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<br />w <br />c.n <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />Solar pond costs are highly site-specific. In some environments it may be <br />possible to eliminate the liner or to obtain salt (brine) at no cost. As a <br />result, the cost of thermal energy produced by solar ponds can vary across <br />a wide range (see Figure 2), <br /> <br />SOLAR POND APPLICABILITY ASSESSMENT <br /> <br />Prototype solar ponds already have been built and tested. These ponds <br /> <br /> <br />possess the basic characteristics needed to satisfy a wide range of <br /> <br /> <br />applications. Despite substantial progress, it must be recognized that <br /> <br /> <br />solar ponds are still a relatively new and untried product, <br /> <br />Water Desalination/Cleanup <br /> <br />In principle, solar ponds could be used to provide the driving energy for <br />any of the following major desalination processes: <br /> <br />Distillation. Solar pond heat would be applied directly to evaporate <br /> <br /> <br />the fresh water component and separate it from the brine for subse- <br /> <br /> <br />quent condensation. <br /> <br />Reverse Osmosis. Solar pond heat would be converted to mechanical <br /> <br /> <br />energy to generate pressure for driving this membrane process which is <br /> <br />presently effective for brackish water but not for sea water. <br /> <br />Electrodialysis. Solar pond heat would be converted to electricity <br /> <br />for removing salt ions from brackish water by driving them through <br /> <br />ionselective membranes. This process also could be ehnanced by <br /> <br />applying solar pond heat to elevate the process temperature. <br /> <br />-4- <br />