New desalination technology transforms seawater into potable water, avoids polluting brine, and even recovers salts and minerals.

Written by Caio Aviz

Published on 15/06/2026 at 16:41

Be the first to react!

Research from the University of Rochester presents a solar system capable of producing drinking water from seawater, without generating residual brine and with the utilization of salts removed in the process

A new desalination technology developed by researchers at the University of Rochester, in the United States, promises to transform seawater into drinking water without producing residual brine, one of the main environmental impacts of traditional methods.

Additionally, the system also allows for the recovery of salts and minerals removed during the process. Thus, the innovation seeks to combine the production of fresh water with the reuse of materials extracted from seawater.

The study was published in 2026 in the scientific journal Light: Science & Applications. According to the University of Rochester, the research was conducted at the Institute of Optics and presented to the public on May 27, 2026.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

How the technology transforms seawater into potable water

Currently, the production of drinking water from seawater usually relies on methods such as reverse osmosis and thermal distillation.

However, although these techniques are used in various regions of the world, they require high energy consumption. Additionally, they generate large volumes of concentrated brine, a residue that can cause environmental impacts when discarded into the ocean.

Therefore, the differential of the new technology lies in the way the salt is conducted within the equipment. Instead of accumulating on the evaporation surface, the salt crystals are moved to specific areas of the system.

As a result, the equipment avoids clogging of the surface responsible for evaporation. Consequently, the production of drinking water can continue more stably.

System avoids polluting residue and collects salts

According to the researchers, the process was developed to maintain water evaporation while allowing the collection of the removed salts.

Thus, instead of discarding a concentrated liquid brine, the system separates and collects the materials extracted from seawater.

This point is important because brine is considered one of the biggest environmental challenges of conventional desalination. After all, this residue can increase local salinity and affect the balance of the marine environment.

Technology seeks to meet the demand for fresh water

The research emerges amid the increasing global demand for drinking water. In this scenario, desalination appears as a relevant alternative for regions that rely on seawater as a source of supply.

At the same time, the technology also aims at recovering raw materials present in seawater. Therefore, the system combines two objectives: expanding the production of fresh water and reducing the waste of minerals removed in the process.

Main points of the research

Transforms seawater into drinking water through desalination.
Does not generate liquid brine residue, according to the researchers.
Recovers salts and minerals separated during the process.
Prevents clogging of the evaporation surface.
Was described in 2026 in the journal Light: Science & Applications.
Was developed by the University of Rochester, in the United States.

Technical advancement still depends on scale

Despite the potential, the technology was presented as a scientific development. Therefore, its large-scale application still depends on new tests, technical adjustments, and performance evaluation outside the research environment.

Even so, the study draws attention for proposing a desalination route without brine residue. Additionally, it reinforces the search for solutions capable of producing drinking water, reducing environmental impacts, and utilizing the salts removed from seawater.

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

New desalination technology transforms seawater into potable water, avoids polluting brine, and even recovers salts and minerals.

Research from the University of Rochester presents a solar system capable of producing drinking water from seawater, without generating residual brine and with the utilization of salts removed in the process

How the technology transforms seawater into potable water

System avoids polluting residue and collects salts

A U.S. document states that Pix has become a “national champion” in Brazil and that American rivals are partly funding the strength of the free system.

Technology seeks to meet the demand for fresh water

Main points of the research

Technical advancement still depends on scale

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Workers were opening a new road connection near the Marginal Tietê when they found, in the underground of the construction site, remnants of locomotives, wagons, and boilers from the 19th century linked to the forgotten history of Lapa.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

Greek island offers free housing for volunteers, but there’s a condition: you need to take care of rescued cats.

China has deployed snake-shaped robots to slide along power lines, where they have already inspected over 130 kilometers of cables using cameras and sensors to detect damaged wires, worn-out parts, and overheating.

Engineers want to carve through Africa with a giant canal to bring water from the world’s second-largest river to a dying lake on the edge of the Sahara Desert that has already lost 90% of its water.

Better than in Brazil? Havan’s owner wants to take the chain to Paraguay and Uruguay: “I confess I had never thought about it.”

Six times, a luminous crescent the size of the Moon startled the Soviet sky at dusk: it seemed like a wave of UFOs, but it was a secret orbital weapon created to attack the United States via the South Pole and evade Cold War radars.

Giant helicopter becomes an aerial weapon against fires in the Pantanal and drops water over isolated areas where firefighters cannot reach; see how the aircraft uses a flying bucket to attack fire hotspots in the middle of the vegetation.

Xue Long 2, the Chinese icebreaker capable of breaking ice in reverse as well

Russia launches a 10,000-ton self-propelled scientific platform capable of drifting for years in the Arctic, replacing old Soviet stations on floating blocks.

New desalination technology transforms seawater into potable water, avoids polluting brine, and even recovers salts and minerals.

Research from the University of Rochester presents a solar system capable of producing drinking water from seawater, without generating residual brine and with the utilization of salts removed in the process

How the technology transforms seawater into potable water

System avoids polluting residue and collects salts

A U.S. document states that Pix has become a “national champion” in Brazil and that American rivals are partly funding the strength of the free system.

Technology seeks to meet the demand for fresh water

Main points of the research

Technical advancement still depends on scale

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Workers were opening a new road connection near the Marginal Tietê when they found, in the underground of the construction site, remnants of locomotives, wagons, and boilers from the 19th century linked to the forgotten history of Lapa.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

Greek island offers free housing for volunteers, but there’s a condition: you need to take care of rescued cats.

China has deployed snake-shaped robots to slide along power lines, where they have already inspected over 130 kilometers of cables using cameras and sensors to detect damaged wires, worn-out parts, and overheating.

Engineers want to carve through Africa with a giant canal to bring water from the world’s second-largest river to a dying lake on the edge of the Sahara Desert that has already lost 90% of its water.

Russia launches a 10,000-ton self-propelled scientific platform capable of drifting for years in the Arctic, replacing old Soviet stations on floating blocks.

Jordan transforms barren desert sand into a farm powered by Red Sea water, solar energy, and salt-cooled greenhouses to produce food where almost nothing grows.

China is building in Chongqing a “compound eye” with 25 radars and more than 100 antennas to monitor threats in space.

Forget the empty shoulder: a 701 km highway gains a solar corridor with panels on the edges, generating 5 MW already active, with a goal of 204 MW and energy capable of lighting tunnels and supplying the power grid in India.

India is preparing three underwater tunnels of 2.5 km in the Arabian Sea to capture ocean water and create a mega plant capable of producing 200 million liters per day in Mumbai.

Better than in Brazil? Havan’s owner wants to take the chain to Paraguay and Uruguay: “I confess I had never thought about it.”

Six times, a luminous crescent the size of the Moon startled the Soviet sky at dusk: it seemed like a wave of UFOs, but it was a secret orbital weapon created to attack the United States via the South Pole and evade Cold War radars.

Giant helicopter becomes an aerial weapon against fires in the Pantanal and drops water over isolated areas where firefighters cannot reach; see how the aircraft uses a flying bucket to attack fire hotspots in the middle of the vegetation.

Xue Long 2, the Chinese icebreaker capable of breaking ice in reverse as well

Russia launches a 10,000-ton self-propelled scientific platform capable of drifting for years in the Arctic, replacing old Soviet stations on floating blocks.