Israeli scientists have developed a household size water desalination unit and a first model is already in regular operation at a cattle ranch near the Dead Sea, the Negev Arid Zones Research Institute announced today.
The household-size unit has a maximum capacity of 250 gallons a day and is effective in producing drinkable water from underground saline water. The cost of a unit is expected to be about $200 and each will produce 250 gallons of drinkable water on only five kilowatts an hour. The first unit is in use at Neot Hakikar, a cattle ranch 1,200 feet under sea level 10 miles south of the Dead Sea, The unit, which was developed by the Institute, is based on the principle of electrical separation of salt from water, his process has been known for some time but it could not be applied to a small unit until new type membranes were developed.
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