How to turn salt water into drinking water at the touch of a button

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a wearable device that can turn salt water into drinking water. Filters are no longer needed for this. In the new building, which weighs less than ten kilograms, fresh drinking water is produced using electricity. According to the research team, the newly obtained drinking water exceeds the quality standards of the World Health Organization.

According to the research team, ion-concentration polarization (ICP) technology is used to desalinate the water. An electric field is applied along the membranes above and below the water channel. Positively and negatively charged particles are repelled by the membranes as they pass by. In addition to the salt molecules, it also affects the viruses and bacteria that can be found in the water. The charged particles are then fed into the second water stream and removed.