A team from MIT shared a breakthrough recently – a solar-powered desalination prototype that is showing great promise.
There are 2 interesting nuggets from the article –
(1) No batteries or grid connectivity: The system can quickly react to subtle changes in sunlight. So it maximizes the utility of solar energy, producing large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day.
The engineers tested a community-scale prototype on groundwater wells in New Mexico over six months, working in variable weather conditions and water types. The system harnessed on average over 94 percent of the electrical energy generated from the system’s solar panels to produce up to 5,000 liters of water per day despite large swings in weather and available sunlight.
(2) Brackish groundwater. The system is geared toward desalinating brackish groundwater — a salty source of water that is found in underground reservoirs and is more prevalent than fresh groundwater resources.
“The majority of the population actually lives far enough from the coast, that seawater desalination could never reach them. They consequently rely heavily on groundwater, especially in remote, low-income regions. And unfortunately, this groundwater is becoming more and more saline due to climate change,” says Jonathan Bessette, MIT PhD student in mechanical engineering. “This technology could bring sustainable, affordable clean water to underreached places around the world.”
I’m rooting for their success.
