PLANT FOR PRODUCING WATER FROM SNOW AND/OR ICE Russian patent published in 2001 - IPC

FIELD: water supply facilities. SUBSTANCE: plant has ice and/or snow container with filler neck, lid, heat energy supply, and steam line. Container and lid are provided with heat insulation; container walls are built integral with heat line running around container over its perimeter and functioning as condenser; heat energy supply that conveys heat to container walls has solar concentrator and circuit heat pipe both forming focusing solar collector; mentioned pipe and concentrator are placed in stiff casing mounted on frame with support for azimuth and zenith rotary movement to allow solar concentrator follow the sunlight. Circuit heat pipe incorporates solar receiver placed in focus of solar concentrator which is, essentially, reflecting surface that functions to receive sun rays and to convey them towards solar receiver; it also has condensate line and mentioned steam line, as well as heat-insulated compensating chamber arranged out of solar concentrator focus; this chamber is filled with non- freezing liquid coolant and communicates with heat-line channels one of them being inlet steam line and other channel, outlet condensate line. Solar receiver has heat-conducting case accommodating coolant evaporator made in the form of capillary pump. EFFECT: provision for saving energy resources and for off-line water supply to difficult-to-get-at arctic and mountainous regions. 5 cl, 3 dwg