In a recent US and China collaboration, they have created the cheapest and fastest way to purify seawater. Designers believe that a scaled-up version could sustain a coastal household in sunny climates year-round. The prototype can produce 4-6 liters of clean seawater per hour. With as many warnings about droughts, the solution has always been there. 3% of Earth’s water is fresh, but 97% is undrinkable. 

A team from MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University developed a desalination about the size of a briefcase that utilizes ‘thermohaline” circulation similar to the ocean. NASA designed thermohaline circulation as the “Great Ocean Conveyor Belt” which occurs when water from the polar regions becomes more saline because of evaporation and sea ice melt. After, the denser water travels to the depths of polar oceans, pushing the less saline and colder water to the tropical oceans. It’s a giant current but it moves much slower than wind-driven currents. 

The seawater circulates in swirls that when with sunlight, helps water evaporate. The salt circulates inside while the water vapor collects at portable rates of purity. They have been trying to make seawater drinkable by sunlight for a little while now. Lean Zhang said, “For the first time, it is possible for water produced by sunlight to be even cheaper than tap water.” The product has the potential to solve real-world problems. As well as all components can reach a 10-year lifespan.