New technologies can 'save' water

The current shortage of clean water is no longer a problem for one or several individual countries but has become a common phenomenon in almost every continent. One of the solutions aimed at improving this situation is to apply technical technologies to manage and save water resources.

Nano water filtration technology

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year, 1.6 million people die from diarrhea due to lack of clean water and lack of basic sanitation. Indian researchers have proposed solving the persistent problem with a nanotechnology-based water cleaning system. This technology uses mixed nanoparticles to remove microorganisms, bacteria and other impurities from the water.

Nano water filtration technology.(Photo: Thalappil Pradeep / IIT Madras)

GS. Thalappil Pradeep of the Madras Institute of Technology (India) said: 'Our technology can save many lives. Just paying 2.5 USD, your family will be able to use clean water without bacteria throughout the year '.

This shows that low-cost water filtration technology has finally become a reality and can be applied commercially.

Chemical membrane technology

Water purification filters are an essential part of modern water treatment. On the surface of the membrane there are countless microscopic holes of 10-20 nanometers wide, 3,000 times smaller than human hair.

Although chemical membrane technology has been around for many years, it continues to be a research and development topic. This technology is becoming increasingly important thanks to its comprehensive, enduring and improved prices.

According to Dr. Yannick Fovet, director of BASF's global water development division, 'chemistry is clearly contributing to advanced water treatment solutions, such as solutions to turn saltwater into Fresh water serves human needs'.

Thanks to new breakthroughs, in the last 5 years, the cost of desalinating salt for 1m ³ of salt water has decreased from 1 USD to 0.8 USD, then continue to 0.5 USD. Besides, the new ceramic membrane technology also helps to significantly reduce production costs as well as the cost of use.

Desalination technology in sea water

Although revealing many prospects in the future, seawater desalination technology is still extremely expensive, more energy-consuming - up to 4kWh / 1m ^{3 of} water - due to the use of reverse osmosis.

Desalination technology in sea water.(Photo: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images)

In Singapore, scientists are studying biomimetic methods, that is, simulating the biological process of mangrove and broad-salted fish species that live in both freshwater and saltwater environments, to see them do how to filter seawater with the least amount of energy.

Another approach is to use enhanced biological simulation membranes aquaporin - a special protein channel embedded in membrane cells that acts to selectively move water through the cell and prevent salt from passing through. .

If science can find a way to effectively simulate these biological processes, Harry Seah, chief technology officer of PUB, Singapore's water management agency, believes that seawater desalination technology is consuming more and more. Less cost and energy will soon appear.

Smart management technology

It is estimated that developing countries alone have up to 45 million cubic meters of water lost through the water supply network each day. Water leaks not only cause damage to businesses, but also increase pressure and increase the risk of pollution on water resources that are scarce.

Talking about this situation, Dale Hartley, Business Development Manager of SebaKMT, said: 'Investing billions of dollars into building additional water tanks, water treatment plants and pumping stations will no longer exist. What does it mean to businesses that up to 60% of water production is lost '.

Fortunately, new management technology can help water supply enterprises minimize losses from large water supply networks. In particular, electronic tools such as pressure sensors, sound sensors . connected wirelessly to the cloud centralized control system allow these businesses to detect and locate location leaks much faster than before.

The model uses smart sensors to manage SebaKMT's water supply system, (Photo: SebaKMT)

Intelligent irrigation technology

About 70% of the world's freshwater is used in agriculture. Therefore, adopting a more effective water management method through the installation of an accurate irrigation system and utilizing computer technology and modeling is essential and practical, approachable. This has started to benefit farmers in developed countries.

However, progress is only really achieved when people combine the application of new measurement and analysis technology with the change of measurement and prediction thinking in the time when water resources are increasingly scarce. The current.

Wastewater treatment technology

Today, many cities in the world, including in developed countries, do not have a standard wastewater treatment system, most of the untreated wastewater discharges directly into rivers and estuaries, or used for irrigation in agriculture.

HYBACS wastewater treatment system is increasingly proving superiority.(Photo: Bluewater Bio)

New technologies, despite opening up the prospect of turning wastewater into energy and drinking water, but before that happens, in addition to continuing to upgrade and expand existing facilities, TS. David Lloyd Owen, Bluewater Bio adviser, said that it is necessary to further reduce wastewater treatment systems to be able to build new plants in crowded, crowded urban areas.

Mobile recycling facilities

As hydraulic fracturing technology develops, the demand for highly portable water treatment facilities is increasing. Accordingly, investment flows that have been diverted into reverse osmosis filtration systems can help companies treat a volume of water to pump to the ground and extract gas.

Peter Adriaens, a professor at the University of Michigan (USA), believes that as these technologies evolve and are able to handle a large amount of wastewater, humans will gradually abandon centralized wastewater treatment systems. bulky and switched to systems that turn wastewater into domestic water at a cheaper price.