New Micro-Desalination Device Cleans Water Electrostatically

Scientists at MIT have created a small desalination device which can produce clean water with 99% purity. The device is the size of a postage stamp, which makes for easy portability and cuts down the high cost generally associated with desalination.

According to the scientists, an 8 inch wide array of these desalination chips can pump four gallons of drinking water every hour, consuming little electricity.

The device works by electrostatically repelling foreign particles and separating water from contaminants. It was tested with water mixed with plastic particles, human blood and proteins, with the unit removing more than 99% of the contaminants.

The scientists plan to develop a commercial product in the next two years, with a scaled up system containing 10,000 desalination chips.

[MIT News via Popsci]