A Novel Portable Desalination Device for Producing Potable Water

This Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of applying bipolar ionomer thin films as effective desalination elements in small lightweight, handheld, manual devices for the individual soldier to desalt seawater for drinking. Water is the most important compound for every living species. In the battlefield environment, clean, fresh water is generally very difficult to supply due to the limitations of logistics operability. Thus, portable desalination devices are of vital importance to soldiers for survival. Central to the proposed portable desalination system is a thin bipolar ionomer film coated on a uncharged microporous membrane. The thin ionomer film rejects the passage of small ionic particles while allowing the passage of water under low manually applied pressures. Pretreatment of raw water using filter paper, activated carbon and peroxoborate will be carried out in order to remove possible impurities, e.g., bacteria, pathogens, toxins, suspended materials and undissolved solids. The proposed desalination device is easy to fabricate and operate. The developed desalination device will have many military and commercial applications.