THE DESOLENATOR: PRODUCING CLEAN WATER
A
Travelling around Thailand in the 1990s, William Janssen was impressed with the basic rooftop solar heating systems that were on many homes, where energy from the sun was absorbed by a plate and then used to heat water for domestic use. Two decades later Janssen developed that basic idea he saw in Southeast Asia into a portable device that uses the power from the sun to purify water.
B
The Desolenator operates as a mobile desalination unit that can take water from different places, such as the sea, rivers, boreholes and rain, and purify it for human consumption. It is particularly valuable in regions where natural groundwater reserves have been polluted, or where seawater is the only water source available.
Janssen saw that there was a need for a sustainable way to clean water is both the developing and the developed countries when he moved to the United Arab Emirates and saw large-scale water processing. ‘I was confronted with the enormous carbon footprint that the Gulf nations have because of all of the desalination that they do,’ he says.
C
The Desolenator can produce 15 litres of drinking water per day, enough to sustain a family for cooking and drinking. Its main selling point is that unlike standard desalination techniques, it doesn’t require a generated power supply: just sunlight. It measures 120 cm by 90 cm, and it easy to transport, thanks to its two wheels. Water enters through a pipe, and flows as a thin film between a sheet of double glazing and the surface of a solar panel, where it is heated by the sun. the warm water flows into a small boiler (heated by a solar-powered battery) where it is converted to steam. When the steam cools, it becomes distilled water. The device has a very simple filter to trap particles, and this can easily be shaken to remove them. There are two tubes for liquid coming out: one for the waste – salt from seawater, fluoride, etc. – and another for the distilled water. The performance of the unit is shown on an LCD screen and transmitted to the company which provides servicing when necessary.
D
A recent analysis found that at least two-thirds of the world’s population lives with severe water scarcity for at least a month every year. Janssen says that be 2030 half of the world’s population will be living with water stress – where the demand exceeds the supply over a certain period of time. ‘It is really important that a sustainable solution is brought to the market that is able to help these people,’ he says. Many countries ‘don’t have the money for desalination plants, which are very expensive to build. They don’t have the money to operate them, they are very maintenance intensive, and they don’t have the money to buy the diesel to run the desalination plants, so it is a really bad situation.’
E
The device is aimed at a wide variety of users – from homeowners in the developing world who do not have a constant supply of water to people living off the grid in rural parts of the US. The first commercial versions of the Desolenator are expected to be in operation in India early next year, after field tests are carried out. The market for the self-sufficient devices in developing countries is twofold – those who cannot afford the money for the device outright and pay through microfinance, and middle-income homes that can lease their own equipment. ‘People in India don’t pay for a fridge outright; they pay for it over six months. They would put the Desolenator on their roof and hook it up to their municipal supply and they would get very reliable drinking water on a daily basis,’ Janssen says. In the developed world, it is aimed at niche markets where tap water is unavailable – for camping, on boats, or for the military, for instance.
F
Prices will vary according to where it is bought. In the developing world, the price will depend on what deal aid organisations can negotiate. In developed countries, it is likely to come in at $1,000 (£685) a unit, said Janssen. ‘We are a venture with a social mission. We are aware that the product we have envisioned is mainly finding application in the developing world and humanitarian sector and that this is the way we will proceed. We do realise, though, that to be a viable company there is a bottom line to keep in mind,’ he says.
G
The company itself is based at Imperial College London, although Janssen, its chief executive, still lives in the UAE. It has raised £340,000 in funding so far. Within two years, he says, the company aims to be selling 1,000 units a month, mainly in the humanitarian field. They are expected to be sold in areas such as Australia, northern Chile, Peru, Texas and California.
Questions 14-20
Reading Passage 2 has nine paragraphs, A-H
Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Getting the finance for production
ii An unexpected benefit
iii From initial inspiration to new product
iv The range of potential customers for the device
v What makes the device different from alternatives
vi Cleaning water from a range of sources
vii Overcoming production difficulties
viii Profit not the primary goal
ix A warm welcome for the device
x The number of people affected by water shortages
14. Section A
15. Section B
16. Section C
17. Section D
18. Section E
19. Section F
20. Section G
Questions 21-26
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet.
How the Desolenator works
The energy required to operate the Desolenator comes from sunlight. The device can be used in different locations, as it has 21………………… . Water is fed into a pipe, and a 22………………….. of water flows over a solar panel. The water then enters a boiler, where it turns into steam. Any particles in the water are caught in a 23………………… . The purified water comes out through one tube, and all types of 24………………… come out through another. A screen displays the 25………………… of the device, and transmits the information to the company so that they know when the Desolenator requires 26…………………. .
LỜI GIẢI CHI TIẾT
14. Answer: iii
Section A introduces Janssen’s device, which originally comes from the idea of “rooftop solar heating systems” in Southeast Asia. Two decades later, he “developed that basic idea he saw in Southeast Asia into a portable device…” Thus, the only appropriate heading for this section is iii – ‘From initial inspiration to new product’.
