Team:SJTU-BioX-Shanghai
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Problem
It is predicted that within the next 15 years, more than half of the world’s population will be living under severe water stress (OECD 2008).Global water shortage problem has never been more serious than right now. One of the solution relies on desalination technology, especially seawater. To make seawater desalination a world-wide technology, the method has to be less energy-cost and less equipment-dependent. After consulting literature and some visits, we identified the most effective approach is to create a cheap upstream desalination process that is not rely on sophisticated instruments.
Solution
The mechanism of RO method can be explain through two parts: membranes and pressure.
First, RO membranes are special membranes. Its layered, web-like structure only allows water to pass through by a tortuous pathway. Unlike nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF) or micro-filtration (MF), RO membrane reject the smallest contaminants, monovalent ions. This properties allows this kind of membrane to process seawater desalination and even other filtration process requiring removal of monovalent ions.
The other important elements of RO method is osmotic pressure. In a normal status, water molecules always move from low salinity area to high salinity area.
Highlight
- We express the related protein of our part in its right position. It proves the device is built successfully.
- We prove that our device work as a desalintor in lab condition .
- We design how it will merge into original method, and explain some key part of our design how it works.
- We design how it will merge into original method, and explain some key part of our design how it works.
