Turning sunlight into safe drinking water

A Monash Engineering–Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay research collaboration has delivered a promising new approach to solar-driven water purification.

Co-author Professor Neil Cameron is Monash Warwick Alliance Professor of Polymer Materials at Monash Materials Science and Engineering. He and his colleagues at IIT Bombay have developed a floating porous membrane.

The technology uses tiny carbon “flowers” to convert sunlight into heat. The membrane reaches temperatures high enough to distil seawater, producing up to 18 litres of fresh drinking water per day.

Professor Cameron says "This solar still - which we have called ‘SunSpring’ - generates up to 18 litres of fresh, drinkable water per day from sea water and can operate continuously without becoming clogged by salt deposits."

Read the full article published in Advanced Science journal here.