Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-interface-tweak-triples-graphene-oxide.html "interfacial layer given more uniform/ optimized nano-channels, stopping restacking/ misalignment creating dead ends for water molecules... smoothed interface glides water through atomic-scale gaps with significantly less friction... membrane still filters out >99% salt ion/ organic contaminants... reinforces membrane's mechanical bond preventing swelling/ degrading with long water submersion, graphene oxide much cheaper than graphene, less pressure/ electricity in desalination/ purification plants"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114640 "2D MXenes' nano-confinement effect where flat layers stack on top of each other obstructing ion movement... overcome rolling sheets into 1D scrolls creating highways for rapid transport... Janus reaction creates structural asymmetry by altering surface chemistry with water, introducing lattice strain, causing layers to peel/ curl into tight tubes... scalable: produced 10g nanoscrolls across 6 different MXene types... superconductive solution-processed films: quantum sensors/ flexible superconducting interconnects"

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-hybrid-surface-combines-hydrophobic-nanowires.html#google_vignette "guides water droplets off surface, preventing accumulation hamperiding heat transfer... surface sustains dropwise condensation for high heat transfer/ controlled filmwise condensation in confined regions to guide drainage, enabling stablity across a wide temperature range... surface with narrowest microchannels (named N100) achieved the best performance... stable and high heat transfer coefficient of 38.3 kW/m2·K at a subcooling of 16 K—216% higher... heat exchangers, air conditioners, desalination units." Related: Tapping a new toolbox, engineers buck tradition in high-performing heat exchanger https://techxplore.com/news/2025-05-toolbox-buck-tradition-high-exchanger.html From brine to fresh: bio-inspired solar evaporator achieves zero liquid discharge https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086462 MIT Scientists Unleash High-Flow Solar Desalinator Flooding Communities With Ga...

https://phys.org/news/2023-09-membrane-energy-expenditure-molecules-desalination.html "inorganic carbon-doped metal oxide separate organic molecules smaller than 1 nm... 2 low-cost reactants used in molecular layer deposition that process and generate thin films  containing nanopores tuned to control separation molecules ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 nm... withstand harsh conditions, stable up to 284° F and pressures up to 30 atm within organic solvents... tailoring pore sizes match molicules... quickly scaled up... petroleum refining, medicine" Related: New self-cleaning membranes developed by researchers dramatically improve efficiency of desalination technologies https://phys.org/news/2023-09-self-cleaning-membranes-efficiency-desalination-technologies.html Integrated system developed for ice storage cooling and seawater desalination https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-ice-storage-cooling-seawater-desalination.html IIT Guwahati researchers have developed a heat transfer fluid ba...

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/breakthrough-solar-technology-extracts-400-more-salt-from-seawater "rotating hollow cylinder inside solar distiller to accelerate water evaporation... forming thin film  water on outer and inner surface of cylinder...  increase temperature of water under cylinder use solar collector... rotation speed cylinder inside solar distiller 0.5 rpm...  intensity and time evaporate thin film water from surface of cylinder... performance improvement factor... 280% in... hot months... 300% and 400% in cooler months... cumulative water distillation capacity 12.5 l/m2 summer and 3.5 l/m2 per day winter"

"NONA separates salt & bacteria from water using electric current... water never passes through membrane... Ion Concentration Polarization (ICP), a novel electro membrane fluid separation method developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. NONA is the first commercial application of this technological breakthrough... price fall below $0.50/m3... With seawater desalination at $0.40/m3, the cost is approaching the indirect potable reuse, with prices in the $0.30-$0.40 range" Related: Investing in new water filtration membranes is worth it https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/09/investing-in-new-water-filtration-membranes-is-worth-it/ Wave-powered buoys vastly reduce the ecological cost of desalination https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/oneka-wave-power-desalination/ Recycling of fruit waste into a solar absorber for water desalination https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-recycling-fruit-solar-absorber-desalination.html High efficiency, salt resistance and high s...

https://interestingengineering.com/4-dollar-desalination-system "solar desalination device without a wick — a part that typically needs a lot of cleaning or even replacing due to a buildup of salts... comprised of several layers that float atop a container of saltwater... a little warm salt water remains behind after the process, which is then naturally drawn into the rest of the cool water below where it becomes diluted" Related: From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-seawater-button.amp The future of desalination? A fast, efficient, selective membrane for purifying saltwater https://phys.org/news/2022-05-future-desalination-fast-efficient-membrane Direct oxidative transfer process contributes to water purification https://phys.org/news/2022-06-oxidative-contributes-purification.html Not all of us have access to safe drinking water. This clever rainwater collector can change that https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-acce...

https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/1181/coal-product-used-to-create-green-clean-water "material produced by forcing powdered coal together under pressure... the team incorporated cotton fibers through the material... condenser over the device captured the freshwater... A 16 square meter CCP desalination system could produce enough water to meet the drinking, cooking and vegetable-watering needs of a typical [third-world farm] family of four... already being progressed by commercial partners toward pilot-scale production of drinking water" Related: Upscaling 3D Engineered Trees for Off-Grid Desalination https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/01/new-solar-roof-can-be-nailed-just-like-old-school-shingles/ Passive, inexpensive solar evaporation system could be used to clean wastewater, provide potable water https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-desalination-system-inexpensive-0214  see also: Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries  https://news.mit.e...

https://www.globalotec.co/news "Small Island Developing States (SIDS) reside amid... unlimited source of baseload electricity... continuously available in almost all ocean locations between the tropics... the global practical resource, expected to reach 900 GW by 2050" See also: Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a process or technology for producing energy by harnessing the temperature differences (thermal gradients) between ocean surface waters and deep ocean waters https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/hydropower/ocean-thermal-energy-conversion.php "Energy from the sun heats the surface water of the ocean. In tropical regions, surface water can be much warmer than deep water. This temperature difference can be used to produce electricity and to desalinate ocean water. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) systems use a temperature difference (of at least 77° Fahrenheit) to power a turbine to produce electricity. Warm surface water is pumped through an evaporato...