Scientists develop unique material to purify seawater for drink purpose using sunlight

With soaring concerns around water pollution and scarcity of drinking water, a newly-developed technology that can convert salty seawater into safe for consumption liquid has the potential of transforming millions of lives across the globe. A global research team has been able to convert the water from sea bodies into potable drinking water in less than 30 minutes under sunlight and using a metal-organic framework (MOF). 

This breakthrough technology can solve water scarcity problems in many parts of the world as it can filter harmful particles and generate at least 139.5 litres of potable water per kilogram of MOF every day. Moreover, it also lies at par with the efficiency of the current processes of desalination, which is the process of removing mineral components from saline water. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested that good quality of drinking water should have less than 600 parts per million (ppm) of total dissolved solids (TDS).

According to the world-first research published in Nature Sustainability journal, the scientists were able to achieve a TDS of less than 500 ppm in less than 30 minutes for 139.5L of water after filtering 2,233 ppm water sourced from a river, lake or aquifer in a day. And in just four minutes, it also regenerates the MOF used under the sunlight. 

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What are MOFs?

What lead author Professor Huanting Wang from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University in Australia has called the “new adsorbent-based desalination process” is the use of sunlight to regenerate an energy-efficient and environment-friendly solution, MOFs.

The metal-organic frameworks are basically a class of compounds that consist of metal ions. These ions form a crystalline material that is known to have the largest surface area of any material that is known.

The study has revealed that MOFs are “so porous” that they can actually fit the entire surface of the football field in a teaspoon. Keeping in mind the abilities of the compound, the researchers developed a MOF called ‘PSP-MIL-53’. This is made by synthesising “poly(spiropyran acrylate) (PSP) into the pores of MIL-53 - a specialised MOF well-known for its breathing effects” the researchers explained.

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