Recently, the Financial Times of London reported that water will
probably become the most critical natural resource issue facing most
parts of the world. Already the World Bank claims that 80 countries now
have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent
of the world -- more than 2 billion people -- have no access to clean
water or sanitation. Access to fresh, clean water will increasingly
become an issue as a number of factors come into play affecting both
supply and demand. The global population is increasing with an
increasing number of people becoming wealthier and accustomed to using
more water. Polluted water has become more common, as large regions of
the developing world industrialize. And there is an ever-increasing
demand for water by newer forms of energy like biofuels, liquified coal
and nuclear plants. In the United States, for example, thermoelectric
power plants consume 136 billion gallons/day of fresh water (DOE, 2006),
a number that translates to an average of 25 gallons of water to produce
one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. Energy and power plants require
water to scrub pollutants (generated from burning coal, for example), to
cool and clean machinery as well as to produce the steam necessary to
turn huge turbines and generators. Production of other energy sources,
such as oil and natural gas, often relies on re-injection of water into
wells. Furthermore, some alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and
hydrogen, require large volumes of water. In response, Bourne Energy has
developed a fuel-free water system which is described in more detail on
their website: www.bourneenergy.com.
The world is gearing up for this approaching storm by accelerating the
construction of desalination plants around the globe with prominent
examples in Tampa
Bay, Abu
Dhabi, and Spain.
But desalination plants have their critics: they are large power users,
roughly 50% of the cost of a gallon of freshwater is energy. And these
large, complex plants suffer from high construction costs. Bourne´s
RiverStar (Patent Pending) hydrokinetic system is fuel-free, designed to
tap the energy in thousands of miles of rivers that stretch across the
globe. Bourne’s water making system requires
only minimal onsite construction, making it much faster to implement.
Each RiverStar is a self-contained "Water Company in a Box." Place
several in a river current and they produce fresh water purely from
harnessing the energy of moving water in the river. This technology has
come about from the development of new materials, micro-power generation
systems, hydrodynamic breakthroughs, advanced filters, improved
structures and new power transmission, communication and control
technologies.
Bourne’s new water making system will play a
key role in our water future as small to medium scale decentralized
water systems gradually replace or supplement conventional large
systems. Advantages of decentralized systems include reduced need for
establishing long distance water distribution and wastewater discharge
networks, reduced water loss through pipe leakage, reduced urban storm
water runoff and increased groundwater recharge, as well as lower energy
demand and consumption. Bourne has also developed tidal, wave and ocean
current powered water making systems. Bourne plans to have several
small-scale demonstration power arrays operating in Asia, US and Europe
within the next 12 months. For more information, please visit www.bourneenergy.com.
Bourne Energy
C.S. Catlin, 310-456-8112
contact@bourneenergy.com
