this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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MIT engineers and collaborators developed a solar-powered device that avoids salt-clogging issues of other designs.

More details in their paper here

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The researchers estimate that if the system is scaled up to the size of a small suitcase, it could produce about 4 to 6 liters of drinking water per hour and last several years before requiring replacement parts. At this scale and performance, the system could produce drinking water at a rate and price that is cheaper than tap water.

But can it be scaled up even more? Like cubic meters per hour?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

I just keep waiting for them to actually produce the small suitcase sized product. It sounds like a excellent option for me, as opposed to the $4-5k desalinators that are the options now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

but why "if"?

if they're making this research, why wouldn't they "scale up to the size of a small suitcase" and get rid of the "if"?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

That's just how research works most of the time. The experimental setup required to build a working prototype and prove the initial hypothesis is always going to be larger and more complex than a mass market appliance. If that appliance ever gets built depends on a huge number of factors too. If the process scales as expected, how complex the device is to produce and if a company thinks that it can make money on it. The researchers, meanwhile, are probably more worried about their next grant funding.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

My guess: They don't have the money to do so.