The need for water around the world is a fundamental need, but also one which is often not met to a level allowing anything other than the most basic living conditions. This dependency becomes greater as the populations grow, and yet less water is supplied as climatic changes kick in. The need to artificially supply water is increasing, while the cost of energy will also increase.

This is a solar pipeline, which takes sea water from the sea, converting large quantities to fresh water using solar baths, which may be vacuum sealed. The vacuum, or low pressure air area in the bath will improve the evaporation rate. The pipeline has two levels, and will transport the sea and fresh water inland to where it is needed, at the same time gathering heat into the seawater. Centralised distillation centres will also be used. This is a collection of passive baths, without a vacuum, around a single vacuum distillation chamber or onion, providing flash distillation as the water is pre-heated in the baths to well above the latent boiling point in the onion.

Figure 1 shows a side view of a Pipeline, from sea to inland population,

Figure 2 shows a top view of a coastal installation.

Figure 3 shows The Onion, A Flash Solar Distillation Centre.

Figure 4 shows the use of urine as an alternative to sea-water.

Figure 1 shows a buoy 1 being used to drive a seabed pump 2, which drives water through a one-way valve 4 into the pipeline base chamber and up the pipeline 6. An electricity generator buoy 5 is attached to the pipeline. The pipeline comes onto a platform 7 on the coast, using height (gravity feed) to move the water.

Figure lb shows the pipeline 10 feeding water into solar baths 11, where the water is left to heat by the sun. A suction pump 12 is attached and air sucked out, so increasing the rate of evaporation. Fresh water condensate is collected from the lower edge of the bath, and piped back into the pipeline, on the lower level (or into a separate pipe). IE, once fresh water comes in the pipe is split, with sea water on top, fresh below, with metallic connectors between to provide heat exchange. The pipe may go through tunnels 14, to be collected in separate sea 15 and fresh 16 water reservoirs, for pumping 17 over hills.

Figure lc shows a pump 30 being used on top of the hill. This can also be used to get water high enough for transfer over the hill by siphon. Figure Id shows more solar baths 43 being added to help in collection. Some are sealable with a suction pump facility to get a vacuum or low pressure environment, some may use a fan to provide a slow flow of air over the water surface, or may have mirrors, lenses or solar panels to focus the solar energy into the solar bath. This also increases evaporation. The larger the total surface area of the baths, the more fresh water will be collected. Sea water goes in to ^J the solar bath from the top level pipe 40, with returned fresh water back to the lower level 41. Sealable one-way valves will be needed for the vacuum baths, with a storage tank on the lower edge of the bath to collect the condensate. There are main fresh water distribution pipes off of the main pipe 42, along with some sea water piping for brown water use, like washing, swimming pools etc. Storage tanks for the both types of water are provided. 44, 45.

Figure 2 shows a coastal installation from above. Water pumps 1 use wave action on buoys to pump the water into the pipeline base chamber. An electric generator 2, again using wave energy (buoy to drive a sea-bed generator) will provide electricity along a cable 7.

Photo-voltaic cells and wind turbines may also be used, along with a steam turbine in the onion, providing all our energy needs, although external energy may be required when the sea is calm. Pipelines 3 take the sea- water ashore, and in to solar baths from the main pipe 4. A salt lake 5 has been covered with a chamber to collect evaporate and return it to a storage tank 6 for local use, and to the main pipeline. A suction pump or fan 8 will provide the vacuum or air-flow for increased collection rate. A vacuum distillation centre, or Onion 9 collects heated water from the passive baths 10. See Figure 3.

Figure 3 shows sea-water coming in 6 to the Onion, and passes through condensation coils inside the vacuum. This collects heat from the steam, and is piped 10 in to the passive solar baths 1. These baths are used to increase distillation by allowing the water to sit and heat above the onion boiling point (the higher the better). The longest sitting, hottest bath water is then drawn off 1 1 and passed in 2 to the Onion, where flash distillation will occur in the vacuum 3. The steam may be hot enough to generate electricity 5 by driving a steam turbine 4 inside the vacuum. The vacuum is provided by a pump 7 with water 8 cooled by the

condensation coils 6, and drawn off through a one-way valve 9.

Figure 4 shows the use of a urinal 1 , which passes the urine in to a bath 2 which could have a vacuum pump 3. A buffer tank would be used in the toilet to regulate the periodic refilling of the bath.

The condensate is collected in a tank with hand-pump 4. Note that urine could be collected from human and animal sources.

Figure 4b shows how a collection of toilets 4 could be used to plug in to an isolated pipeline, so using urine as an alternative to sea- water, for the case when no coast is available, or the sea-water pipeline is still under construction, and will be connected later. The urine is collected in a buffer storage tank 5, before being periodically passed in to the solar baths 1. Fresh water is collected via the pipeline 2. Only the fresh water is collected in tanks 3.