https://escholarship.org/content/qt5dq3f2w7/qt5dq3f2w7.pdf?t=qchiiz

Technologies and policies to decarbonize global industry: Review and assessment of mitigation drivers through 2070

Synthetic membranes with pores at the subnanometre scale are at the core of processes for separating solutes from water, such as water purification and desalination. While these membrane processes have achieved substantial industrial success, the capability of state-of-the-art membranes to selectively separate a single solute from a mixture of solutes is limited. Such high-precision separation would enable fit-for-purpose treatment, improving the sustainability of current water-treatment processes and opening doors for new applications of membrane technologies. Herein, we introduce the challenges of state-of-the-art membranes with subnanometre pores to achieve high selectivity between solutes. We then analyse experimental and theoretical literature to discuss the molecular-level mechanisms that contribute to energy barriers for solute transport through subnanometre pores. We conclude by providing principles and guidelines for designing next-generation single-species selective membranes that are inspired by ion-selective biological channels.

Towards single-species selectivity of membranes with subnanometre pores

Reversible electrochemical processes are a promising technology for energy-efficient water treatment. Electrochemical desalination is based on the compensation of electric charge by ionic species, through which the ions are immobilized and, thereby, removed from a feed-water stream flowing through a desalination cell. For decades, electrochemical desalination has focused on the use of carbon electrodes, but their salt-removal ability is limited by the mechanism of ion electrosorption at low molar concentrations and low charge-storage capacity. Recently, charge-transfer materials, often found in batteries, have demonstrated much larger charge-storage capacities and energy-efficient desalination at both low and high molar strengths. In this Review, we assess electrochemical-desalination mechanisms and materials, including ion electrosorption and charge-transfer processes, namely, ion binding with redox-active polymers, ion insertion, conversion reactions and redox-active electrolytes. Furthermore, we discuss performance metrics and cell architectures, which we decouple from the nature of the electrode material and the underlying mechanism to show the versatility of cell-design concepts. These charge-transfer processes enable a wealth of environmental applications, ranging from potable-water generation and industrial-water remediation to lithium recovery and heavy-metal-ion removal. Electrochemical processes enable energy-efficient desalination of water and the separation and recovery of elements. In this Review, we discuss the mechanisms and materials of this emerging generation of water-remediation technology.

Charge-transfer materials for electrochemical water desalination, ion separation and the recovery of elements

Does humanity's future lie in the ocean? As demand for resources continues to grow and land-based sources decline, expectations for the ocean as an engine of human development are increasing. Claiming marine resources and space is not new to humanity, but the extent, intensity, and diversity of today's aspirations are unprecedented. We describe this as the blue acceleration—a race among diverse and often competing interests for ocean food, material, and space. Exploring what this new reality means for the global ocean and how to steer it in a sustainable and equitable way represents an urgent challenge.

The Blue Acceleration: The Trajectory of Human Expansion into the Ocean

https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa54376/Download/54376__17490__dd6fd639a69a462e9b3428c85bb9d895.pdf

Seong Mu Kang

Papers

The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook.