| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| War-Stopping Water Technology |
| 2006-06-16 |
| A water desalination system using carbon nanotube-based membranes could significantly reduce the cost of purifying water from the ocean. The technology could potentially provide a solution to water shortages both in the United States, where populations are expected to soar in areas with few freshwater sources, and worldwide, where a lack of clean water is a major cause of disease. The new membranes, developed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), could reduce the cost of desalination by 75 percent, compared to reverse osmosis methods used today, the researchers say. The membranes, which sort molecules by size and with electrostatic forces, could also separate various gases, perhaps leading to economical ways to capture carbon dioxide emitted from power plants, to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. The carbon nanotubes used by the researchers are sheets of carbon atoms rolled so tightly that only seven water molecules can fit across their diameter. Their small size makes them good candidates for separating molecules. And, despite their diminutive dimensions, these nanopores allow water to flow at the same rate as pores considerably larger, reducing the amount of pressure needed to force water through, and potentially saving energy and costs compared to reverse osmosis using conventional membranes. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #14 Perhaps Shipman read too much Alvin Toffler. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-16 23:28 |
| #13 It could be used to take the water out of mash making booze! Or something for the gasahol folks... |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-16 15:43 |
| #12 Just another evil plan by Chimpy McBushitler O'Halliburton to deplete the world of salt water. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2006-06-16 15:26 |
| #11 You must be tons of fun to have around at a brainstorming session, Shipman. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2006-06-16 15:02 |
| #10 Remember, it's Allen who decides whether each of those H2O molecules makes it through those pores. If he wants to, he could stop it just like that to piss off those arrogant kafirs. That explains cold fusion. On a more serious note, its interesting to note that they used photolithographic techniques derived from the semiconductor industry to grow and encapsulates these babies. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2006-06-16 15:00 |
| #9 Helium-3 could be extracted for the fusion plants which will power our thousands of tiny flyin woof! woof! grrrrrr grrrrrrrrr, get away from me Hatfield, back off. Which will power our thousands of tiny flying owwwwwwww! |
| Posted by: 6 2006-06-16 15:00 |
| #8 Pesky Universe, STOP CHANGING THE RULES! I don't want to learn new formulas.......waaaaahhh! Lol, another technological breakthrough brought to you by the Anti-Luddites ie real scientists. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2006-06-16 14:32 |
| #7 This is great news! Besides our water problems, especially in the fast-growing and drought-stricken West, Israel could use a secure supply in case someone cuts it off upstream, too. It would be a valuable resource for Jordan, and a plant at Aqaba could serve the greater region. Also, deuterium in seawater could maybe be extracted for fusion. American ingenuity to the rescue once again. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2006-06-16 14:27 |
| #6 For years, there has been such a crying need for de-salinization for "new" water, that there has been a neglect of "existing" water. That is, across the US, many cities now have recycled effluent water that while technically potable, is tasting worse and worse. So think of large scale use of this technology not only to purify vast amounts of water to be pipelined inland, but also used to purify the water we already have, even prior to pumping it back underground to replenish depleted water tables. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-16 14:23 |
| #5 Zowie works for mee, too. Indeed, the LLNL team measures water flow rates up to 10,000 times faster than would be predicted by classical equations, which suggest that flow rates through a pore will slow to a crawl as the diameter drops. "It's something that is quite counter-intuitive," says LLNL chemical engineer Jason Holt, whose findings appeared in the 19 May issue of Science. "As you shrink the pore size, there is a huge enhancement in flow rate." MegaZowie, LOL. |
| Posted by: Spoling Thomoting3619 2006-06-16 13:23 |
| #4 So I guess the yahoos will have to start having wars over salt? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-06-16 12:22 |
| #3 Zowie. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-06-16 12:20 |
| #2 Just means the wars won't be about water. Except where such technology is haram. |
| Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 2006-06-16 12:18 |
| #1 Don't know if it'll prevent wars, exactly, but you gotta admit this is cool. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-06-16 12:07 |