15. Answer: vi
Section B starts by mentioning the function of the desolenator: it can “take water from different places, such as the sea, rivers, boreholes and rain, and purify it for human consumption”. Thus, ‘the sea, rivers, boreholes and rain’ can be regarded as different sources of water which can be purified (cleaned) by the device. So the heading is vi – ‘Cleaning water from a range of sources’.
- clean = purify
16. Answer: v
Section C explains how the device works. It starts by emphasizing that “unlike standard desalination techniques, it (the desolenator) doesn’t require a generated power supply: just sunlight”. This is considered the feature of the desolenator which makes it different from other alternatives. Thus, the heading is v – ‘What makes the device different from alternatives’.
- different = unlike
17. Answer: x
The topic sentence of Section D is right at the beginning: “A recent analysis found that at least two-thirds of the world’s population lives with severe water scarcity for at least a month every year”. The section then continues by describing the hardships in such regions with water shortage, with different vocabulary for the same phenomenon: “water scarcity”, “water stress”. So the correct heading must be x – ‘The number of people affected by water shortages’.
- water shortage = water stress = water scarcity
18. Answer: iv
This section names “a wide variety of users” for the desolenator, both in the developing and developed world. In the developing world, customers can be “those who cannot afford the money for the device outright and pay through microfinance, and middle-income homes that can lease their own equipment”. Meanwhile, potential markets in developed countries are “niche markets where tap water is unavailable”. Therefore, the most suitable heading for Section E would be iv – ‘The range of potential customers for the device’.
- customers ~ users
19. Answer: viii
This section discusses the price of the desolenator. Janssen said that his company has a “social mission” and that the main application would be in “the developing world and humanitarian sector”. By saying “this is the way we will proceed”, Janssen implies that the company will proceed to produce devices that can help those in need. Thus, it can be inferred that profit is not the primary goal for Janssen. The answer is viii.
20. Answer: i
This section mentions the funding of the project (“It has raised £340,000 in funding so far”) and its future prospects (“the company aims to be selling 1,000 units a month”). Thus, the most appropriate heading is i – ‘Getting the finance for production’.
- finance = funding
QUESTIONS 21-26: COMPLETE THE SUMMARY BELOW.
21. Answer: wheels
Key words: device, used, different locations,
Section C explains how the desolenator works: “It measures 120 cm by 90 cm, and is easy to transport, thanks to its two wheels”. ‘easy to transport’ has been paraphrased into ‘can be used in different locations’. The feature that makes this possible is its ‘two wheels’. However, as we can only use ONE WORD, the answer must be ‘wheels’.
22. Answer: film
Key words: water, fed, pipe, flows, solar panel
“Water enters through a pipe, and flows as a thin film between a sheet of double glazing and the surface of a solar panel”. After water enters a pipe (or is ‘fed into’ a pipe), a thin film of water flows out, between ‘a sheet of double glazing and the surface of a solar panel’. It can be inferred that the film of water flows over the surface of a solar panel. Therefore, the blank should be filled with ‘film’.
23. Answer: filter
Key words: any, particles, water, caught in
“The device has a very simple filter to trap particles”.
- catch = trap
So this sentence can be paraphrased into the passive voice as ‘particles are trapped/caught in a very simple filter’. The answer is ‘filter’.
24. Answer: waste
Key words: purified, water, tube, types, through another
This sentence distinguishes between two types of liquid that come out through two different tubes. In Section C: “There are two tubes for liquid coming out: one for the waste – salt from seawater, fluoride, etc. – and another for the distilled water”. The term ‘distilled water’ is synonymous to ‘purified water’, so the other type of liquid must be ‘waste’.
- purified = distilled
25. Answer: performance
Key words: screen, displays, transmits, information, company, know, Desolenator, requires
The last sentence of section C states that: “The performance of the unit is shown on an LCD screen and transmitted to the company which provides servicing when necessary”.
The first part of the sentence can be paraphrased using the passive voice into ‘an LCD screen shows the performance of the unit’.
- display = show
- device = unit
So the answer for Q25 is ‘performance’.
The second part of the sentence means that the information lets the company know when it is necessary to do servicing, i.e. when the device requires servicing. So the answer for Q26 is ‘servicing’.
- require = necessitate (necessary)
Answer: performance; servicing.
26. Answer: servicing
Key words: screen, displays, transmits, information, company, know, Desolenator, requires
The last sentence of section C states that: “The performance of the unit is shown on an LCD screen and transmitted to the company which provides servicing when necessary”.
The first part of the sentence can be paraphrased using the passive voice into ‘an LCD screen shows the performance of the unit’.
- display = show
- device = unit
So the answer for Q25 is ‘performance’.
The second part of the sentence means that the information lets the company know when it is necessary to do servicing, i.e. when the device requires servicing. So the answer for Q26 is ‘servicing’.
- require = necessitate (necessary)
Answer: performance; servicing.
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