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ysabetwordsmithNew Solar Method Turns Ocean Into Drinking Water, While Extracting Valuable Lithium Without Waste
The technology uses solar panels made of black metal etched with femtosecond lasers to make the surface super light-absorbing and super-wicking, extremely attractive to water.
The panels have a laser-treated active region that pulls a thin layer of water across the surface, absorbs nearly all solar radiation, distills the water, and deposits the leftover salts and minerals into the panel’s untreated sides, leaving the active region unclogged for continuous desalination.
Impressive!
A team led by senior scientist Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and physics at the university, says other researchers have developed solar-thermal desalination techniques that only work well in lab experiments—using simulated seawater made of only water and sodium chloride. The real ocean is much more complex, and these systems tend to encounter problems when used in the field.
That is just stupid. Seriously, nobody thought to visit a grocery store for culinary sea salt or a pet store for saltwater tank sea salt? Both are readily available. And if you want to test how it handles microplastics, stop your washing machine just before it drains and bail out some water from there.
Testing their solar-thermal desalination technique using samples of water from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, Guo and his team were able to make the surface self-cleaning.
See now, this team is smart. They used real ocean water from multiple sources.
Another distinct advantage is that instead of leaving behind brine that must be disposed of or processed, it extracts nearly 100 percent of the salts in solid form. This could not only produce an abundant supply of table salt, but it could also be used to extract more precious minerals, including lithium, which helps power electric vehicles and electronics.
The key is to view everything as resource, not as waste. Ocean water contains many useful parts.
The technology uses solar panels made of black metal etched with femtosecond lasers to make the surface super light-absorbing and super-wicking, extremely attractive to water.
The panels have a laser-treated active region that pulls a thin layer of water across the surface, absorbs nearly all solar radiation, distills the water, and deposits the leftover salts and minerals into the panel’s untreated sides, leaving the active region unclogged for continuous desalination.
Impressive!
A team led by senior scientist Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and physics at the university, says other researchers have developed solar-thermal desalination techniques that only work well in lab experiments—using simulated seawater made of only water and sodium chloride. The real ocean is much more complex, and these systems tend to encounter problems when used in the field.
That is just stupid. Seriously, nobody thought to visit a grocery store for culinary sea salt or a pet store for saltwater tank sea salt? Both are readily available. And if you want to test how it handles microplastics, stop your washing machine just before it drains and bail out some water from there.
Testing their solar-thermal desalination technique using samples of water from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, Guo and his team were able to make the surface self-cleaning.
See now, this team is smart. They used real ocean water from multiple sources.
Another distinct advantage is that instead of leaving behind brine that must be disposed of or processed, it extracts nearly 100 percent of the salts in solid form. This could not only produce an abundant supply of table salt, but it could also be used to extract more precious minerals, including lithium, which helps power electric vehicles and electronics.
The key is to view everything as resource, not as waste. Ocean water contains many useful parts.
(no subject)
Date: 2026-06-15 05:20 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2026-06-15 06:25 pm (UTC)Me, I learned it from dye science. When I was little, we would make tie-dye and also dye things with random stuff from the yard. My mother would talk about how some dyes have more than one pigment and they will "run" at different speeds and distances so that they separate across the fabric. Lots of things suspended in a solution will do that, just less visibly than dyes or mashed botanicals. Mulberries can give many shades of pink, purple, blue, and gray.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2026-06-16 02:01 am (UTC)--Jessica
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2026-06-16 02:15 am (UTC)Have you seen the more modern "tie-dye" fakeout with marker and alcohol?
(no subject)
Date: 2026-06-15 07:10 pm (UTC)