In October 2023, ZME Science reported on a solar-powered desalination device developed by researchers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A tilted, multi-stage evaporator box mimics thermohaline circulation to create a flow that carries salt away before it clogs the device. A suitcase-sized system was expected to produce four to six litres of drinking water per hour without electricity. The researchers saw costs below the price of tap water in the US. The study was published in the journal Joule.
The work targeted a weak point of passive solar desalination, salt build-up. According to the report, it remained open whether the principle could be transferred to large desalination plants.
Source: ZME Science