Ocean water is of course salt water, that is why it isn't fit for drinking. But soon, we may be able to drink up ocean water; not because the human race is going to mutate, but because a technology has been developed to desalinate ocean water.

This system was developed by the researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the system uses carbon nanotube-based membranes that could significantly reduce the cost of purifying water from the ocean.

These membranes could reduce the cost of desalination by 75% compared to the process of reverse osmosis. The membranes, which sort molecules by size and with electrostatic forces, could also separate various gases, perhaps leading to economical ways to capture carbon dioxide emitted from power plants, to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. Nice!

The carbon nanotubes used by the researchers are sheets of carbon atoms rolled so tightly that only seven water molecules can fit across their diameter. Their small size makes them good candidates for separating molecules and, even if they are small, these nanopores allow water to flow at the same rate as pores considerably larger, reducing the amount of pressure needed to force water through, and potentially saving energy and costs compared to reverse osmosis using conventional membranes.

According to the researchers, the membrane creation starts with a silicon wafer about the size of a quarter, coated with a metal nanoparticle catalyst for growing carbon nanotubes. Once grown, the gaps between the nanotubes are filled with a ceramic material, silicon nitride, which provides stability and helps the membrane adhere to the underlying silicon wafer. The field of nanotubes functions as an array of pores, allowing water and certain gases through, while keeping larger molecules and clusters of molecules at bay.

In the future, this technology could be applied in the pharmaceutical and food industry. It could also provide a solution to water shortages both in the United States, and worldwide, where a lack of clean water is a major cause of disease. Hope we don't have to wait long for this.