Assignment on the 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

Introduction of 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

            The technology is continuing with its revolution for the world in so many ways, which is allowing individuals, communities, and businesses to find new ways to handle tasks more effectively and gain more benefits. The use of technology has also made life easier for the people and the way things are being done, it is more likely that technology will come up with more advancement in the future. One of such technologies is 3D printing technology, which has changed things for many processes and systems. 3D printing technology helps to work in three dimensions with the help of an additive process. It is one of the innovative technologies, which helps to make physical objects by using a digital model, and it is more efficient and convenient than many other processes (Roberson, 2019)

            The availability of drinking water is a major issue around the world, and experts are looking for new ways to get more drinking water from various sources. One good method is to get drinking water from the seawater, but seawater has salt and other elements, which makes it undrinkable. So, many filtering processes are needed to filter water so that it is made drinkable. To handle this process more effectively, new experiments are done, and one such new innovation is making a buzz, which is using 3D printing rotors so that seawater is freeze, and it is later converted into drinking water. This innovation of water desalination is developed by GE. The design of this process is quite simple; however, it is such an amazing process by using 3D printed technology. The new design made by GE is able to utilize 3-D printed steam turbines, which are one of the spinning machines in the process. In this process, the hyper-cooling loop is used, and seawater is sent through this loop, and water is freeze with the help of this loop, which automatically freezes the salt in it as well. So, salt is separated from the water, so when salt is out, there is only ice left, which melts and converts into drinking water. This design developed by GE has been a wonderful innovation as it is not only low energy and beneficial, but it is also low cost to make drinkable water from the seawater (PETRONZIO, 2015)

Fig. 1 - 3D Printed Rotor (GE)

                                                          Source: (PETERS, 2015)

The Economic Aspects of 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

            It is important to look at the economic aspects of any business process or activity, where society is also a stakeholder. Drinking water is a need for everyone living organisms on this planet earth, and if the water is not easily accessible and available, then a variety of ways are used to convert undrinkable water into the drinking water. The seawater conversion into drinking water is one of the important sources, and if the process is made faster and low cost with better technology, it can have more economic and societal benefits. This is what 3D printed rotors can do, and if the technology is made available on a mass scale, it can have more economic positive impacts on different communities, especially, where drinking water is not easily available, and people are forced to use undrinkable water for drinking. The process used by the 3D printed rotors is not as complex as many other processes can be, and it has various advantages if it is properly used. Every technology, which is able to provide better efficiency at less cost, is better than the previous technologies used. 3D printed rotors technology is cheaper in terms of costs, so it will need less financial resources to use this technology to convert seawater into the drinking water. The developing world, where drinking water is a huge issue, and they don’t have enough economic and financial resources, they can use this technology to get as many benefits as possible (PETERS, 2015).

The Environmental Aspects of 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

            It is also critical to look at environmental aspects and impacts of such processes so that it is know that how safe or dangerous such processes are, and what is the way forward in this regard. The environmental impact of 3D printed rotors is very lower in percentage as compared to other processes. This technology has the capability to run with low energy consumption. It is great to know that lower cost is not the only major benefit, but lower energy consumption is another primary benefit of using 3D printed rotors. It is a fact that when more energy is used by any process or machinery, then more energy has to be produced to fulfill the demand. More energy consumption has its environmental costs. The energy production process comes with adverse effects on the environment, by polluting it. But if energy consumption is on the lower side, then energy production process can also be more environment friendly, because energy is needed in small scale. One good example of energy production is using solar panels, which are easy to install. However, if high energy consumption is needed, then more energy will be required. The performance of 3D printed rotors is very much satisfactory. Other than the economic and environmental benefits, such processes are very fruitful for the communities, dealing with the issue of drinking water. More such technologies are needed, which can help to provide more drinking water in accessible and affordable manner, and if 3D printed rotors will be focused, they can come up with great benefits (Altan, Altan, & Kovan, 2016)

Conclusion of 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

            After analyzing all the relevant information, facts, and processes, it can be said that 3D printed rotors can be extremely beneficial for the conversion of seawater into the drinkable water. However, it is important to use this process properly so that more positive outcomes are achieved. This innovation has been one of the best innovations in recent times, and if GE will focus on it more with its design and availability. The economic and environmental aspects also show positive signs, which is another plus point of 3D printed rotors.

References of 3D Printed Rotors with Capability to Freeze Seawater into Drinking Water

Altan, B. D., Altan, G., & Kovan, V. (2016). Investigation of 3D printed Savonius rotor performance. Renewable Energy, 99, 584-591.

PETERS, A. (2015). GE’s New 3-D Printed Turbines Freeze Seawater To Make It Drinkable. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3053467/ges-new-3-d-printed-turbines-freeze-seawater-to-make-it-drinkable

PETRONZIO, M. (2015). 26 incredible innovations that improved the world in 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://mashable.com/2015/12/20/social-good-innovations-2015/

Roberson, D. (2019). What is 3D printing? Retrieved May 23, 2020, from https://ultimaker.com/learn/what-is-3d-printing