A new technology has been developed that converts seawater into drinking water in a matter of minutes

Water is vital for any person on the planet. Unfortunately, not all of them are available. But the new invention, developed by the University's research team in Alexandria in Egypt, could change this.

Operating principle

The technology uses a technique for desalination, called pervaporation. Salt is removed from sea water using specially designed synthetic membranes, which filter out large particles of salt and impurities. The remaining salt is heated, evaporated, and then condensed back into clean water.

In developing countries, investing time and money in developing water filtration technologies is extremely important. However, the technology must be accessible and easily reproducible. Fortunately, the membranes participating in this new invention can be manufactured in any laboratory. They can be made from inexpensive materials available locally. More importantly, the evaporation process does not require electricity, which makes this method of drinking water purification cheap and suitable for areas where there is no power supply.

In addition, the researchers found another interesting feature of this technique. It is able not only to filter out salts, but to remove other contaminants.

Efficiency

According to Helmi El-Zanfali, a professor at the National Research Center in Egypt, the technology implemented in the study is much better than the reverse osmosis technology currently used in Egypt and the Middle East and North Africa. Using this development, it is possible to effectively desalinate water containing high concentrations of salt in the Red Sea, where desalination costs more.

At the moment, the technology is not yet ready for domestic use. In theory, it has been proven that development is effective, but large-scale demonstrations and a plan of action to combat waste have yet to be done.