Energy-efficient water purification made possible by Yale engineers

Yale doctoral student Robert McGinnis and his advisor Menachem Elimelech, Chair of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, have designed systems that harness the power of osmosis to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources, including seawater and generate electricity from low-temperature heat sources, such as waste heat from conventional power plants.

Yale University is commercializing their desalination technology through a newly-established company, Oasys. Their approach, which requires only one-tenth the electric energy used with conventional desalination systems, was featured in the December issue of Environmental Science & Technology.

“The ideal solution,” says Elimelech, “is a process that effectively utilizes waste heat.”

According to the authors, desalination and reuse are the only options for increasing water supply beyond that which is available through the hydrologic cycle