"Tests on an MIT building rooftop showed that a simple proof-of-concept desalination device could produce..."
So doesn't look like they've even hooked it up to the sea yet, so still a bit to go for a real implementation, but still sounds interesting.
I harbour a small dream that I could buy some seaside land someday on a Greek island and hook one of these desalination devices up to the sea and build myself a small oasis.
The device itself would not be "on" the sea, it would just get water from it with a pipe/pump. I don't really see any reason it wouldn't work the same way by the sea: the main problem seems to be how to remove the salt, efficiently, not how to get water into the device, which is easier. Getting enough sun might even be harder than getting sea water.
Yep, and that's what I basically meant by 'hooking it up'.
I guess you would need a pump to bring the seawater to the device, something to pump it elsewhere (for storage, or irrigation), and also some mechanism to dump the brine back in the sea when you're no longer desalinating.
And for maximum ecological efficiency that could be powered by solar panels.
I wonder how maintenance free you could build such a device, and just leave it to work away by itself for months on end.
So doesn't look like they've even hooked it up to the sea yet, so still a bit to go for a real implementation, but still sounds interesting.
I harbour a small dream that I could buy some seaside land someday on a Greek island and hook one of these desalination devices up to the sea and build myself a small oasis.