Fresh Water from Salt Water
5 May 2006, 11:55
Categories: filtration membranes
Earth & Sky spoke with Kamalesh Sirkar at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He’s using nanotechnology to purify saltwater. The most commonly used desalination techniques are called “distillation” and “reverse osmosis.” The nanotech technique is also expensive, Sirkar said, but it should work faster than other techniques. Sirkar’s device is called a “rectangular cross flow hollow fiber membrane module”. Hot, salty water is run over a thin membrane that has tiny holes in it, called nanopores. They’re so small that only steam can pass through. Liquid water, salts and minerals stay behind. On the other side, is a bath of cold water. When the steam passes through the membrane, it condenses – or turns back into a liquid. The product is pure water that’s safe for drinking. Read More
Posted by: The Editors
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