desalination

Coal product used to create green clean water

1 min read · Wed, Nov 3 2021

filtration desalination water resources monitoring

Compressed blocks of pulverized coal can be used as the basis of sunlight-powered off-grid water purification. The technology is already being progressed by commercial partners toward pilot-scale production of drinking water. Dark-colored materials that strongly soak up sunlight to drive seawater desalination are a long-standing research interest of KAUST's Andrea Fratalocchi. While reading about the economic challenges of ending coal’s use for power generation, Fratalocchi was struck by a novel possible use for coal. “The two ideas clicked together: why don’t we use coal for a new economy in