DRINKING WATER FROM SEA WATER — CONSOLAZIO, ET AL. 161 



3. The sweetish taste, about which complaints were made during the raft trials, 

 was found to be imparted to the water by the Vinylite plastic bag caused by 

 the lubricant employed in the manufacture of sheet Vinylite. The taste was 

 eliminated by heating the finished fabric to 160° F. to evaporate the solvents 

 and lubricants employed. 



The method of second choice was the Naval Medical Research 

 Institute method. This method, involving two stages, required double 

 the time, attention, and manipulation of the Permutit method. How- 

 ever, it still possessed the advantage of higher weight and volume 

 ratios. 



The third choice was the Safety fuel still, to which there were 

 however, many objections. It occupied an excessive amount of space 

 in the seven-man raft, the igniting flints quickly became corroded 

 and useless, and corrosion also affected the still itself. The lighting of 

 the fuel was a serious problem, especially in high seas and high winds, 

 the burning fuel gave rise to fumes irritating to the already physically 

 upset subjects. 



The solar stills were not even considered for use. They were 

 continually in a state of disrepair. In fact, of the original five 

 employed, none were in working order after the third day. They 

 required continual attention and always had to be oriented to the 

 sun. The maximal water production was of the order of 150 milli- 

 liters per day. They had to be carefully put away at night so that 

 no damage might come to them in the crowded raft. 



The comparative data on all the water-making devices tested on 

 the life rafts are presented in table 1. 



Table 1.- 



-Summary of comparative data on water-making devices tested on life 



rafts 



Owing to the fact that the chemical had been compressed to the 

 maximal degree consistent w r ith disintegration on use, the Naval Medi- 

 cal Research Institute method produced considerably more water by 

 volume than any of the other methods tested. Greater compression 



