Solar-powered desalination device wins MIT $100K competition
This is incredibly inefficient compared to existing desalinization devices. My boat has a watermaker that uses 4w/liter and it isn't even state of the art. This is 5x less efficient. It is also incredibly low volume.<p>There is novelty in the method, and in not using filter mediums. But those differences aren't going to matter if it isn't an order of magnitude more efficient. You could buy an inflatable evaporative device off amazon today to desalinate seawater that makes far more water with no electrical input at all.<p>I'm a bit saddened to see this show up on HN after it made the rounds on FB groups a month ago, where it was debunked. The world has fresh water problems and desalinization at scale with higher efficiency would be a huge unlock. That is exciting. But I'm not sure why this particular approach is getting attention given it underperforms so badly. Except maybe that the letters MIT and a lot of journalists that don't care as long as you clicked.