Making seawater drinkable at low cost to help people in need. Here is the project that arises from a research conducted by the experts of the Polytechnic of Turin in collaboration with MIT.
Making seawater drinkable at low cost to help people in need. Here is the project that arises from a research conducted by the experts of the Polytechnic of Turin in collaboration with MIT.
At the heart of the research we find the reverse osmosis process to desalt seawater and have it available drinking water. The idea is to use porous materials that the pressurized water will have to pass through to separate from the salt.
Hence, researchers are committed to developing innovative membranes for the desalination of water so that it becomes a simple, economical and as fast as possible process.
In particular, the researchers want to create membranes with one 10 times higher water filtering capacity compared to what is now available. Experts want to move from theory to practice after two intense years of study.
Read also: THE SOLAR WATERMAKER THAT MAKES SEA WATER DRINKABLE
The membranes must be able to separate the water molecules from the salts dissolved in it in an economic way. Researchers think that the solution for creating new membranes to desalt water may lie in nanotechnologies, which are already being exploited in other fields, such as renewable energy.
Read also: FROM MIT THE PHOTOVOLTAIC WATERMAKER TO MAKE SEA WATER DRINKABLE
At the moment the research has focused on zeolite membranes and the study in question has been published in Nature Communications. Future developments remain to be understood to understand whether the system for making sea water drinkable will be truly effective and economical at the same time.
Marta Albè
