<
https://news.mit.edu/2024/solar-powered-desalination-system-requires-no-extra-batteries-1008>
"MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms
of the sun.
The solar-powered system removes salt from water at a pace that closely follows
changes in solar energy. As sunlight increases through the day, the system
ramps up its desalting process and automatically adjusts to any sudden
variation in sunlight, for example by dialing down in response to a passing
cloud or revving up as the skies clear.
Because the system can quickly react to subtle changes in sunlight, it
maximizes the utility of solar energy, producing large quantities of clean
water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. In contrast to other
solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries
for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid.
The engineers tested a community-scale prototype on groundwater wells in New
Mexico over six months, working in variable weather conditions and water types.
The system harnessed on average over 94 percent of the electrical energy
generated from the system’s solar panels to produce up to 5,000 liters of water
per day despite large swings in weather and available sunlight.
“Conventional desalination technologies require steady power and need battery
storage to smooth out a variable power source like solar. By continually
varying power consumption in sync with the sun, our technology directly and
efficiently uses solar power to make water,” says Amos Winter, the Germeshausen
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the K. Lisa Yang Global
Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center at MIT. “Being able to make drinking
water with renewables, without requiring battery storage, is a massive grand
challenge. And we’ve done it.”"
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/273-cathedral-thinking/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
