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Engineers at MIT and in China develop desalination system which could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water (news.mit.edu)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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It looks like the paper is paywalled and not yet on scihub but i did find 38 pages of supplemental information with more details than the article.

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[–] Donjuanme 55 points 10 months ago (19 children)

"The researchers estimate that if the system is scaled up to the size of a small suitcase, it could produce about 4 to 6 liters of drinking water per hour and last several years before requiring replacement parts. At this scale and performance, the system could produce drinking water at a rate and price that is cheaper than tap water."

Holy eff, I was expecting "per day" after 4-6 liters from a suitcase size device... That's more water than I consume in a day, even on double flush days. Of course it would only be during daylight, and with full sun I imagine. But that's still so much water!

[–] [email protected] 43 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (16 children)

While this is a cool development I would recommend tempering expectations. The cost of tap water is exceptionally cheap and the claims made here likely take these estimates to the extremes. The economics of scale likely don't match up.

For example, tap water in my city costs ~$0.04 per gallon, at 5 liters per hour, 0.264 gallons per liter, 24 hours per day, for 5 years is $2,312. So saying they can make it for less than the cost of tap water doesn't mean it's affordable.

EDIT: Forgot to convert from liters to gallons

[–] [email protected] 36 points 10 months ago (6 children)

For example, tap water in my city costs ~$0.04 per gallon, at 5 gallons per hour, 24 hours per day, for 5 years is $1,752. So saying they can make it for less than the cost of tap water doesn’t mean it’s affordable.

Or maybe the product just isn't for you, but for people who pay significantly more for, or possibly don't have access to drinkable tap water at all.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

But furthers the point I'm making. If your water costs more than mine then the potential price of this machine is even higher and the base price is already expensive as is. If this was truly a cheap and affordable alternative for people's in need then it likely would have made that price point a major point of the article.

Just because it's cheaper than an alternative doesn't make it affordable.

EDIT: Also the article says

"the team estimates that the overall cost of running the system would be cheaper than what it costs to produce tap water in the United States."

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