Ronald L. Huston and John M. D
Abstract
In this paper we establish the feasibility of extracting clean water from a lake or a lagoon and then depositing it on adjacent arid land. The entire process is empowered using only the daytime/nighttime temperature variation. To obtain this water transformation and irrigation we use a large greenhouse type structure covering both a portion of the water and the adjacent shore land. The solar energy of the sun shining through the greenhouse heats the water producing a high temperature air/water-vapor mixture. Low evening temperature then produces a heavy dew upon the land. The paper provides the underlying thermodynamic analysis for the process, together with a brief review of the essential concepts including: mass; weight; pressure; partial pressure; volume; specific volume; temperature; molecular hypotheses; ideal gases; mixtures; saturation; evaporation; relative humidity; specific humidity; and dew point. We conclude with a series of illustrative computations validating the process. The results show that water condensate increases linearly with the greenhouse volume and with the humidity, but exponentially with the greenhouse temperature.