Uncover the science behind the graphene membranes for desalination of water
Uncover the science behind the graphene membranes for desalination of water
Membranes of nanoporous graphene can be used to desalinate water. Water molecules pass through the pores, while salt ions are turned back.
© Massachusetts Institute of Technology (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
Fresh water is running in short supply in many parts of the world, and our research group at MIT has been looking at how entirely new materials could help us get more affordable clean water from the ocean where more than 97% of the world's water resides. The key is the water desalination process. I'm working with Professor Jeffrey Grossman in the Materials Science department at MIT on the design of new membranes for water desalination.
One of the membranes that we're studying is made of graphene, which is a fascinating material. It's only one atom thick and we've found that it has tremendous potential for drastically improving the water permeability. Water desalination today often uses filtration membranes that effectively reject salt ions like sodium and chloride but at the cost of sluggish water output and a very high energy footprint.
Using a computational tool called molecular dynamics, we've modeled the behavior of salt water flowing across graphene membranes at the atomic scale. Our simulations show that graphene could let water through it more than 100 times the permeability of existing membranes while still rejecting salt.
The way to achieve this is to introduce small pores on the order of one billionth of a meter in the structure of graphene. If the pores are wider than water molecules but still narrower than sulfated ions, our calculations demonstrate that water is able to flow across them while salt is blocked. And because graphene is one of the strongest materials known, this membrane could withstand the pressures required for water desalination.
The enhanced water permeability of nanoporous graphene could be an important advantage over existing water desalination technology. So while there's still a lot of work to be done on this topic, we're very encouraged by our existing results and we're excited to see the role that nanoporous graphene could play in the future of global water resources.
One of the membranes that we're studying is made of graphene, which is a fascinating material. It's only one atom thick and we've found that it has tremendous potential for drastically improving the water permeability. Water desalination today often uses filtration membranes that effectively reject salt ions like sodium and chloride but at the cost of sluggish water output and a very high energy footprint.
Using a computational tool called molecular dynamics, we've modeled the behavior of salt water flowing across graphene membranes at the atomic scale. Our simulations show that graphene could let water through it more than 100 times the permeability of existing membranes while still rejecting salt.
The way to achieve this is to introduce small pores on the order of one billionth of a meter in the structure of graphene. If the pores are wider than water molecules but still narrower than sulfated ions, our calculations demonstrate that water is able to flow across them while salt is blocked. And because graphene is one of the strongest materials known, this membrane could withstand the pressures required for water desalination.
The enhanced water permeability of nanoporous graphene could be an important advantage over existing water desalination technology. So while there's still a lot of work to be done on this topic, we're very encouraged by our existing results and we're excited to see the role that nanoporous graphene could play in the future of global water resources.