Chinese scientists combine water purification with electric power generation
- Complex internal structure of solar-powered ‘umbrella’ device resists salt build-up and generates a usable voltage, researchers say
- Field testing of a prototype device found it removed all detectable impurities from a sample containing solids and microorganisms
The researchers, led by Professor Zhang Ting from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’s Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, said their design could one day provide an endless source of drinking water, along with enough usable energy to power wearable devices and other applications.
The device looks like an umbrella with a square canopy. Sunlight is captured by the canopy’s upper surface and the absorbed heat is conducted to the device’s interior, while the umbrella “handle” continuously absorbs water.
Clean water is produced on the canopy’s surface for collection by evaporation or other methods.
The research team tested a prototype with a 30cm (1 foot) canopy at Dushu lake in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and found it removed all detectable impurities from a water sample containing solid matter and living microorganisms.
Ion concentration also dropped to 10,000th of its previous level after desalination, the researchers said.
