Even though more than 70% of the Earth is covered in water, only an extremely small percentage of our planet’s water is drinkable; the rest is too salty to drink. If we want to produce more, there is a process called desalination that can remove the salt from seawater and make it drinkable, but the problem comes down to scalability. However, some believe that specialized solar panels could be the solution.
Recently, researchers at the University of Rochester in New York published a study in Light: Science & Applications describing a new desalination technique. The technique revolves around an aluminum panel etched using femtosecond lasers (lasers whose pulse is so fast that they can only be measured in a quadrillionth of a second). Thanks to laser engraving, the aluminum panel not only absorbs light, but also becomes super-nasty: it attracts water to an almost supernatural degree.
When the panel comes into contact with salt water, a thin film of water is lifted, completely defying gravity, and evaporates using solar energy, leaving behind crystallized salt and other minerals. While the evaporated gas is collected as salt-free water, the super-wick surface also moves the salt crystals to the edge of the panel, keeping the main surface clean and efficient. Not only is the process self-sufficient, but it also solves the problem of other desalination projects: it does not discharge brine (very salty water that is toxic to marine life). Normally, brine accumulates on the ocean floor and forms underwater lakes that kill anything that enters them. So you can imagine the threat that a sudden current of brine in open water can pose.
Superwicking could revolutionize ocean mining operations
Contrary to popular belief, salt water doesn’t just contain salt and water. The oceans are also home to tons of minerals (figuratively and literally), many of which have commercial applications. If only we could extract them safely and efficiently. This is where the super-wick comes in.
After the specialist group at the University of Rochester has desalinated seawater into drinking water, some crystallized salt still remains. People can harvest these leftover materials and turn them into something useful, like table salt, and this is also true for other dissolved minerals, including lithium. Researchers at the University of Rochester discuss the potential of using supervillain panels to collect valuable elements such as lithium and uranium.
Using supervillain panels to “mine” minerals has several potential advantages over traditional mining operations. For starters, the University of Rochester’s process would require much less energy and water. Plus, we could extract more of these materials from the ocean than we ever could from land – it’s all there, just mixed with the water. And then there’s the fact that extracting lithium and other materials from the ocean is more environmentally friendly than standard mining. With enough high-performance solar panels, we could get all the lithium for batteries we would need. That is, unless emerging battery innovations at least remove the need for lithium in batteries.
