Posted: 2/28/2015 Updated: 11/15/2017, 4/6/2017, 1/26/2017, 12/27/2015
Update Of 11/15/2017
Just read Graphene water filter turns whisky clear. It looks like progress is accelerating. Good news!
To quote (emphasis added): “Previously graphene-oxide membranes were shown to be completely impermeable to all solvents except for water. However, a study published in Nature Materials, now shows that we can tailor the molecules that pass through these membranes by simply making them ultrathin. … In the newly developed ultrathin membranes, graphene-oxide sheets are assembled in such a way that pinholes formed during the assembly are interconnected by graphene nanochannels, which produces an atomic-scale sieve allowing the large flow of solvents through the membrane. … This new research allows for expansion in the applications of graphene based membranes from seawater desalination to organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN).”
Update Of 4/6/2017
Just read Graphene sieve turns seawater into drinking water. If confirmed, this could be huge! Scarcity of drinking water is history!
“The Manchester-based group have now further developed these graphene[-oxide] membranes and found a strategy to avoid the swelling of the membrane when exposed to water. The pore size in the membrane can be precisely controlled which can sieve common salts out of salty water and make it safe to drink. … When the common salts are dissolved in water, they always form a 'shell' of water molecules around the salt molecules. This allows the tiny capillaries of the graphene-oxide membranes to block the salt from flowing along with the water. Water molecules are able to pass through the membrane barrier and flow anomalously fast which is ideal for application of these membranes for desalination.” (emphasis added)
Update Of 1/26/2017
Just read Graphene Solar Absorber Could Enable Cheap Thermal Desalination: “Now researchers … have developed a solar absorber material made from graphene oxide that enables a solar approach to desalinating water without the need for solar concentrators and thermal insulation.”
Update Of 12/27/2015
Just read:
- Shocking Trick To Desalinate Seawater: “Engineers at MIT have come up with a new desalination system that uses a shockwave to get the salt out of seawater. It could be a practical and energy-efficient method for desalination; water purification in remote locations and emergencies; and for cleaning brackish wastewater generated from hydraulic fracturing, the researchers say.”
- Molybdenum Disulfide Outperforms Graphene in Water Desalination: “MoS2 has inherent advantages in that the molybdenum in the center attracts water, then the sulfur on the other side pushes it away, so we have much higher rate of water going through the pore”
Trigger
Pardon my play on words in the title of this blog post. No blasphemy intended! On the contrary!
Just read Megascale Desalination The world’s largest and cheapest reverse-osmosis desalination plant is up and running in Israel. Desalination plants account already for 40% of Israel’s water supply. This is truly amazing.
Immediate, cheap, and reliable access to clean and sufficient water is perhaps one of the biggest, present challenges to humans all over the world.
It has recently been reported, that California is also looking into building new and reactivating shut down existing desalination plants.
The Oceans - A Near Endless Source Of Water
We can only hope that human ingenuity will overcome this problem very soon. More money should be spent on this research.
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