Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
This challenge is now being addressed by the Renewable Energy Community Desalination (RECoDeS) project of the Ateneo de Davao University, in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi, and the Municipal Government of Sitangkai.
The RECoDeS team is led by Fr. Antonio M. Basilio, Jr., SJ, PhD and supported by Doris B. Montecastro, PhD and Renyl B. Barroca, PhD. The other members of the team who set out for Sitangkai are Chemical Engineer Christian Mark Labiano, Chemists Ed Ivan Bardoquillo, and Joshua John Carballo, and Technicians/Fabricators Zaldy Mendoza, Vicente Surada, Jr., and Darwin Magdugo. The team designed and developed a portable solar-powered desalination system capable of providing a minimum of five (5) liters of potable water every day.
The team brought and installed the system at Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi, on 12 November 2023. On the morning of the next day, the technical partner and assigned person to take care of the machine confirmed that the water harvested from the still was indeed potable and not salty anymore.
Team RECoDeS after the system installation in Barangay Datu Baguinda Putih, Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. (From left): Zaldy Mendoza, Ed Ivan Bardoquillo, Engr. Christian Mark Labiano, Joshua Johnn Carballo, Darwin Magdugo, and Vicente Surada, Jr. Led by Fr. Antonio M. Basilio, SJ, PhD, this interdisciplinary team is composed of chemistry researchers and faculty members, electricians, fabricators, chemical engineers, and engineering technicians working under ADDU Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technologies (CREATE) and the Mindanao Renewable Energy R&D Center (MREC) with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Training participants and residents inspect the solar-powered desalination system at Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi.
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