Summary: Scientists have developed a solar-powered desalination system that turns seawater into fresh water while removing nearly all of the leftover salt as a solid instead of producing harmful brine. The self-cleaning technology could also recover valuable minerals such as lithium, potentially turning desalination waste into a useful resource. ... Scientists at URochester's Institute of Optics created a solar thermal desalination system designed to produce fresh water efficiently without generating liquid brine or requiring chemical additives to pre-treat the incoming water. The research was led by Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and physics ... At the heart of the...