How can salt water desalination become cheaper?

Undoubtedly, we can expect clean and fresh water that is fit for commercial and domestic use through Desalacion eficiente de agua de mar. However, it still remains a tad bit expensive. This acts as an obstacle to all the industrial or commercial units that want to install desalination plants to meet their everyday requirement. 

Mainly, reverse osmosis is heavy on the pocket due to the huge amount of electricity it consumes to pass water through the filter. Apart from that, another reason that makes the process expensive is the filters used to kill the microbes present in the water. Now let’s find out the latest technological innovations that could make the process of salt water desalination become cheaper. 

1. Graphene Nanopores 

Experts from the industry expect strong and lightly built graphene membranes to go a long way in curbing extra expenses. When compared to polymer membranes, it tends to last longer. Generally, Graphene rends to repel water. However, a given structure can effectively separate the water and salt without much complexity. Specialized teams have been established to conduct further research in the area. 

Scholars of the University of Manchester have modified the graphene membranes to have little capillaries stacked into the graphene oxide layers. Although the size of the opening currently allows the salt particles of less than one nanometer to pass through, experts are working on it constantly to bring further alterations. The modification is expected to expel even the smallest salt molecules and ensure desalacion eficiente de agua de mar. 

 Using a completely different technique, MIT researchers have developed a graphene membrane that has pores measuring less than a nanometer. Unlike the abovementioned team, this team focused on making holes inside one layer of atoms instead of altering multiple layers. When compared to the present polymer membrane, this membrane’s water-permeable capacity is fifty times more. This indicates that very less energy will be consumed to push the water through the filters. 

Lockheed Martin flaunts a patented graphene membrane that claims to desalinate seawater at the price of a fraction of what it costs today.

2.       Multitasking membrane

Undoubtedly, graphene membrane has become the talk of the town when it comes to reducing the cost of desalination of seawater. Meanwhile, a Singaporean researcher has spent considerable time looking into titanium dioxide. A profession from the Nanyang Technological University has advanced nanofibers curated from the crystals of titanium dioxide. It is further given the shape of membranes for water filtration. The membranes have a wide range of applications. One such application could be in the sector of forwarding osmosis for desalacion eficiente de agua de mar. 

There’s a strong belief among the experts that one day this will exceed the polymer membranes based on the performance. Membranes fabricated from titanium dioxide can effectively get rid of bacteria while bringing down the clogged pores that require frequent replacement.

3.       Electrochemical desalination

Apparently, the latest technology can effectively produce one cubic meter of freshwater by consuming only 1.7kw of energy per hour. The electricity consumption has been replaced with ionic species to carry out the process of desalination. The ions are crippled and then removed from the flowing stream of water through the desalination cell. It is cheaper because carbon electrodes are used, which is pretty light on the pocket. Plus, it has other benefits such as porosity, large surface area, and porosity. 

4.       Modified Pump designs

Yet another tactic to ensure desalacion eficiente de agua de mar at a cheaper price is by opting for the latest pump designs. Not only the compact ones but also the centrifugal ones have seen advancements for efficient results. In the manufacturing units, modifications like CFD or computational fluid dynamics software have brought down operational costs. The CFD software optimizes the hydraulic design, allowing pump manufacturers to model the hydraulic capacity precisely. Ultimately, it reduces internal energy consumption.    

Conclusion 

The constant development in the world of membranes used for the desalination of seawater can drastically reduce the cost of operation and installation. Even though there are a lot of debates and discussions going on around this topic, the experiments have been carried out on a small scale. A significant amount of funding and research is yet to be carried out. 

Are you looking to seek professional advice for desalacion eficiente de agua de mar? If so, you’ve landed at the right place. Keiken engineering hosts a team of experts who are ever-ready to deliver professional advice and customized solutions based on your unique problems. Coming from an engineering background, we put forward technologically advanced and innovative solutions to our clients. All the desalination-related queries are addressed here. For further queries, you can contact us via mail at info@keiken.es or call us at +34 910 577 254.