New sunlight-based desalination device makes fresh water and recovers lithium

University of Rochester researchers built a sunlight-powered desalination panel that turns seawater into fresh water.

The laser-textured surface keeps salt in a separate solid zone, avoiding toxic liquid brine.

In a related test, the system recovered about half of the lithium from saltwater residue.

The approach could make desalination cleaner and more energy-efficient while also extracting valuable minerals.