The idea is to contribute to solving the water crisis that is devastating the country
A group of researchers from the Institute for Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), in Porto, has developed this year a desalination system that is driven by solar thermal energy to turn seawater into drinking water.
Scientists are still collecting data to prove the viability of the technology, announced in February, but the prototype is almost finished, says researcher Szabolcs Varga, in charge of the project, to the newspaper Jornal Económico (JE). Tests with this pilot are expected to be completed in the summer of 2023, despite delays due to a lack of raw materials and rising inflation.
"The construction suffered several delays due to the need to develop several components that do not exist on the market and the scarcity of materials within the available budget. When the funding was allocated, before the pandemic, the expected costs of the prototype construction were very different from today. Progress is dependent on the pace at which we can get the additional funds to move forward," explained the project officer.
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