Researchers Harness Power of Osmosis for Water Purification
As the world approaches peak water, technology to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources becomes increasingly important. Researchers at Yale University have recently developed such desalination technology using the power of osmosis.
While desalination systems have been around for years, Yale doctoral student Robert McGinnis and his advisor Menachem Elimelech have taken a novel approach that requires only one-tenth the electric energy used in traditional systems.
The researchers use “forward osmosis” (natural water diffusion) to draw pure water from contaminants to a concentrated salt solution. The desalinated water can easily be removed with a low heat treatment that requires minimal energy input.
Yale University will market the innovative technology through a new company called Oasys. We’ll post more information as it becomes available.
Photo Credit: Yale University
Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Whether you have solar power or not, please complete our latest solar power survey.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
CleanTechnica's Comment Policy
