24 Far Site June 2017 Water. desalination + reuse
SCIENTISTS WORLDWIDE ARE RACING TO COMMERCIALISE
GRAPHENE FOR DESALINATION
The latest publication from the team
at the National Graphene Institute at
Manchester University, UK (see box,
right), in April 2017, adds to a growing
body of work investigating graphene
for desalination.
Also in April 2017, researchers at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) published a paper in
Nano
Letters.
The team tested the amount of
pressure that graphene can withstand
when its supported by a thin substrate
of polycarbonate with tiny pores in
it. They found that the smaller the
substrate's pores, the more resilient
the graphene.
"We're showing that graphene has
the potential to push the boundaries
of high pressure membrane
separations. If they can be developed
to do desalination at high pressure,
then it opens up a lot of interesting
possibility for energy-e‡ cient
desalination at high salinities," said
Rohit Karnik, associate professor
at MIT's Department of Mechanical
Engineering.
Back in the UK, G20 Water
Technologies has moved into
University of Leeds to begin water-
industry recognised tests on its graphene
coating for membranes (see page 27).
FAR
SITE
LOOK
One of the latest break-
throughs was made at the
National Graphene Institute,
Manchester, UK. The new
building opened in 2015. It was
designed by architects
Jestico + Whiles.
Photo credit:
Daniel Shearing
