Graphene-Oxide sieve turns seawater into drinking water
Researchers at University of Manchester have successfully developed a graphene based sieve that is capable of desalinating seawater. Scarcity of fresh water is already affecting millions of lives and this advancement can become the key to the problem in near future. This new graphene-oxide membrane allows only water to pass through the sieve blocking common salt ions. As simple as that!
Graphene has been a part of numerous technological researches aimed at revolutionizing the future. May it be improving battery capacity or thinner electronics, this one atom thin carbon sheet has shown tremendous potential. Graphene membranes can be efficiently used for filtering small nanoparticles, organic molecules and even some large salts. But, the smaller size of common salt made conventional method ineffective for the proposed usage.
To overcome the problem of pore size, team behind the research developed something going by the name âaccurate and tunable sievingâ. Physical confinements are used to reduce the spacing to the extent that it can block hydrated common salt ions. Although the research was aimed at providing a cheaper and better alternative to distillation process, utilities of this newly developed membrane are endless.
These membranes also have tunable pore size which allows one to fabricate sieves according to the filtration requirement of ions of particular size. This barrier approach for water filtration has always shown difficulty with industrial scalability in past. But, one of the researchers, Professor Rahul Nair said that the team has also demonstrated the scalability and feasibility of mass production for this method.
The ultimate goal of the program is to make a portable filtration device which can do the job at minimal energy expense.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
![Graphene_sieves](https://data.crazyengineers.com/old-attachments/25/25333-Graphene_sieves.jpg)
Graphene has been a part of numerous technological researches aimed at revolutionizing the future. May it be improving battery capacity or thinner electronics, this one atom thin carbon sheet has shown tremendous potential. Graphene membranes can be efficiently used for filtering small nanoparticles, organic molecules and even some large salts. But, the smaller size of common salt made conventional method ineffective for the proposed usage.
To overcome the problem of pore size, team behind the research developed something going by the name âaccurate and tunable sievingâ. Physical confinements are used to reduce the spacing to the extent that it can block hydrated common salt ions. Although the research was aimed at providing a cheaper and better alternative to distillation process, utilities of this newly developed membrane are endless.
These membranes also have tunable pore size which allows one to fabricate sieves according to the filtration requirement of ions of particular size. This barrier approach for water filtration has always shown difficulty with industrial scalability in past. But, one of the researchers, Professor Rahul Nair said that the team has also demonstrated the scalability and feasibility of mass production for this method.
The ultimate goal of the program is to make a portable filtration device which can do the job at minimal energy expense.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
Replies
You are reading an archived discussion.
Related Posts
Samsung India, in its latest addition to the J-series, has announced a new budget smartphone the Galaxy J3 Pro, for the Indian market. The smartphone is priced at Rs 8,490...
Chinese electronics major Huawei has unveiled its new affordable smartphone, the Huawei Y5 2017. The device is listed on the company's official website revealing it's tech specs and features but...
From the multitude of senses, humans possess one named touch or tactioception that helps us "feel" the physical reality. As technology evolved with time, the electronic gadgets received an upgraded...
Google has finally launched the YouTube app specifically designed for Indian users after six months from its announcement in second “Google for India” event, 2016. It’s a desperate attempt from...
Xiaomi, on Wednesday, has released the Mi Pad 3 in China. The company which is famous for manufacturing elite smartphones has silently made this move by introducing the tablet via...