New Method Turns Ocean Water into Drinking Water, without Waste

A solar-thermal desalination system developed at the University of Rochester converts seawater to fresh water using black metal panels etched with femtosecond lasers. The process absorbs sunlight, separates salts via self-cleaning surfaces, and extracts lithium from the salts. It avoids chemical additives and brine waste, offering a cleaner alternative to reverse osmosis and thermal distillation.