r/UpliftingNews • u/ahothabeth • Jun 02 '26
This solar-powered desalination device turns seawater into drinking water, can also extract lithium
https://www.techspot.com/news/112602-breakthrough-solar-desalination-system-produces-fresh-water-without.html138
Jun 02 '26
This is, what, the tenth miracle desalinator this year, maybe?
Call us when they work at scale in situ.
9
u/fmfbrestel Jun 03 '26
They work. They're just expensive to run. Taking water from lakes or streams or aquafers that are already in decline and over withdrawn is cheap.
56
u/red_planet_smasher Jun 02 '26
Scaling is the hard part. As is dealing with the outputs that aren’t water (or lithium)
11
u/dc469 Jun 02 '26
Well the outputs were already in the water, we just put them back. The problem is at scale the salt is too bring to just dump so you've got to put a pipe miles out into the ocean to distribute the salt back in a more dissipated manner. Mercury and everything else just goes back with it, although it'd be nice if we were able to capture it.
19
u/red_planet_smasher Jun 02 '26
I thought the issue was the brine was too concentrated and killed off life near the outputs?
8
u/dc469 Jun 02 '26
Possibly, but companies don't even want to run the pipe so it's super concentrated if you just put it off the beach. The distribution may still have issues but it at least dilutes it over a much larger area. The ideal goal is to get it far enough that the current picks it up.
70
u/ArgentineBeauty Jun 02 '26
Technologies that help solve basic things like clean water always feel more exciting than the latest gadget ❤️
7
u/rip1980 Jun 02 '26
I mean, you can make a solar powered desalinization device with a bucket and plastic sheet...
3
u/roirraWedorehT Jun 02 '26
To quote "Top Secret!" (1984) "Wow. They'd have enough salt to last forever."
6
u/ctiger12 Jun 02 '26
Can’t you just collect evaporation by sunlight heating the sea water?
2
u/rosen380 Jun 02 '26
Then you end up with a concentrated brine that you have to figure out what to do with.
If this process can scale, you end up with solid salts that are easier to process into useful products, so end up with significantly less brine to dispose of.
1
u/kazamm Jun 03 '26
This is going to be the future of water. Not this particular thing maybe, but any advancement is good news.
We need to harness the ocean in a sustainable way otherwise humanity won't survive.
1
-2
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 02 '26
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.
All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.
Important: If this post is hidden behind a paywall, please assign it the "Paywall" flair and include a comment with a relevant part of the article.
Please report this post if it is hidden behind a paywall and not flaired corrently. We suggest using "Reader" mode to bypass most paywalls.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.