New Solar-Powered System Transforms Saltwater Into Clean, Affordable Drinking Water
New Solar-Powered System Transforms Saltwater Into Clean, Affordable Drinking Water IFLScience
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Scientists Develop Solar-Powered Technology to Convert Saltwater into Clean Drinking Water
Scientists have developed a solar-powered technology that converts saltwater into clean drinking water free of dangerous waterborne diseases. If their claims are true, then this may represent a massive step towards providing reliable and safe water to developing countries and others.
The Global Water Crisis and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Access to clean water is something we take for granted in the developed world. Most of us barely think about whether the water flowing from our taps, water that appears nearly instantly, is safe or not. However, this is not the case for everyone. In fact, around 40 percent of the global population does not have access to sufficient clean water. Worse still, UN-Water estimates that around 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month of the year. And, with the growing climate crisis, this issue is only going to get worse.
The New Solar-Powered Water Conversion System
As such, the need for new methods to provide clean, reliable water to at-risk countries and regions continues to grow. But the latest research from King’s College London may offer some measure of hope in this effort.
The team, working in collaboration with MIT and the Helmhotz Institute for Renewable Energy Systems, has created a new system that produces consistent levels of water using solar power. According to their new study, the process is more than 20 percent cheaper than traditional methods and can be used in rural locations across the world. This is quite a powerful claim and sounds like an act of modern alchemy.
“This technology can expand water sources available to communities beyond traditional ones,” Dr Wei He, Senior Lecturer in Engineering at King’s College London said in a statement, “and by providing water from uncontaminated saline sources, may help combat water scarcity or unexpected emergencies when conventional water supplies are disrupted, for example like the recent cholera outbreaks in Zambia.”
How Does It Work?
The new system uses specialized membranes to channel salt ions into a stream of brine. This can then be separated from the water, leaving it fresh and drinkable.
What’s more, the team has developed a way to flexibly adjust the voltage and rate at which saltwater flows through the system. This allowed them to adjust for whatever sunlight is available while not compromising the overall amount of drinking water it produced.
Implications for Sustainable Development
The team initially gathered information in the village of Chelleru, near Hyderabad, India. They then used this information to recreate the same conditions in a village in New Mexico, where they successfully converted up to 10 cubic meters (353 cubic feet) of fresh water – enough to provide for 3,000 people a day. The process continued regardless of whether the Sun was obscured by clouds or rain.
Across the world, around 56 percent of the available groundwater is saline and unsuitable for drinking. This issue is particularly severe in places like India where 60 percent of the land contains saline water. So this new system offers hope for efforts to desalinate water sources safely and affordably.
Most desalination technologies use expensive batteries in off-grid systems or use a lot of energy through grid systems to remove salt content from water. This is expensive and unreliable, especially in rural areas in developing countries. Here, fossil fuels are often used to power generators, which are damaging to the environment.
This new low-cost system, which is “battery-like”, offers new and sustainable ways to desalinate water, taking the pressure off individual consumers to maintain.
Outside of developing areas, the new system could help compensate for future issues posed by climate change, especially for agriculture. Although the aim should be to limit the effects of climate change altogether, the ability to produce clean fresh water from saline water could help with irrigation.
“Fresh water for irrigation is a large problem across the globe, including North America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa,” He explained. “Drought and cost are major challenges for an industry which relies on unstable reserves of water to survive, and climate change will further exacerbate these challenges.”
“By providing a sustainable way for farmers to produce freshwater for irrigation at a reduced price without compromising its volume, we can help them reduce costs, mitigate carbon emissions, and ensure agricultural production, eventually passing those benefits onto consumers.”
Places like the UK and the US have more stable and diversified grids than most other countries, but they still rely on fossil fuels to power them. As such, the new desalination system could help remove the need to rely on these fuels and may contribute to our efforts to achieve Net Zero.
“The next step for us is to apply this low-cost technology to other sectors, including wastewater treatment, and producing alkaline to make the ocean more alkaline to help it absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere,” He concluded. “By taking this approach, not only can we decarbonize agriculture, but also achieve wider environmental and climate benefits.”
The paper is published in Nature Water.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 15: Life on Land
The article discusses the issue of water scarcity and the need for clean and reliable water sources, which aligns with SDG 6. The use of solar power in the technology connects to SDG 7, as it promotes affordable and clean energy. The mention of the growing climate crisis and its impact on water scarcity relates to SDG 13. Additionally, the article highlights the potential benefits of the technology for agriculture, which connects to SDG 15.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.
- SDG 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity.
- SDG 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
- SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
- SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
The targets identified are relevant to the issues discussed in the article. They focus on achieving universal access to safe drinking water (SDG 6.1), improving water-use efficiency and addressing water scarcity (SDG 6.4), increasing the share of renewable energy (SDG 7.2), strengthening resilience to climate-related hazards (SDG 13.1), and combating desertification and land degradation (SDG 15.3).
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Access to safe and affordable drinking water
- Water-use efficiency
- Share of renewable energy
- Resilience to climate-related hazards
- Combatting desertification and land degradation
The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators, but the progress towards the identified targets can be measured using indicators such as the percentage of the population with access to safe drinking water, water withdrawal intensity, renewable energy capacity and generation, climate-related disaster resilience measures implemented, and land degradation and restoration indicators.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. | – Percentage of population with access to safe drinking water – Water withdrawal intensity |
| SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity. | – Water-use efficiency |
| SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. | – Share of renewable energy capacity and generation |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. | – Implementation of climate-related disaster resilience measures |
| SDG 15: Life on Land | 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. | – Land degradation and restoration indicators |
Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.
Source: iflscience.com
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