Because it doesn’t need expensive energy storage for times without sunshine, the technology could provide communities with drinking water at low costs.
Because it doesn’t need expensive energy storage for times without sunshine, the technology could provide communities with drinking water at low costs.
MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun.
The solar-powered system removes salt from water at a pace that closely follows changes in solar energy. As sunlight increases through the day, the system ramps up its desalting process and automatically adjusts to any sudden variation in sunlight, for example by dialing down in response to a passing cloud or revving up as the skies clear.
Because the system can quickly react to subtle changes in sunlight, it maximizes the utility of solar energy, producing large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. In contrast to other solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid.
Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Image: Jon Bessette sits atop a trailer housing the electrodialysis desalination system at the Brackish Groundwater National Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The system is connected to real groundwater, water tanks, and solar panels. (Credit: Shane Pratt)
