New graphene filter turns filthy water into drinking water

By Matthew Griffin Earth and Energy 23rd March 2018

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Millions of people around the world don’t have regular access to clean drinking water, and this breakthrough could help them.

Every year millions of people around the world die from diseases they’ve contracted from drinking unclean water but now researchers in Australia have developed a product that can purify water, no matter how dirty it is, in just one, single step. Scientists from the Australian research organisation the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have created a filtration technique using a graphene film with microscopic Nano-channels that lets water pass through, but stops detergents, oil, pollutants and salts, and the process, called “Graphair”, is so effective that water samples from Sydney Harbor were safe to drink after being treated.

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While the film hails from Graphene, Graphair is comparatively cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly to make because its primary component is renewable soybean oil, which also helps maximise the efficiency of the purifying technique’s filter counterpart. Over time, oil-based pollutants can impede water filters, so contaminants have to be removed before filtering can even begin, but using Graphair removes these pollutants faster than any other method.

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Water purification usually involves a complex process of several steps so this breakthrough could have a significant impact on the 2.1 billion people who don’t have clean, safe drinking water. Just to bake that statistic in your head, today, out of the 7.5 billion people on the planet over 5.4 billion of them have smartphones while 2.1 billion people still have no easy access to clean drinking water…

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“All that’s needed is heat, our graphene, a membrane filter and a small water pump. We’re hoping to commence field trials in a developing world community next year,” said researcher Dr Dong Han Seo, who added that the team is looking for industry partners to help scale up the technology. As for their next steps though the same team plan on using new variants of Graphair to help desalinate seawater and treat industrial effluents.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.