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Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries

(news.mit.edu)
130 points bentocorp | 2 comments | 17 Nov 24 22:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.4s | source
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elzbardico ◴[18 Nov 24 14:39 UTC] No.42172645[source]▶
Unlke some comments are implying, this is not a solar distiller with "additional steps". It still uses far less energy than distillation as it doesn't involve phase changes.

It uses Electrodialysis, which is a mass separation process in which electrically charged membranes and an electrical potential difference are used to separate ionic species from an aqueous solution and other uncharged components.

replies(1): >>42174509 #
1. SoftTalker ◴[18 Nov 24 17:14 UTC] No.42174509[source]▶
Can't a lot of the phase change energy in distillation be recovered by using incoming water to cool/condense the distilled water vapor?
replies(1): >>42176952 #
2. elzbardico ◴[18 Nov 24 20:59 UTC] No.42176952[source]▶
It would improve it a bit, but not enought to compete in terms of energy usage with dialysis or reverse-osmosis.

Reverse-osmosis is absurdly efficient compared to distillation: a single 1X1 meter square solar panel can potentially generate 200 liters of fresh water per day.