How Nanotechnology can help to end Water Scarcity

With an increasing lack of fresh and clean drinking water to meet human demand, the importance for humankind to provide a sustainable and large enough amount of drinking water to meet the rising population has never been as important as now. Nanotechnology could be crucial in making sure that no more countries have to risk facing day zero.

Nano Filters

Nano filters can be used to remove nano-sized particles from drinking water. This means that all viruses and bacteria that could be harmful to someone drinking the water can be removed. These filters are cost-efficient and portable too, so they can be used in developing countries where clean drinking water is not as accessible.

Nano filters will be crucial in the future to create more fresh drinking water for the majority of the population, and water that will have been harming the health and shortening the lives of recipients will now have access to clean drinking water and no longer be at risk.

Desalination

There are many methods to desalinate water, however, one of the most effective methods is membrane desalination. Water is pushed through a thin membrane with tiny holes, water can flow through the holes but not salt ions. Therefore the only freshwater can make it to the other side.

If this method to desalinate salt water can be used more cost-efficiently and on a larger scale, a lot of issues when it comes to accessing clean drinking water can be solved. Seawater makes up 97.5% of the planet’s water while drinking water makes up 1%, so drinking water would be immensely accessible to the whole population.

Magnetic water purification

In 2019, scientists identified another way to purify water. The method is based on using magnets to attract magnetic nanoparticles coated in an ionic liquid that attracts organic and inorganic chemicals and microplastics. This way you can then remove the nanoparticles in the water.

The method at the moment is too slow and impractical to be effective at the moment, but if a cheaper and more practical way to utilize this method could be developed, clean drinking water could be more accessible to many people who need it across the world.

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