Desalination

A new type of desalination membrane uses a series of nanoscale tubes lined with a Teflon-inspired material that repels salts while allowing water to flow through with little friction. The team says it's fast, and requires little pressure and energy.

Although there are already portable systems that create drinking water by desalinating and purifying seawater, they typically utilize filters that have to be replaced. A new MIT setup, however, just requires a small amount of electricity.

A new design for a solar-powered desalination device prevents the build-up of salt, making for an efficient and affordable system. Just four dollars' worth of materials should be enough for a device that can provide a family's daily drinking water.

The burning of coal may be falling out of favor as a means of generating heat and electricity, but that doesn't mean the material no longer has any valuable uses. According to a new study, it could be utilized in the desalination of seawater.

The James Dyson Award is an international competition to encourage students to get creative to solve the world's pressing problems. The national finalists have been announced for 2021, showcasing ideas that help people and the environment.

The vast majority of water on Earth is undrinkable, but desalination could be a vital technology to meet the world’s drinking water needs. Now, Korean engineers have developed a new nanofiber membrane that can operate efficiently for long periods.

Engineers at Virginia Tech have developed a new, more efficient solar still design. Inspired by mangrove roots, the "synthetic tree" mimics the natural process of transporting water up through roots and stems into leaves.

The ocean holds billions of tons of lithium, and scientists have just tested a new way of extracting it, with a device that takes in seawater and pumps out freshwater and lithium phosphate – plus more than enough H2 and chlorine to pay the power bill.

Water scarcity is one of humanity’s most pressing problems. Now, engineers at Caltech have developed a system that can tap into two sources to produce drinking water, by purifying dirty water during the day and collecting droplets from fog overnight.

Desalination is an important technology that may help expand the world’s supply of drinking water. Now, engineers in China have demonstrated a new, relatively simple design for a solar still with a high efficiency and low cost.

While reverse osmosis is a relatively energy-efficient form of seawater desalination, it is nonetheless made less efficient by a problem known as biofouling. A new membrane coating, however, could address biofouling like never before.

Some types of water are too salty for current desalination systems to handle. Scientists have now developed a potential solution to this problem, with a solar-powered desalination system that resists corrosion thanks to a special coating.