The future of fresh water...

The innovation I brought up in class was instant desalinization. I had in mind a tablet or chemical that could be added to a water supply that could instantly remove salt and harmful minerals, also known as, desalinization. The fresh water supply of the globe is at risk and will only decrease as the population grows. Currently, desalinization is a very inefficient process. It takes large amounts of energy to evaporate the water and remove the particulates (e.g. salt, minerals).



The future of desalinization while not at the tablet phase, is undergoing research at Boston College. They are examining nano-technology that creates carbon tubes in water that removes the harmful additives and makes it fresh to drink or irrigate. "Nano-machines could be used to build "micro-pipes" of activated carbon only a few billionths of a meter(nanometer) in diameter. These pipes would be activiated by electric charge which would cause them to remove sodium and chloride ions from salt water. These filters made of these tubes would act as highly effecient desalination machines." (allsands 2009)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

http://www.scienceinindustry.co.uk/images/articles/Introduction_to_Nanotechnology_1.jpg

http://www.allsands.com/Science/whatisnanotec_yqb_gn.htm