Efficient Water Desalinization Using Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Energy Sources

QESST lab at ASU and University of Sonora (UNISON) are working on joint research focused on improving water desalinization efficiency in order to increase access to water in areas with no water supply network, in addition to decreasing the overall cost of water desalinization by developing a hybrid device that combines photovoltaics and solar thermal for water heating. 

The initial stages of the project are to develop models to demonstrate the feasibility and impact of the PV-solar thermal hybrid device for water desalinization and purification and installing the prototypes in rural coastal areas along the Gulf of California in the state of Sonora, where villages lack access to clean water (due to small populations) while solar radiation is high.