---
title: "New Device Purifies Water While Generating Solar Power"
description: "Researchers have created a two-in-one device that purifies salty or contaminated water while simultaneously producing solar power."
date: "2019-07-10"
modified: "2019-07-10"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/new-device-purifies-water-solar-power"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Solar Power"
tags:
  - "clean water"
  - "desalination"
  - "solar power"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Device Purifies Water While Generating Solar Power

![Researchers have created a two-in-one device that purifies salty or contaminated water while simultaneously producing solar power.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/new-device-purifies-water-solar-power1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Shutterstock\</em\>*

## Soak It In

Conventional wisdom dictates you should keep water and electricity far away from one another.

But now, a team of Saudi Arabian researchers say they've created a two-in-one solar power device that [purifies water](<https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/09/device-bring-both-solar-power-clean-water-to-millions>) while producing electricity from sunlight — tech that could help solve a pair of global crises.

## Tier One

According to the team's [study,](<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10817-6>) published on Tuesday in the journal *Nature Communications*, the device consists of a standard solar panel positioned horizontally with several tiers below it.

When [salty](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/desalination-salty-water>) or contaminated water runs from a container through those tiers, the waste heat from the solar cell warms the uppermost tier of water, causing it to evaporate through a membrane.

The now-clean water is then fed into a collection container, and the heat released during the evaporation process warms the next tier of water — and so on.

## Waste Not

The researchers say that after water runs through their device, its levels of lead, copper, sodium, calcium, and magnesium all fall below the World Health Organization's safe-for-drinking maximums — meaning it could help the world meets its need for [clean energy](<https://futurism.com/fossil-fuels-community-impacts>) and [clean drinking water](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/iceberg-south-africa>).

"The uniqueness of the device lies in its smart and effective use of the waste heat of the \[photovoltaic\] as a resource, which leads to its high efficiency in both electricity and fresh water production," researcher Peng Wang [told *Cosmos Magazine*](<https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/electricity-and-water-can-be-a-good-combination>). "In a sense, it utilizes solar energy to a much fuller capacity."

**READ MORE**: [Device could bring both solar power and clean water to millions](<https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/09/device-bring-both-solar-power-clean-water-to-millions>) \[*The Guardian*\]

**More on desalination:** *[We’re Drinking so Much Water That We’re Actually Making the Ocean Saltier](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/desalination-salty-water>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)