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A revolutionary ultra-thin membrane for water desalination significantly increases purification efficiency, reducing costs and making drinking water more accessible.
Modern polyamide membranes play a key role in converting salt water to fresh water, but traditional technologies have a trade-off between permeability and selectivity. Increasing the rate of water passage through the membrane can lead to a loss of efficiency in salt rejection, which limits the possibilities for process optimization. However, recent developments in the field of materials science are changing this situation.
Associate Professor Devin Shaffer from the University of Honolulu created a unique polyamide membrane with a distorted structure, which provides eight times faster water passage without reducing salt removal efficiency.
The new approach can significantly reduce energy costs for desalination, which is critically important for regions with a shortage of fresh water. The use of such innovative membranes in reverse osmosis and nanofiltration technologies will contribute to the global improvement of access to clean drinking water.
