Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

As a science project, my partners and I are conducting electro dialysis in order to desalinate sea water. This process already exists, but we are trying to build a machine that will run on solar power. The problem is figuring out how much power is required for electro dialysis so that we can plan the utilization of solar panels accordingly. Can anybody help us please?

Hello aracelynavarro77,

The amount of solar energy you need depnds mainly on how much water you want to purify and how concentrated the salt is. A useful discussion of electrodialysis is at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrodialysis, including an equation for computing efficiency.

Good luck, WW