Brackish Water for Condensation Irrigation

In this SBIR Phase II project Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (ACT) and University ofCalifornia Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) propose to develop anirrigation system to desalinate brackish water for high value crop yield. This concept uses ahumidification/condensation process to provide affordable freshwater to depleted agriculturalregions. The successful implementation of this device will allow agricultural regions especially inthe western portion of the country to use available brackish water for irrigation at a low-cost whileavoiding degradation of farmland by high-salinity runoff. The proposed concept will 1) use solarthermal energy to maintain a base load of humid air and 2) utilize a concentric pipe design to pre- heat the incoming brackish water stream to reduce energy input. This will be accomplished with apassive countercurrent heat exchanger design to recuperate the latent heat of condensation and pre- heat the brackish water supply.