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A dramatic New Mexico sky is reflected in the curved mirrors of the parabolic trough.
Researchers at sandia national laboratories have developed a method of using concentrated sunlight to detoxify water. The method uses a trough of parabolic mirrors to focus energy on a long glass tube. contaminated water and titanium dioxide is then pumped through the tube and into a receiving tank. The titanium dioxide acts as a catalyst, speeding up the reaction of the water with ultraviolet energy in sunlight. free electrons create positively charged "holes" in the catalyst, which in turn react with dissolved oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, or water to create hydroxyl radicals and peroxide ions. These two highly reactive oxides attack the organics, breaking them into environmentally safe components.
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