Scientists have learned to desalinate seawater using graphene

Physicists from Great Britain, as well as Nobel laureate Andrey Geim, talked about how they managed to create the world’s first seawater filter. A number of news agencies have spread this information. It is based on a graphene “grid” that allows water molecules (H20) to pass through, but prevents the passage of salts, chlorine and sodium ions. Graphene filters can be made in any size, both for portable installations and for industrial desalination plants. According to the UN, by 2025, about 15% of the world’s inhabitants will experience problems with obtaining clean fresh water. Today, over a dozen methods of desalination are known, many of which have been tested in the Arab states. However, all of them are united by two drawbacks – the clogging of equipment and its high cost. Graphene filters can work like a sieve, filtering out salts at the atomic level. The ions simply will not slip through the tiny pores of the sieve, which only allow water molecules to pass through. Their main problem was that graphene swells from water over time and passes all substances through itself. However, scientists were able to hold the graphene strips together with epoxy glue and protect them from water. An important advantage of these filters is that they do not need additional energy sources.

Source: http://www.belta.by