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posted by Fnord666 on Monday April 03 2017, @11:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the Water-water-everwhere dept.

The BBC reports:

A UK-based team of researchers has created a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater.

Manufacturing graphene-based barriers on an industrial scale has been a problem in the past, but this new sieve promises to be more affordable, yet still effective in filtering salts, and will now be tested against existing desalination membranes.

Reporting their results in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists from the University of Manchester, led by Dr Rahul Nair, shows how they solved some of the challenges by using a chemical derivative called graphene oxide.

Isolated and characterised by a University of Manchester-led team in 2004, graphene comprises a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Its unusual properties, such as extraordinary tensile strength and electrical conductivity, have earmarked it as one of the most promising materials for future applications.

[...] Previous work had shown that graphene oxide membranes became slightly swollen when immersed in water, allowing smaller salts to flow through the pores along with water molecules.

Now, Dr Nair and colleagues demonstrated that placing walls made of epoxy resin (a substance used in coatings and glues) on either side of the graphene oxide membrane was sufficient to stop the expansion.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 04 2017, @10:27AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 04 2017, @10:27AM (#488590)

    People thought the same of asbestos... which is what I'm always wondering with chemicals forming small fibres... How safe is all this? Anyone some insight/experience?

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by kaszz on Tuesday April 04 2017, @03:39PM (3 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Tuesday April 04 2017, @03:39PM (#488659) Journal

    Epoxy has one component of Bisphenol-A which is a hormone disruptor that increases risk for cancer etc significantly. Another issue relates to what you write about asbestos. Hard fibers that breaks away and ends up in the body where it pierces cells that makes them inflamed which cause their cell division to bad.

    Graphene is useful. Mixing it with the food chain is probably a really bad idea.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 04 2017, @09:10PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 04 2017, @09:10PM (#488825)

      After having desalinized it using graphene you distill the water, EZ.

      • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:31AM

        by kaszz (4211) on Wednesday April 05 2017, @02:31AM (#488971) Journal

        If you distill the water later, why use desalination to begin with?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 05 2017, @06:13PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 05 2017, @06:13PM (#489255)

        I'll take your advice.....with a grain of salt.