澳门威尼斯人娱乐城 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, but according to 国家地理, “more than 99% of that water is unusable by humans and many other living things.”
的 idea of turning the world’s abundant saltwater into fresh, drinkable water is old news. 追溯到公元前四世纪.C. 今天, there are thousands of desalination plants in 150 countries producing almost 30 billion gallons of fresh water every day.
但这只是沧海一粟. 更重要的是, desalination is energy intensive and expensive — about $3 to $4 per 1,000加仑, a cost much higher than options like stormwater recovery and water recycling.
就像面对任何艰难的挑战一样, a better solution for turning saltwater into freshwater has to be out there. Bahman Abbasi，副教授 OSU-Cascades他找到了一个. 在这个过程中，他又取得了两个重要的突破.
的 工程学院 记录了阿巴西的研究及其演变 季12 在它的播客系列中， 大声说出工程. 他获得了两项专利 技术 that use high-speed air jets to atomize and evaporate incoming saltwater. This humidification-dehumidification process can run on solar power and requires no complex infrastructure. 它经济、可扩展、便携.
事实证明，它是万能的.
不像其他产生盐水的脱盐方法, Abbasi’s technology leaves only clean water and solid salts — salts with commercial value like magnesium chloride, 镁金属的基材. Running concentrated brines through the humidification-dehumidification process can also extract high-value lithium salts — the increasingly scarce metal used in rechargeable batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. Compared to 矿业, this is “a sustainable and responsible way to extract lithium,” Abbasi说
从废水中提取水
Abbasi’s breakthroughs in desalination and extracting valuable salts also led to a new solution for treating wastewater — one that turns the conventional approach on its head.
石油和天然气钻井产生的废水, 矿业, pharmaceuticals and agriculture is loaded with all kinds of contaminants, 其中很多很难区分, Abbasi说. So rather than trying to get all of the contaminants out of the water, 他的方法只提取一种化合物:水.
类似于海水淡化过程, Abbasi’s system uses thin film evaporation to extract the water molecules and light volatile contaminants, leaving behind all the salts and heavy contaminants that don't evaporate easily. 的n, by carefully modulating the temperature, only the water condenses back into liquid form. 的 volatiles remain in a gaseous phase and are ejected from the system. Abbasi envisions this process could be used in a closed-loop system that cleans and reuses the same water, eliminating the need to constantly draw from scant resources in arid regions like the Permian Basin in Texas.
学生推进研究——以及他们的未来
Abbasi notes that 学生 have contributed vital work to move these breakthroughs forward. 自项目开始以来，Abbasi的实验室已经包括了四位博士.D. 学生, 6个硕士, three postdoctoral scholars and 19 undergraduates from seven countries — bringing diverse approaches to problem-solving.
“没有他们，这一切都不会发生，”阿巴西说. 我希望他们意识到他们的努力是多么有价值.”
He also sees the 学生’ experience as a pillar of their education and preparation to join the workforce.
“他们发展自己的技能, 他们获得知识, 他们获得了信心, 他们开始规划自己的道路,他说. Several graduates of the lab are now working in industry and in academia.
从实验室扩展到现实世界
Abbasi对海水淡化的研究, lithium extraction and wastewater treatment 技术 has received more than $9 million in funding from the U.S. 能源部, 国防部, 俄勒冈州和私人投资者, 其他联邦机构也在等待拨款申请. 〇他的创业公司 Espiku -正在为这三个系统开发商业应用.
休假之后, Abbasi is transferring to Corvallis when he returns to Oregon State this fall. He’s used this time and grant funding to test prototypes and control systems, scaling up the 技术 to prove they can perform reliably in real-world applications. One prototype for the desalination system is planned at the university’s 哈特菲尔德海洋科学中心 在俄勒冈海岸.
Abbasi has also been working to secure additional funding to get his startup company through what’s known as the “valley of death” where funding runs out during the prototype and testing phase before commercial products are ready for paying customers. 的 goal is for Espiku to commercialize its 技术 within five years.
Abbasi and Espiku recently received a significant boost to support that goal: a $500,000 grant from 突破能源. 的 organization was founded by Bill Gates to accelerate innovations in sustainable energy and help combat climate change. Abbasi was chosen as a 2024 突破能源 Fellow for his lithium extraction technology. 除了资金, 该项目将研究员与行业领袖联系起来, scientists and policy experts and provides guidance on the path to commercialization, 包括法规要求, 市场准入和规模化解决方案.
Commercial applications for Abbasi’s desalination process include an add-on to existing desalination plants, processing the concentrated brine that would otherwise be expensive to dispose of. 在军事应用中, the technology can be deployed at both permanent bases and for expeditionary forces needing a portable unit to provide clean water. That portability also makes it ideal for humanitarian uses such as in refugee camps or communities after a natural disaster.
阿巴西说:“把它装好，部署好，就可以使用了。.
Espiku means “the white mountain” in Luri, the language Abbasi grew up speaking in western Iran. He’s been driven in part by his experience in that arid landscape to make sure people around the world have access to clean water.
That his original breakthrough solved additional tough challenges is a bonus.
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