Abu Dhabi: A new floating device that can generate steam from sunlight could help reduce the cost of desalination and wastewater treatment in the UAE, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology scientists said on Tuesday.
Masdar Institute officials said they have created an initial floating device in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that uses a low-cost solar thermal energy conversion system to make steam.
“The solar conversion system can help make technologies that rely on steam, like seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, residential water heating, medical tool sterilisation and power generation, more efficient and affordable,” said the institute in a statement.
The new device floats on water and converts 20 per cent of incoming solar energy into steam at 100 degrees Celsius without expensive optical concentration devices and is made of cheap, commercially available materials, including bubble wrap and a polystyrene (plastic) foam that traps moisture in the process.
“This project is an excellent demonstration of how international collaboration and use-inspired research can yield cutting-edge scientific findings that have direct application to the sectors that are at the core of the UAE’s continued evolution towards an innovation and knowledge-based economy,” said Dr Steve Griffiths, vice-president for Research and Associate Provost, Masdar Institute, in a statement.
Dr TieJun Zhang, Masdar Institute Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, said the “technology is particularly suited for the UAE’s dusty climate, as it fully uses the entire spectrum of sunlight for thermal applications rather than just the direct portion, which can be hindered by the aerosols”.
Dr TieJun, MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department Head Dr Gang Chen, PhD student Hongxia Li and post-doctoral student Weilin Yang at Masdar Institute, published a paper on their new floating solar receiver last week in the journal Nature Energy, along with George Ni, an MIT graduate student and the paper’s leading author, and two other researchers at MIT.
