Peak Oil — A Practical Method for Desalination of Seawater is Closer to Reality

This could spell bad news for Nestle and other corporations seeking to corner the world market on clean water – but it would mean welcome relief for the hundreds of millions of people who have limited access to such a fundamental part of life.

It is well-known that over 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water – yet clean water for drinking and irrigation is one of the planet’s scarcest commodities. In fact, fresh water comprises only about 3.5 percent of the world’s supply. The result of this irony is that places such as California suffer from droughts while there is a huge ocean of water right next door.

Historically, water has been the source of major conflicts, such as the “range wars” of 19th-Century America and the current problems between Israel’s Palestinian and Jewish populations. Although methods of water desalination exist, most of them are not cost-effective.…

The good news is that scientists in the UK have developed a much less expensive method of desalination that could make such equipment accessible and affordable by individuals and communities. It involves what is known as a graphene-oxide membrane, which is capable of filtering even nanoparticles of salts out of water.

This technique, which is being researched at the University of Manchester, is still in the experimental stage – but points the way to quick, efficient, and inexpensive desalination techniques that could improve the quality of life for hundreds of millions....
Because graphene-oxide is easy and inexpensive to produce, it means that such technology will be widely available to everyone...

The specific technique is explained in the post.

Peak Oil
A Practical Method for Desalination of Seawater is Closer to Reality

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