Desalination is often touted as one solution to the world's water woes, but current desalination plants tend to hog energy. Now University of Florida researchers have developed a technology that can tap waste heat from electrical power plants as its main source of energy, an advance that could significantly reduce the cost of desalination in some parts of the world. "In the future, we have to go to desalination, because the freshwater supply at the moment can just barely meet the demands of our growing population," said James Klausner, a UF professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, whose research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. "We think this technology could run off excess heat from utility plants and produce millions of gallons each day, said Klausner, lead author of an article on the system that appears in the current issue of the Jour-nal of Energy Resources Technology. He co-invented the technology with fellow UF mechanical engineering professor Renwei Mei.
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