4.7
Process Parameters in Desalination System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.8
Nanoporous Zeolite Membranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.8.1 Mordenite Framework Inverted-Type Zeolite Membranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.9
Nanoporous Graphene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.9.1 Synthesis of Nanoporous Graphene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.10 Application of Nanofibers in Desalination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.11 Patents on Nanofibers and Nanomembrane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.12 Future Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.13 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Abstract Desalination provides a possibility of expanding the freshwater reserves
by supplementing it with water from oceans and brackish reservoirs. Conventional
desalination technologies like reverse osmosis and thermal distillation have failed to
meet the expectancy due to high-energy consumption and low salt rejection. Recent
research works prove that nanoporous desalination is efficient than conventional
technologies due to its high mechanical–chemical stability and higher water flux.
Experimental studies along molecular dynamic simulations justify that nanoporous
membranes are capable of 100% salt rejection. In addition to nanomembranes,
natural and synthetic nanofibers have also emerged as potential nanomaterials for
desalination. This review provides a detailed insight on developments and augmentation techniques in the frontier of nanoporous desalination.
Keywords Desalination · Nanoporous desalination · Membrane separation ·
Molecular dynamics · Nanoporous graphene · Zeolite membrane · Nanofibers ·
Membrane synthesis · Patents · Commercialization
4.1 Introduction
Fresh water is becoming an increasingly scarce global resource that influences the
long-term health and well-being of the nations. Although 70% of the earth’s surface
is covered with water, 98% of available water resources is saline water (Goh et al.
2013). High concentration of salinity in the seawater makes it unfit for domestic and
industrial purposes. The process of desalination holds the promise to expand the
freshwater source by supplementing water from various water bodies, mainly seawater (Cohen-Tanugi et al. 2014). The need of fresh water has given rise to a number
of desalination techniques like thermal distillation, reverse osmosis, freezing, and
electrodialysis (Mishra and Ramaprabhu 2011). Low salt rejection, high-energy
consumption, and high costs are the major obstacles in the conventional desalination
technologies, which made the researchers look for an alternative technique. The
rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has reduced the scale limits
132
J. Ganesan et al.
Process Parameters in Desalination System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.8
Nanoporous Zeolite Membranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.8.1 Mordenite Framework Inverted-Type Zeolite Membranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4.9
Nanoporous Graphene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.9.1 Synthesis of Nanoporous Graphene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.10 Application of Nanofibers in Desalination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.11 Patents on Nanofibers and Nanomembrane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.12 Future Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.13 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Abstract Desalination provides a possibility of expanding the freshwater reserves
by supplementing it with water from oceans and brackish reservoirs. Conventional
desalination technologies like reverse osmosis and thermal distillation have failed to
meet the expectancy due to high-energy consumption and low salt rejection. Recent
research works prove that nanoporous desalination is efficient than conventional
technologies due to its high mechanical–chemical stability and higher water flux.
Experimental studies along molecular dynamic simulations justify that nanoporous
membranes are capable of 100% salt rejection. In addition to nanomembranes,
natural and synthetic nanofibers have also emerged as potential nanomaterials for
desalination. This review provides a detailed insight on developments and augmentation techniques in the frontier of nanoporous desalination.
Keywords Desalination · Nanoporous desalination · Membrane separation ·
Molecular dynamics · Nanoporous graphene · Zeolite membrane · Nanofibers ·
Membrane synthesis · Patents · Commercialization
4.1 Introduction
Fresh water is becoming an increasingly scarce global resource that influences the
long-term health and well-being of the nations. Although 70% of the earth’s surface
is covered with water, 98% of available water resources is saline water (Goh et al.
2013). High concentration of salinity in the seawater makes it unfit for domestic and
industrial purposes. The process of desalination holds the promise to expand the
freshwater source by supplementing water from various water bodies, mainly seawater (Cohen-Tanugi et al. 2014). The need of fresh water has given rise to a number
of desalination techniques like thermal distillation, reverse osmosis, freezing, and
electrodialysis (Mishra and Ramaprabhu 2011). Low salt rejection, high-energy
consumption, and high costs are the major obstacles in the conventional desalination
technologies, which made the researchers look for an alternative technique. The
rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has reduced the scale limits
132
J. Ganesan et al.