This Floating Platform Harnesses Sunlight To Turn Seawater Into Freshwater
The scarcity of water has never been more pronounced than right now, as heatwaves around the world send scientists scrambling for solutions.
A startup in Abu Dhabi has found a way to enhance a previous solution, the solar still, by casting it out to sea to harvest not only the Sun’s power but to turn seawater into freshwater as well.
Manhat has developed these floating water irrigation systems that don’t require electricity nor do they create residual brine. A little greenhouse platform with a tube running through its center is set on the surface of the ocean. The sun evaporates the water beneath the platform, and as it dries up it separates from the salt crystals and condenses within the tube as freshwater.
The device measures 2.25 square meters and can produce up to 1.5 liters of water a day. It intends to ultimately be able to harvest 20 liters of water a day.
This new invention could potentially serve as a water source for remote coastal communities—such as the Maldives, which does not have enough land to spare for desalination processes—with little access to fresh drinking water. Manhat is also intending to use it for floating farms, where extra carbon emissions will not be incurred during the transportation of clean water to crops.
As of right now, the project is still in its early stages. However, down the line, it is possible that water can then be transported to local houses through a pipe that has been hooked up to the platform.
Early this year, Manhat won the Water Europe Innovation Award, which presents accolades to small and medium enterprises that come up with novel ideas for conserving water.
