Clean Water tagged posts

Solar-Powered Gel Filters enough Clean Water to meet Daily Needs

Solar-powered gel filters enough clean water to meet daily needs
Researchers Néhémie Guillomaitre and Xiaohui Xu hold a sample of the solar absorber gel, which acts like a sponge to soak up clean water and filter out contaminants. Credit: Bumper DeJesus/Princeton University

Worldwide, over two billion people lack reliable access to clean water. And one potential solution for meeting that need works a lot like a sponge, soaking up clean water while leaving contaminants behind.

Researchers at Princeton University have developed the next generation of their solar absorber gel technology, a device that could be key to unlocking clean water access for people across the globe...

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Safeguarding Clean Water for Spaceflight Missions

Biofilms are dense, multispecies aggregates of cells, which clump together in a residue that forms on surfaces. Biofilms are resistant to antimicrobials and notoriously difficult to clean up. They can cause a range of health issues and have a corrosive effect on many materials, including stainless steel, making them a threat to the water supply system of the International Space Station.

In a first study of its kind, scientists characterized different bacterial populations isolated over time from potable (drinking) water from the International Space Station (ISS).

By all appearances, the universe beyond Earth is a vast, lonely, and sterile space. Yet, wherever humans may travel, an abundance of microbial life will follow.

In a first study of its kind, lead author Jiseon Yang at th...

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Solar-powered Moisture Harvester Collects and Cleans Water from Air

Fei Zhao (L), co author of the study, and Guihua Yu (R) of Yu Research Labs at UT Austin examining a sample of their newly-developed hydrogel.
Credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Access to clean water remains one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. A breakthrough by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may offer a new solution through solar-powered technology that absorbs moisture from the air and returns it as clean, usable water.

The breakthrough, described in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials, could be used in disaster situations, water crises or poverty-stricken areas and developing countries...

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New Thermoelectric Material with High Power Factors

Ohio State University researchers have developed a technique to create light emitting diodes on metal foil. Image by Brelon J. May, courtesy of The Ohio State University.

Ohio State University researchers have developed a technique to create light emitting diodes on metal foil. Image by Brelon J. May, courtesy of The Ohio State University.

Material created with high heat yields record power output density. With energy conservation expected to play a growing role in managing global demand, materials and methods that make better use of existing sources of energy have become increasingly important. Researchers reported this week they have demonstrated a step forward in converting waste heat – from industrial smokestacks, power generating plants or even automobile tailpipes – into electricity.

The work, using a thermoelectric compound composed of niobium, titanium, iron and antimony, succeeded in raising the material’s power output density dramatically by using...

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