With fresh water less and less at the ready, desalination technology ideas are gaining popularity. Researchers at the University of Texas as Austin and Virginia Tech University have been doing their part to break down challenges with the desalination process, especially when it comes to cost. Desalination is expensive, but the research team has figured out a way to use a chlorine-tolerant membrane that could significantly reduce the cost and make fresh water more readily available for drough-affected areas.

De-chlorination is one of the more annoying parts of the desalination process, eating up time and money as chlorine is added to seawater to disinfect it and prevent the formation of a biofilm that decreases the efficiency of the polymide membrane through which the water is filtered. But chlorine damages this membrane, so the membrane deteriorates after repeated use. So water has to be chlorinated, then de-chlorinated, then filtered.

The new membrane is made of sulfonated copolymers that are not harmed by chlorine, so it stays effective all through the process. Using these will make the desalination process much cheaper through higher productivity and energy efficiency. And reducing the cost of the process is exactly what is needed to make fresh water more available. Good news for investors and thirsty people.

Via Treehugger, Technology Review

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