Most effective desalination membrane works 1000 times faster than present technology

Dr. Aparna Deshpande

Most of the industrial equipment used for water desalination use carbon nanotubes-based filters. As freshwater resources are limited industrial scale saltwater purification technique plays a key role globally. As most of the manufacturing sectors need fresh water as a raw material, sea water desalination is practiced on a very large scale. The two main ways to desalinate water currently are thermal: using heat to evaporate seawater so it condenses as pure water and by reverse osmosis, which uses pressure to force water through a membrane that blocks salt. Carbon nanotube-based membranes are till date considered to be the best choice and used in large scales, but it comes with a huge cost.  

A group of researchers from University of Tokyo’s Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, headed by Associate Professor Yoshimitsu Itoh have developed a lead in Teflon based water purification technique. Using fluorine-based nanostructures embedded in Teflon makes it an effective device for ultrafast water purification. The fluorous nano networks are more efficient than present desalination technologies as they operate fast, use less pressure and energy, and have more effective filters. As we are aware how effortlessly wet ingredients slide across a nonstick Teflon-coated frying pan. Fluorine a major component of Teflon is a low weight material that is inherently water-repellent, or hydrophobic. Teflon can also enhance the flow of water by lining pipes with it. As fluorine is electronically negative, it tends to repel negative ions such as the chlorine which is major component in salt water. To add up for fluorine’s negativity helps in breaking down the water clusters, essentially loosely bound groups of water molecules, so that they pass through the networks quickly. The fluorine-based water desalination membranes require less energy to operate as compared to the current available membranes.

The research group is now working on optimizing their membrane synthesis procedures which are presently energy intensive. But given the longevity of the membranes and their low operational costs, the overall energy costs will be much lower than with present techniques. The group is also coming with some novel membrane technology for CO2 absorption as well.

Please see the following news Source(s) and original reference(s) therein: https://scitechdaily.com/new-device-purifies-saltwater-over-a-1000-times-faster-than-standard-industrial-equipment/

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Dr Smita Chaturvedi
Smita is an experimental condensed matter physicist. The quest for multifunctional materials motivates her. Smita finished her PhD from RDVV Jabalpur and BARC Mumbai in the year 2002 and worked as a research associate in IIT Mumbai and Oakland University, Michigan. Smita was awarded as a Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional excellence fellow in 2018-19. Smita holds more than a decade of research and teaching experience. She possesses good knowledge about education system and research opportunities in India as well as abroad. Music and gardening are her mindful meditations.
Dr. Priyadarshini Karve
Dr Priyadarshini Karve has worked in the areas of household energy, decentralised waste-to-fuel technologies, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable and climate-ready urbanisation, etc. She runs her own social green enterprise Samuchit Enviro Tech in Pune, focused on enabling access to sustainable products and services. She is also a co-founder of OrjaBox, a startup promoting solar thermal technologies. Dr Karve is a Founder Member of Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN - a multi-state society of decentralised renewable energy practitioners and entrepreneurs) and Cleaner Cooking Coalition (CCC - an international organisation focused on promoting user-centric cooking energy technologies that are good for health as well as climate). She is also the National Convener of Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC - focused on climate justice issues and working to bring people's voices in policy choices). Her work has been recognised by several national and international awards and honours.
Sanjay Khare
Sanjay Khare ,after his graduation in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1986 has been associated with major Japanese & European Automotive OEMs in Indian Subcontinent for 35 years . Widely travelled across Europe & Asia , he has held positions across diverse functions of Automotive Corporations.
In his current role as Board Member and Vice President at Skoda Auto Volkswagen India , he is Chief Sustainability Catalyst to guide actions at Skoda Auto Volkswagen India along with the sister brands Audi, Porsche & Lamborghini.
He leads an active Climate Resilience program where the automotive major in India has already achieved Zero Waste to Landfill, Water Positive & Zero liquid Discharge Certification, Zero Accidents , targeting an 18.5 MW of installed Roof Top Solar plant at a single Automotive site in India in 2021 and fully Carbon Neutral Production by 2025.
Sanjay has done his Executive MBA from Management development Institute ,Gurgaon specialising in Strategy & Marketing . He has active interests in driving Cultural Change, Competency building , Human Motivation topics while adopting/ innovating the technological advancements and total quality revolution.He is also a Qualified Independent Director registered with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India. An active speaker on Automotive & Sustainability topics on National & International forums.
In personal life, he is an Endurance Cyclist having participated in many adventure ride expeditions . He also spends his time in developing mastery on Indian Classical Music instrument Sitar.