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MIT scientists have developed a portable desalinator that uses solar energy to generate fresh water. The product is not yet for sale, but promises to generate 1 liter of water per hour.
MIT researchers have developed a portable desalinator that weighs less than 10 kilograms and fits in a briefcase, capable of removing particles and salts from seawater and delivering clean drinking water directly into a glass. The product requires less electricity to operate than a cell phone charger, and can be powered by a battery or a small solar panel portable. The desalinator generates drinking water that exceeds the quality standards of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Solar-powered portable desalination plant promises to revolutionize the desalination market
Unlike other portable desalination units that need water purification filters, this device only uses solar energy to remove particles from the water.
Due to the elimination of the need for filters, long-term maintenance requirements are reduced considerably. And that could allow the unit to be installed in remote and under-resourced areas, such as communities on small islands, aboard ships or to help refugees fleeing natural disasters.
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According to the professor of MIT, Jongyoon Han, this is truly the culmination of a journey your group has been on for over 10 years. The professor explains that the team worked for years on the physics behind the individual desalination processes, but putting all these advances in a “box”, building a system and demonstrating it in the ocean, this was a very meaningful and rewarding experience for everyone. .
Understand how the portable desalinator works
ICP system that uses electricity to purify water (Image: Reproduction/MIT) -
Device does not require replacing filters, reducing long-term maintenance (Image: Reproduction / MIT)
Portable desalination units available on the market use high-pressure pumps to push water through filters that are very difficult to miniaturize without compromising the energy efficiency of the device. It is worth mentioning that these devices frequently clog, requiring replacement or maintenance.
Instead, MIT's new portable solar-powered desalinator is based on a technique known as polarizing ion concentration. The equipment, instead of using filters, applies an electric field to the membranes placed below and above a channel through which the water passes. Membranes expel negatively or positively charged particles, including salt molecules, viruses, and bacteria, as they pass through.
The charged particles are sent into another stream of water, which is eventually discarded. The process by the solar-powered portable desalinator removes suspended and dissolved solids, making it possible for clean water to pass through the canal. As it only uses a low-pressure pump to get the water flowing, the technology uses less energy than other techniques.
Scientists develop new desalination process
Despite being efficient, the polarization process does not always remove all the salts, so the researchers developed another process, called electrodialysis, so that the remaining salt ions are removed.
The team of scientists miniaturized everything so that energy efficiency was improved, allowing the solar energy panels fit in a briefcase. Therefore, it is only necessary to extend a water hose to the salty sea and another to the glass, which will be filled with clean and drinkable water in about 30 minutes in the cheapest version of the desalinator.
The more expensive and slightly larger version is capable of producing up to a liter of water per hour. However, even though it was already working, the team tested the portable desalinator with clean water only. Now, the researchers are planning a battery of tests under real conditions, with water found next to communities that need water desalination.
