Solar-Powered Desalination System for Off-Grid Water Production in India and Gaza

Natasha Wright Talks About Solar-Powered Desalination System for Off-Grid Water Production in India and Gaza.

Her work is focused on improving drinking-water quality and better understanding household water-usage habits in rural India and other areas. She travels to India three times each year to learn more about local water supplies and to complete field trials of her technology.

Source: Lemelson MIT

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Taxonomy

• Drinking Water Security
• Treatment
• Treatment Methods
• Decontamination
• Drinking Water Treatment
• Solar Water Disinfection
• Water Scarcity
• Water Access
• Water Resource Management
• Scarcity
• Water Scarcity In Desert area
• Solar Energy
• Desalination
• Solar Desalination
• Sustainable Desalination
• Drinking Water Managment
• Drinking Water
• Water Resource Management
• water treatment
• Solar Power
• Desalination
• Solar Cells

2 Comments

1. great work ! Does ED solve problem with high fluoride contents in ground water.

2. Solar powered desalination is a proven technology and has a great future. Due to the modularity for both solar panels and desalination units there are no size constraints to be expected. Examples are

   projects in which we have been involved as e. g.  „Al Khafji“ in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a „solar powered SWRO desalination plant“ with a potable water production of 30,000 m³/d expandable to 60.000 m³/d, realized on behalf of the King Abdullah City of Science and Technology (KACST) in 2013/2014, and the "solar powered SWRO desalination plant" of the "ENAPAC" project in the Atacama desert in Chile with a peek permeate production of 2,600 L/s (225,000 m³/d) initiated short time ago. But also decentralised very small units are on the market as we have described in Arab Water World 10/2013.

   Natasha is correct, that for brackish water ED or EDR could well be used, but these membrane processes do not disinfect, other than reverse osmosis or nanofiltration, where the membranes  -  to be considered to be well defined barriers  -   retain absolutely bacteria, viruses and other harmful contaminants that might be present in the feed water  (what I call the  "M3-health-hazards" (Micro-pollutants, Micro-plastic, Microbes [e. g. drug-resistant germs]). Not correct is the low permeate recovery of 40 % for brackish water desalination mentioned in the presentation. Plants that are well designed, manufactured and operated  -  all steps under consideration of the local infrastructural, logistical and cultural frame conditions  -  allow to achieve reliably positive results facing resource efficiency, sustainability and costs.

   Nevertheless, Natasha's engagement is exemplary, even if maybe other technological tools should be considered for a broader implementation of her approach. Congratulations.  

   2 Comment replies

   1. De -watering....all micro solids [include dewatering at 100,000 gpm. I am trying to bring it to market and would be able to if your site would be interested. Why?...save time and money

      jimquigley5@gmail.com

   2. Interesting article/ presentation especially because of the social/implication angle "what  do people really do and what do people really need".  The "hybrid" technology although scientifically sound and concerning energy (solar) use efficient looks complicated and difficult to operate and service  in rural areas. SolarDew has developed a solar powered membrane based system that may be more practical for point of use desalination + purification and most likely easier and considerably cheaper to install and operate .