By creating a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany have introduced a new method for the
desalination of seawater. The new method consumes less energy and is dramatically simpler than conventional techniques, and requires so little energy that it can run on a store-bought battery.
The method holds particular promise for the
water-stressed areas in which about a third of the planet’s inhabitants live. Many of these regions have access to abundant seawater but not to the energy infrastructure or money necessary to
desalinate water using conventional technology. As a result, each year millions of deaths in these regions are attributed to water-related causes.
