Water solutions without a grain of salt

Monash University researchers have developed technology that can provide clean water to thousands of communities around the world.

This solar steam generation system produces clean water from salt (ocean) water with almost 100% salt removal.
Provides a solution to water shortages in regional areas where grid electricity is unavailable.

An estimated 844 million people lack access to clean water, while every minute an infant dies from infection caused by lack of safe water and a dirty environment.

Seawater desalination and wastewater recycling are two ways to alleviate the water shortage problem, but conventional approaches are energy intensive and based on burning fossil fuels. Water treatment uses about 3 percent of the world’s energy supply.

Researchers at Monash University have developed a passive energy technology that can provide clean, potable water to thousands of communities simply by using photothermal materials and the power of the sun.

Led by Professor Xiwang Zhang of Monash University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, researchers have developed a robust solar steam generation system that enables efficient and continuous production of clean water from salt water with nearly 100 percent salt removal. Through precise control of salt crystallization only at the edge of the evaporation disk, this new design can also collect salts.

The feasibility and durability of the design were validated using seawater from Lacepede Bay, South Australia. This technology is a promising solution to water shortages in regional areas where grid electricity is unavailable.

The results were published in the international journal Energy & Environmental Science.atico.

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