
More on the LAGI project can be viewed here: http://www.landartgenerator.org/index.html
