Researchers have developed a solar-thermal desalination method that requires no pre-treatment and produces no brine waste. Special panels wick seawater across their surface and use solar radiation to distill it, with a surface treatment that prevents salt build-up. Extracted salts and minerals — including table salt, lithium, gold, and uranium — can be recovered for further use. Testing across multiple ocean water sources shows 74% solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency and nearly 100% salt extraction, though scaling to industrial levels remains the key challenge.
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