Swing Electrostatic Desalinator

To address the U.S. Air Force need for a compact, lightweight, reliable, and rugged desalinator, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Swing Electrostatic Desalinator (SED) that produces about 4.8 gallons of drinking water per day at a sea salt rejection of about 98.8%, exceeding the Air Force requirement. The size of packaged device is about 30 cubic inches, and the weight 0.7 lb., less than a third those of the existing desalinator. The Swing Electrostatic Desalinator separates salt from water by alternating the polarization of isolated electrodes. The cumulative effects of its innovations in design, technology, and materials dramatically enhance the device’s performance, and includes recovery of some of the power consumed, and release of it during desalination of the next portion of sea water. The proposed device has a uniquely high rate of desalination per its own mass, is absolutely maintenance free and environmentally friendly, and is high manufacturable and rugged. In Phase I POC will design, build, and demonstrate a proof-of-concept prototype SED. In Phase II we will develop and build a prototype SED device, and demonstrate its performance to USAF personnel.