In October 2024, ECNS reported on a portable desalination unit from Shanghai, roughly the size of a vacuum flask and lighter than one kilogram. It came out of a project led by Professor Fang Haiping of East China University of Science and Technology, which took the first natural science prize in the Shanghai Science and Technology Awards for 2023. At its core was a graphene oxide membrane that held back salt ions but let water through. Tests showed about 15 times the water flux of a Dow seawater membrane.
The report showed how Chinese basic research on graphene membranes sought a path to practical desalination products, from an emergency device for people at sea to membranes for plants.
Source: ECNS