Thin Tubes May Widen Access to Safe Drinking Water for Billions

One billion people worldwide are without access to safe drinking water. There are many available technologies, but what's the best way to lower costs and improve access on a large scale? Researchers at SRI are developing advanced membrane technology--very thin, hollow tubes--to lower the amount of energy used to purify water. Important focus areas include seawater desalination, something that is done by distillation today. When membrane technology is used, the overall cost is less than 46 cents per cubic meter of water produced. Researchers believe that the cost savings will go up as novel fiber membranes begin to operate at a lower pressure without reducing the amount of water transported through a membrane.