"To date, virtually all of the research experiments on salinity gradient energy conversion have been based on flow- through membranes-semipermeable membranes fo

"To date, virtually all of the research experiments on salinity gradient energy conversion have been based on flow- through membranes-semipermeable membranes for pressure-retarded osmosis or ion-selective membranes for reverse electrodialysis. The difficulties associated with use of these membranes include high cost, degradation, polarization, and solution pretreatment requirements. In principle, however, most desalination schemes that are reversible are capable of producing power in salination. The scheme we report here does not require membranes. It is the reversal of vapor compression desalination, which has a higher thermodynamic efficiency than flash distillation, the most highly developed desalination method"