Solar‑Powered Desalination Turns Seawater into Fresh Water and Solid Salt

Scientists have unveiled a solar‑powered desalination system that converts seawater into potable water while extracting nearly all residual salt as a solid, eliminating the harmful brine that typically follows conventional processes. The new technology incorporates a self‑cleaning mechanism that prevents salt buildup on membranes, allowing continuous operation without frequent maintenance. In addition to producing fresh water, the system can recover valuable minerals, such as lithium, from the solid salt residue, turning what was once waste into a potentially useful resource. The approach promises to reduce the environmental footprint of desalination plants and open a new avenue for resource recovery from seawater. The prototype has demonstrated efficient salt removal and preliminary lithium extraction in laboratory trials, indicating a viable path toward scalable, sustainable desalination.