3 ms·
> On a sunny day, up to 39 megawatts of energy can be produced – enough to power the desalination plant... They don't appear to be using evaporation and disti
by hyperpallium 10y ago
> On a sunny day, up to 39 megawatts of energy can be produced – enough to power the desalination plant...
They don't appear to be using evaporation and distillation, but instead generate electricity and run the desalination plant with that... I'm guessing, by pressured osmosis, as used elsewhere in Australia.
My question is: why don't they do it as you assumed? Whatever a solar still might lose in efficiency, it must surely make up in the reliability and simplicity of no moving parts.
- bjelkeman-again 10y agoDuring the pilot project Sundrop decided to simplify the design. The equipment for the distillation of the hot humid air proved to be complicated to produce with the resources available at the time and they decided to go with a more conventional method. Personally I think the original design could be made to work, but it needed more R&D than Sundrop was prepared to spend at the time.
- stuaxo 10y agoIndeed, trying too many new processes all at once would be setting yourself up for failure. Now this works, the other parts can be addressed and further efficiencies made.
- stuaxo 10y agoThere's a great video on youtube about the Advanced Passenger Train in Britain in the 80s where they tried a few too many new things with predictable results.