Harvesting the Fruits of Inquiry How Materials Discoveries Improve Our Lives (2014) / Chapter Skim
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Polymer Membranes for Water Filtration
Polymer Membranes for Water Filtration
Pages 18-20
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From page 18... ...
About 97.5 percent of the water on our planet is salty, and only 0.5 percent of the fresh water is accessible.23 Even within the United States, freshwater supplies in places such as the West are rapidly dwindling,24 and drought threatens agricul ture. At the same time, increasing contamination of water supplies from pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, pharmaceuticals, and shale gas extraction is a serious prob lem that threatens health.
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From page 19... ...
Another team of researchers is developing new membranes that make the process of reverse osmosis more efficient by fabricating a matrix of polymers and nanoparticles that allows water molecules to flow through but repels contaminants.27 That means less energy is needed to pump water through the membrane. Striving to develop technologies that could help increase access to clean drinking water was one of the goals of the late MIT polymer science professor Anne M
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From page 20... ...
With support from the Office of Naval Research, the company has developed membranes as a pretreatment step for shipboard desalination systems, attracting venture investment. Companies like these bring new technologies to help solve global problems, while providing jobs to bolster the U.S.
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