Water Desalination Via Ion Concentration Polarization

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 14:14 in Earth & Climate

A new approach to water desalination called ion concentration polarization may lead to small, portable desalination units that could be powered by solar cells or batteries and deliver enough fresh water to supply the needs of a family or small village. As an added bonus, the system would also remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria at the same time. Fresh water is often in high demand and short supply following a natural disaster like the Haiti earthquake or Hurricane Katrina. In both of those instances, the disaster zones were near thesea, but converting salty seawater to potable fresh water usually requires a large amount of dependable electrical power and large-scale desalination plants — neither of which were available in the disaster areas. read more

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