Engineering Creativity Award: Magnetic Field Desalination

这项研究项目关注的是工业规模的海水淡化，与传统方法相比，操作成本较低。方法涉及核电、超导和反渗透等领域，超导体具有以低成本产生极高磁场的能力。核反应堆的原理被用来将离子捕获在远离容器壁的磁场中，允许海水淡化后直接流经磁场中心。海水通过磁场后，杂质减少了大约一个数量级。根据离心机原理运行的改进型反渗透装置会产生高压，将海水从微咸水淡化为饮用水。高磁场提供的分离相将水带到微咸水标准，并降低了反渗透淡化海水所需克服的高渗透压屏障。将研究上述概念产生的所有不同方面，并将提出一种系统，使海水淡化过程成为可能，而且效率高，成本低。

This research project is concerned with the desalination of seawater on an industrial scale at low operating costs compared to conventional methods. Methodology involves the fields of nuclear power, superconductivity, and reverse osmosis, Superconductors have the capability to generate extremely high magnetic fields at low cost. The principles of nuclear reactors are used to trap ions in a magnetic field away from the containing walls allowing the water to be desalinated to run directly through the center of the magnetic field. After the seawater passes through the magnetic field the impurities are reduced by approximately one order of magnitude. A modified reverse osmosis unit which operates on the centrifuge principle generates high pressure to desalt seawater form brackish water to drinking water. The separation phase provided by the high magnetic field brings the water to brackish water standards and reduces the high osmotic pressure barrier that needs to be overcome to desalinate seawater by reverse osmosis. All of the various aspects resulting from the above concepts will be studied and a system will be suggested which will make possible a desalinization process that is efficient and inexpensive.