A dome-shaped device floating in Halifax's Northwest Arm could easily be confused with a buoy, but it is actually a contraption meant to turn ocean water into fresh water. 

Designed by two Dalhousie University researchers, it was created using recycled tires and other cheap materials to have a low-cost, environmentally sustainable method to obtain drinking water. 

Mita Dasog, an associate professor in Dalhousie's chemistry department, said the project aimed to create a device that would be cheap …