More than 300 million in the world have access to fresh water thanks to desalination, a process that removes salt and other minerals from saline water, making it suitable for human consumption. The process is effective but it also has side effects. Desalination is extremely energy-consuming and creates by-products such as brine, which returns to the sea and damages local ecosystems. The problem is so acute that some scientists talk about a future Mediterranean threat, since 3m³ of seawater produce 1m³ of fresh water and 2m³ of hazardous waste residue.

Athens Technical University researcher Dimitris Xevgenos created a startup company to launch an innovative solution which seeks to minimize damage from brine and high energy consumption. The technical proposal called 'Sol-Brine' aims at recycling the brine, in a way that not only does not become harmful to the environment, but can be used for other industrial purposes such as the production of table salt, paper and plaster. Moreover, ‘Sol brine’ is based on cutting-edge evaporation methods, which entail so low energy consumption that it can be covered by renewable energy sources.

So far, "Sol-Brine' has been tested on the island of Tinos for two years with remarkable results, something that has helped Xevgenos to secure funding for a full-scale launch of the method on the market.

United Nations: Mediterranean Action Plan – Desalination: option of distraction for a thirsty world?