Carbon nanotubes may revolutionise the process of converting salt water to fresh water and provide an energy-saving solution to the increasing global demand for fresh drinking water, researchers say.
In a new report, computer modelling was used to study how fluid flows at the molecular level. One of their aims was to find the optimum design for a carbon nanotube (CNT) membrane that can be used in the desalination process.
Thee simulations suggest that this membrane may be 20 to 5,000 times more permeable to water than current commercial scale reverse osmosis membranes, depending on tube density.
“If a new material is found that can maximise water transport through the separating membrane, while at the same time rejecting dissolved ions and other particulates in seawater, reverse osmosis would be a much more efficient process,” said lead author Jason Reese, professor of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
Demand for drinking water on the increase
With the global population predicted to reach 9.5 billion by the latter half of this century, the demand for drinking water is only going to increase. Already, more than a billion people are faced with insufficient fresh water resources.
This week, 20 former heads of state, including former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, warned of an impending "water crisis", and will establish a panel to tackle a worldwide leadership gap on the issue.
Trends in climate change have been shown to predict a redistribution of rainfall globally, with dry regions of the planet only getting dryer.
Huge costs of desalination
Most desalination plants convert salt water to fresh water using reverse osmosis. Pressure is applied to the salt water solution forcing the water through a permeable membrane that separates the pure water from the salts.
There are huge costs associated with desalination plants, however, as they require expensive infrastructure and large amounts of energy. With current technology, it is five times more expensive to desalinate water than to extract groundwater, but CNTs may change this.
Carbon nanotubes are sheets of graphene – one-atom thick carbon – rolled into cylinders. Their versatility lies in the fact that they can be a nanometre in diameter, with a tube length many millions of times longer. They are highly efficient at repelling salt ions. In solution, salts are surrounded by hydrating water molecules, which must be shed in order to pass through the CNTs.
This process takes a lot of energy and as a result doesn’t happen very often. Therefore, the right sized nanotube will optimise water transport while minimising salt ion permeability.
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation 2013 05 18
As alert Zero Hedge readers are aware, this week the EURO Politburo is busy debating the dodgy subject of deposit "bail-ins."
The following article very succinctly explains this odious mode of fractal fractional reserve end-game chicanery.
The author encourages all of you to share it with others.
NO BANK DEPOSITS WILL BE SPARED FROM CONFISCATION
By Matthias Chang Esq, futurefastforward.com (with author’s permission)
I challenge ...
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances” 2013 05 17 A recent Department of Defense instruction alters the US code applying to the military’s involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing US troops to quell “civil disturbances” domestically without any Presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in America along with the wholesale abolition of Posse Comitatus.
The instruction (embedded at the end of this article), which ...
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize 2013 05 17 An archaeological group says it plans to take legal action.
Despite its small size, the Caribbean country of Belize is known for a few outstanding characteristics: a spectacular barrier reef, a teeming rain forest, and extensive Maya ruins.
It now has one fewer of those ruins.
A construction company in Belize has been scooping stone out of the major pyramid at the site ...
Ginger: A Warming Herb 2013 05 17
Ginger is an Asian herb that is particularly well known to us in the West. Over time, and with trial and error, its stimulating properties and piquant flavor have been integrated into both our herbal “materia medica” and cuisine.
Brewed as an herbal tea, ginger root is particularly helpful for those people who have underactive stomachs and difficulty producing adequate amounts ...
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine 2013 05 17 In an Australian first, doctors have used a new resuscitation technique to revive three patients who were clinically dead for up to an hour.
One of the lucky survivors was Colin Fiedler, 49, who was pronounced dead at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, after suffering a heart attack, The Herald Sun reported.
Doctors brought Fieldler back to life using a U.S.-made ...
Carbon nanotubes may revolutionise the process of converting salt water to fresh water and provide an energy-saving solution to the increasing global demand for fresh drinking water, researchers say.
No Bank Deposits Will Be Spared from Confiscation
Military Says No Presidential Authorization Needed To Quell “Civil Disturbances”
Ancient Maya Pyramid Destroyed in Belize
Ginger: A Warming Herb
Australian man dead for 40 minutes revived with new CPR machine